Top Time Management Tools and Apps to Boost Your Mompreneur Productivity

Take a breath and let me, Daphne Walter, a seasoned Mompreneur with almost thirty years under my belt, guide you through the digital evolution of time management. This episode is a goldmine for those seeking to transform their frenzied schedules into a harmonious symphony of productivity and calm.

Today I lay out the essentials of discipline, growth, and the smart selection of digital tools that synchronize with your ambitious lifestyle. From the simplicity of collaborative spirit, to  innovative focus enhancements, the insights here are about building that seamless bridge between work demands and personal fulfillment.

I don't just stop at recommendations; I challenge you to embrace a trial of any featured time management tool and experience firsthand the liberation from overwhelming to-do lists. This conversation is not just a rundown of applications; it's a tailored blueprint for Mompreneurs ready to elevate their time management game and harness the true potential of their productivity.

As I mentioned in the episode, here is the the list of the tools I referenced, as well as the ones that I use daily/weekly:

Todoist
Trello
Asana
Evernote
Focus@Will
Forest
RescueTime
Pomodone
monday.com

Google Drive
Streak
Metricool
Convertkit
Kajabi
Riverside
WavePad
BuzzSprout
Splice

www.daphnewalter.com

IG: @daphnekaywalter 

Music Credit: Thomas Whitfield

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hello, hello and welcome to mompreneur like a rock star, where each week we bring you new tips, inspiration and strategies to help you navigate through parenting business and genuinely give you a space to connect with other women walking similar paths as you. Hey there, my name is Daphne Walter and I've been an entrepreneur for almost 28 years, and in those years I've spent much time working for a few large corporations and in the last few years, have owned a brick and mortar and even a medical staffing firm. And if there's been one thing that has been consistent throughout all these years of working and building businesses, starting up a family, moving across the state and then across the country is that you have to learn to get good at managing your time. So plug in your pods, eliminate any distractions and allow me to share with you some apps and tools that can help revolutionize how you organize your day and achieve your goals. Now, when I first got started with my career and even my network marketing business, we didn't have apps and the tools were, needless to say, minimal. This was almost 30 years ago. There were no cell phones, well, not ones that had any type of calendaring or internet or even a camera built into them Pretty much the only system that we had to track and manage our time was an old school paper planner, which, ironically, this is still the most preferred choice of mine, but back then we had no choice. Managing time was 100% manual.

Speaker 1: 1:46

But why is managing our time effectively so important anyway? Well, let's quickly cover a couple of those reasons. The first is it maximizes efficiency. Time management helps us make the most out of our available time by prioritizing tasks, allocating resources appropriately and minimizing distractions. Therefore, we're able to accomplish more in less time, increasing productivity. Second, it helps us meet deadlines, and for many of us in our professions, meeting deadlines is essential for success. Effective time management ensures that tasks are being completed on time. We're reducing the risk of mis-deadlines and the associated consequences, such as lost opportunities or damage to our reputation. The third reason that effective time management is crucial is because it helps us reduce stress. Now, when you aren't managing your time properly, that often leads to feelings of being overwhelmed, stressed or anxious, and time management helps us focus our attention on one task at a time, which helps us then reduce stress levels and maintain that better work-life balance which, overall, just leads to improved well-being and mental health. The fourth reason is that it allows for increased opportunities, because you are creating space for personal and professional development. By setting aside time for learning new skills, networking and pursuing hobbies, you're expanding your knowledge, you're building relationships and you're seizing opportunities for growth and advancement. And lastly, number five, having effective time management skills builds discipline and self-control, which is so instrumental in setting and achieving both short-term and long-term goals.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Okay, so now let's fast forward to today's fast-paced world, where managing time effectively is even more essential for productivity and success. Think of all the things that we have on our plate these days. I mean, sure, we had them before, years ago, but now there's so much more available Online technology, digital access, distractions and, quite frankly, time suckers. But fortunately for us, there's also now a plethora of tools and apps available to help you streamline your workflow, prioritize tasks and make the most of your time. So let's just go ahead and jump right into them.

Speaker 1: 4:30

I'm gonna list out what I would consider, I guess, the top nine when it comes to the different apps and tools that are available. A couple of these I have personally used or am still using currently, but, just to keep this content 100% transparent, I did have to do a little bit of research into what other tools are available out there, because, quite honestly, technology is rapidly changing. Apps are advancing. Apps are falling behind. Once you begin to test some of these out, you'll find which ones work better for you in terms of features, functionality and flow.

Speaker 1: 5:08

But here's a couple of quick tips or suggestions before we dive in. I personally like apps that also have a desktop version, because that's where I do most of my work. I really only log in to apps on my phone if I'm on the go, but that's totally up to you, and you might be totally opposite and your phone is where it's at. Just again, find what's going to work for you. My other tip that I wanted to offer you is, before committing to any type of subscription, see if that app or tool or resource whatever we're looking at offers a free trial period, because you want to know that it's going to be a good fit for you before you begin to invest any money into it. And then my last suggestion is, when deciding on a platform, don't think about where you are right now. Think about where you want to grow. So does that platform offer affiliate links that you can get paid for by referring it to your niche? Does it have the ability to add admins or assistants when you're ready to hire or delegate. You might not be thinking about these things right now, but you should. You will only go where your mind will take you, okay. So let's do this.

Speaker 1: 6:23

Let's dive into the top nine. The first one is to-do list, and if you need me to spell these out, actually I'll just list links into the show notes so that you have all of it available to you. So the first one is to-do list, and this is a task management app that allows users to create exactly what it says A to-do list right, a to-do list. So it allows you to create to-do list, set deadlines and organize tasks into projects. It has features like reoccurring tasks, priority levels, productivity tools, things like that. To-do is tagline is become focused, organized and calm with to-do list. I love that they had to add in the calm right, because weren't we just talking about reducing stress? So, according to Todoist, they are the world's number one task manager and Todoist app. They do have a desktop version, an app and even additional resources on their site, like productivity quizzes and more. So, definitely, if you haven't had a chance to check them out, I'd highly recommend it. They do offer a one week free trial and then the monthly cost. It's minimal. There's different membership levels depending on the features that you might require.

Speaker 1: 7:45

Okay, so the second is Trello. Now, this is my go to for project management. It's what I use with my marketing and our technical team. Trello is a visual collaboration tool that allows you to organize projects and tasks into customizable boards. So you create boards for different projects, you can add tasks as cards, you can move them through the various stages of completion. I'm going off topic here, but I love the features because we have multiple hands in lots of projects. So we can assign tasks, we can assign security levels. It's not called security levels on their site, but permissions, I guess you could say would be the better word for that. It has a pretty intuitive interface and its collaboration features make it ideal for both team projects and individual task management. There's both an app and a desktop version and, as of April 1st, you can add up to 10 collaborators, which is awesome. The best part is it's totally free.

Speaker 1: 8:55

Okay, so the third one is Asana. This is a very popular one. You might have already heard of this one before, and I've used Asana in the past and it's great. Asana is a project management tool that helps teams coordinate and track their work. It has features like task assignments, deadlines, progress tracking. Asana ensures that everyone stays aligned and accountable. It's awesome because it integrates with other productivity apps, making it such a powerful tool for streamlining workflow and increasing efficiency. Asana is also offered in both the app and desktop version. You can sign up with a free account not just a trial, but an actual free account and then you also have the option to upgrade to additional levels depending on, again, what your requirements are. Like I mentioned, I used Asana a few times in the past and it's great. I prefer it for more team collaboration, so it's not my day-to-day go-to for time management.

Speaker 1: 10:01

Okay, number four we're just moving right along here. Number four is Evernote. Evernote is another one that I love. Evernote is a note-taking app and it allows users to capture ideas, organize thoughts and collaborate with others. It has features like notebooks, tabs, search functionalities. Evernote makes it so easy to store and retrieve information across multiple devices, so whether you're jotting down meeting notes or saving web clippings, it's organized and accessible right at the tip of your fingers. It helps you tame your work, organize your life. It has both a desktop and app version. It also has a free version and then a couple of different levels of subscriptions, depending on how much integration that you need and who all you need to collaborate with using that tool.

Speaker 1: 10:58

Number five is Focus at Will, and I'm just gonna admit this is one that I recently heard about and I had no idea what it was, so I had to look it up, and it is so cool. Focus at Will is a music streaming service that provides curated playlists that are scientifically designed to boost productivity and focus. It leverages principles of neuroscience and psychology to help users enter a state of flow and maintain concentration during work sessions. How awesome is this? To sum it up, it's basically music for your brain. Super cool. You get a 28-day free trial and then you have a couple of options in terms of pricing, and this one also is available via app or a desktop view.

Speaker 1: 11:48

Moving on to number six is one called Forest, and again number six. This one is unique, another one I had not heard of, and, quite frankly, it is so interesting to me how this one made the top list. Not that I'm downgrading it by any means, but it's 2024 and nothing really surprises me anymore. So number six is called Forest, and it's called Forest for a reason, because when they say it's a unique productivity app that encourages users to stay focused and minimize distractions, they aren't kidding, because how forest works? Users will plant virtual trees and set a timer for focused work sessions. Now, if they succumb to temptation to leave the app, their trees wither and their whole forest dies. But over time, users can grow a virtual forest and track their productivity habits. So interesting. Now, this one currently is only available via an app. It's 3.99 to download, with the option of some in-app purchases.

Speaker 1: 12:57

Number seven is Rescue Time. Rescue Time is a time tracking and productivity tool that provides insights into how users spend their time online. By analyzing activity patterns and identifying time wasters, rescue Times helps users make informed decisions about how to optimize their schedules and focus on what matters most. And one of the coolest things about Rescue Time, there's no data entry involved. It is available at desktop and app version, there's a 14-day free trial, and then they have plans that start at 6.99 a month. So our last two.

Speaker 1: 13:40

Number eight, is called Pomodone. Pomodone is a time management app based on the Pomodoro technique, and the Pomodoro technique it's a productivity method that involves working in short, focused burst with regular breaks. So with this app, users can set customizable timers, they can track their work sessions and they analyze their productivity over time. It's an effective way to beat procrastination and maintain momentum on task. It integrates right into some of the tools that I mentioned earlier, like Todoist, trello, asana and even Evernote. Currently it's just an app, but it is free.

Speaker 1: 14:23

And lastly, number nine Mondaycom, your go-to work platform. With Mondaycom, you can manage all projects, tasks, define and track your goals. It has an integrated CRM for you to track sales contact, your leads and so much more. They do have what's called a forever free trial, where you can use it for free as long as you'd like. Obviously, that comes with limited functionality, though, but they do have pricing plans for individuals all the way up to the enterprise level. So definitely, if you haven't had a chance yet, check out Mondaycom as well. So there's my top nine. Those are the top nine time management tools. Now, like I mentioned earlier, there are so many tools out there, and they're always coming out with new ones all the time. You almost have to with, as fast as this world is speeding up, but, just like with anything else, try and see what works best for you.

Speaker 1: 15:28

Now you might be wondering, aside from Trello and a couple others that I mentioned, what tools or apps that I currently use to manage my life, my personal, business life, parenting, everything and maybe, even if you're not wondering, I'm going to share it with you anyway. So let me quickly just go through a complete list of just the ones off the top of my head that I'm even trying to think about. So, first and foremost, google Drive. This is my main platform. This is where I organize all my folders, my files, my photos, anything personal and business related lives on Google Drive, because obviously I access it from my desktop and if I'm ever somewhere out on the go, I have everything available right on my phone, which means I also use Gmail. And then there is an integrated tool called Streak that integrates with Gmail. That helps me track my business as far as like my customers, my leads, and I can move people kind of along the sales process, if you want to call it that.

Speaker 1: 16:31

And then, also on the same topic, at Google I have a Google Calendar. So my Google Calendar it's online. I sync it to my phone, so if any changes I make on one platform, it automatically syncs to the other. I also have a daily planner called the Everyday Entrepreneur, which I'll actually be reviewing this very, very soon. I just ordered it for 2024 and I'm so in love with this planner, so more more will be coming out about the Everyday Planner.

Speaker 1: 16:59

But I also use a large desk calendar. For my larger monthly viewing, I use an app called Metricool. It's actually saved in my browser bar, so I shouldn't say an app, but it's called Metricool and that's what I use to schedule all my social media. My email platform is ConvertKit, so I use this for emailing, scheduling, newsletters, email campaigns, funnels. You can also create landing pages here. Pretty robust, very, very, very common tool.

Speaker 1: 17:28

I also use Canva to create graphics, thumbnails, logos, ebooks, courses, guides you name it. Canva is amazing. And then my website, my platform for where I bring people in, where I host my blogs, my podcast, all my courses. Everything is via Kajabi. That's kind of like my all-in-one. I use Riverside to record my podcast, I use WavePad to edit my podcast, I use Buzzsprout to edit and schedule podcast, and then I use an app regularly to edit my photos and my videos for social media and it's called Splice. So, like I said, just to kind of give you a quick rundown because people are always asking well, what tools do you use every day or, at minimum, weekly right? So these are the main things that I use that help me manage my time, keep me on track, keep me productive and, quite frankly, keep me sane.

Speaker 1: 18:31

Now I know that it takes time to trial and error and learn a bunch of tools, especially if you don't feel like you're the techie type of person. But trust me when I say block time out of your busy schedule to figure it out. Remember in the beginning, where I talked about the benefits of effectively managing our time. Number four was it allows for increased opportunities, because you are creating space for personal and professional development. By setting aside time for learning new skills, you are seizing new opportunities for growth and advancement.

Speaker 1: 19:08

Time management tools and apps are valuable resources that can help you to maximize your productivity and make the most of your time. But you can't just have them downloaded to your phone or saved to your browser bar. You have to use them, you have to learn them, you have to find ways for them to work for you. Start incorporating tools into your daily routines and you'll see how much that will help you streamline your workflows, your tasks and ultimately help you achieve your goals and create greater efficiency and effectiveness in your life, not just your business. So here's a quick, shameless, sorry not sorry plug to wrap things up.

Speaker 1: 19:51

If you haven't tuned into episode number 11 yet, where I talk about the slay your schedule template, listen to that episode next, because this is a template that I recently created.

Speaker 1: 20:03

That's also a time management tool. I created it based on the things that I look for in a planner to help me manage my time, my meals, my goals. I created or I actually I create a new customized template. I send it out every single week to my newsletter. So if you aren't already signed up for the newsletter, be sure to jump over to my website, daphnewaltercom, and sign up with just your first name and email and I will get you added to that weekly communication so that you begin receiving every Thursday a brand new customized slay your schedule template.

Speaker 1: 20:39

I hope you found this episode helpful and I'm going to leave you with just a small challenge for this week. If you do not already have any type of system or any tools or have any type of calendaring process in place, I challenge you to find, and at least sign up for a free trial, for one just one and see how it can't help you either save time, eliminate some overwhelm or maybe even create a stronger collaboration with a team member. That is all I have for today, friends. I just want to thank you for your time and we will see you next week.