Here are the platforms & applications that I use on a very regular basis

As I work online, sat at my computer most of the day supporting clients, I thought I’d make a quick list of the applications that I use, most likely on a daily basis, but certainly each week. These are in addition to the essential office apps (MS Office & Google Docs), email platforms (Outlook & GMail) & web browsers (Chrome, Firefox & Edge etc). There are of course other options for all those I’ve listed below, but these are my personal no, or low-cost favourites:

Backup & Security

All my documents are saved to the cloud either with DropBox, Office 365 or Google Drives, so it’s unlikely that I’ll ever lose files.

BACKBLAZE – I also backup my system offline daily & use BackBlaze for this. As I’ve (fortnuately) never had to re-install my sytem, I’m unable to comment on the ease of doing-so. However, Backblaze advertise that they have the worlds easiest backup & the dashboard seems straightforward. * Subscribe via the link in this post & we’ll both receive a month free*

Long gone are the times of remembering passwords & we all know that we shouldn’t use the same password for all our logins – don’t we? Therefore, a password manager is essential.

LASTPASS – I’ve used LastPass for a while as it enables clients to share login details with me, but without me actually being able to see the password. However, like many applications, LastPass has reduced what’s available on their free plan which is forcing users to select between accessing on a computer or mobile device, not both.

BITWARDEN – has been suggested to me so I’ll be checking out this open-source manager (with a free plan available) as an alternative to LastPass in due-course.

1PASSWORD – is another password manager which has been recommended but, other than a 14 day free trial, is a paid-for app.

Using a VPN is essential when working away from your secure home-office. As I operate from Spain & most of my clients are in the UK, I sometimes have to connect to a UK VPN to better access certain sites, or be able to read in English.

NORD VPN – I purchased a few years subscription to Nord VPN & have found it easy to use & receive a fast connection. * Subscribe via the link in this post & we’ll both receive a month free*

SURFSHARK – I’ve also used Surfshark (to access UK catchup TV) so may subscribe to this VPN when my Nord subscription expires.

Saving & Collating Info

I love to be able to quickly access any saved notes, ideas, articles & brand details etc so always have a number of apps open on my desktop.

SIMPLENOTE – I stopped using Evernote when they limited sharing across devices on the free plan. Simplenote doesn’t have the same formatting options, but is a simple free open source alternative which automatically syncs across all my devices. I have Simplenote open in my PC sidebar menu & access the different notes constantly throughout the day for all kinds of info I’ve saved there.

TRELLO – I have boards & cards for lots of non-sensitive information in Trello & also use as a task manager to progress work & projects.

FEEDLY – is a news aggregator & I save the feeds from my favourite websites & blogs into Feedly. It’s a great source of links & content ideas for social media posts. When tidying-up my email inbox, I unsubscribe from newsletters &, where possible, add the source to feedly instead.

POCKET – if you’ve ever found a great website or article that you want to read, but not straight-away, then Pocket is ideal for saving the details for later. The best part? You can save & then access offline when you have time to read.

Essential Formatting

There are many online options, but don’t forget the applications which are included in Windows:

NOTEPAD – I use NotePad (included with Windows) all the time. It’s especially useful for copy/pasting from other applications & stripping-out all previous, & likely unwanted, formatting. Most of my draft blog posts are saved as NotePad files.

SNIP & SKETCH – is another free app available with Windows which enables you to grab & capture an image from your desktop. There’s also the  ability to crop, annotate, add shapes, overlays & comments. It’s a quick & easy way to take a screen shot & save as an image file.

I LOVE PDF – isn’t part of Windows, but a free online application which, as the site states: “Has every tool you need to work with PDFs in one place. Merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, unlock and watermark PDFs with just a few clicks.”

GRAMMARLY – is a free online application which not only assists with spelling, but also suggests alternative words & phrases for better grammar & so much more.

ZAMZAR – is an online application which will convert just about any file to another format. Wait a little while & download the conversion online, or subscribe for further features.

Image Editing

I’m not a natural designer, but with the range of image creation & formatting applications now available, it’s never been easier to have a go. My favourites are:

CANVA – I do love Canva & think the paid subscription is well worth-while to be able to save & access a wide colour palette. The template library offers plenty of inspiratio & the planner for social media posts avoids the need to download pics & add to another scheduling tool.

STENCIL – is another popular online graphic creation & editing tool with a free plan, but I’ve not widely used this app myself.

PICMONKEY – I did use PicMonkey a lot before I was introduced to Canva, but there doesn’t seem to be a free plan any longer.

PAINT – is an application found as part of Windows & very useful for cropping & resizing the capacity size of images. Right click a photo saved on your computer & select ‘Open in Paint’.

PIXABAY – despite the image libraries available within the editor applications, I still source many of my free pics from Pixabay. A little thought about how the files may be saved & described is often necessary to find the photos I want.

Post Scheduling

It’s not easy to find free social media post schedulers which will cover all popular platforms so you may need a number of different applications. Alternatively, if you have more than one email address, create separate profiles to manage a couple of different SM accounts on each login.

HOOTSUITE – bis still popular, despite limiting users to just two social media profiles on the free plan.

BUFFER – the free plan has limited functions (for analytic & engagement tools) but is a useful platform to schedule posts across three profiles.

LATER – was my go-to free app for scheduling single image Instagram posts but, as my Insta & Facebook accounts are linked, I now use Facebook Business Suite more & more.

CANVA – as mentioned earlier, Canva has a scheduling & planning calendar built-in.

MISSINGLETTR –  link your website to MissingLettr & when you create a new blog, the app will enable you to schedule appropriate social media posts by suggesting posts from the article content headings. This is easier if the blog headings are considered with potential SM posts in-mind. Choose how many, & over what period, the posts are scheduled. When  you’ve not had time to post on social media, it’s a nice surprise when a MissingLettr post linking back to your blog then appears in your feed. *I bought a lifetime plan on AppSumo when MissingLettr was new &, if you use the link in this post, I may receive a small affilliate contribution.*

Email Marketing

I created a guide to the most popular email marketing platforms, but the following are the free ones I use for myself & client work on a regular basis:

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE ON HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST EMAIL MARKETING APPLICATION

MAILERLITE – offers such a lot of options on the free plan & is relatively user-friendly. It’s now my go-to platform. There’s a training Academy (which I’ve completed) which shows exactly how to use the app.

SEND-IN-BLUE – before being introduced to Mailerlite, I used Send-in-Blue for the main reason of being able to create landing pages on the free plan. However, their automation & email sequences are not the easiest to setup.

MOOSEND – is another newcomer to the email marketing space, very affordable, with a free plan & easy to use drag & drop editor.

SENDFOX – is very new & worth a look due to currently having a lifetime plan available on AppSumo for $49

MAILCHIMP – have been around for years & therefore the name that comes to everyone’s mind whenever they think of email marketing. However, I would personally prefer any of the above, but mailchimp is still used by a number of my clients.

File Transfers

Quite often, my clients & I have shared folders within Dropbox or Onedrive, or share one-off files within these platforms. For sharing large files which are too big to send over email, the following applications are useful:

WETRANSFER– send up-to 2GB using the free version, or up-to 200GB with a 1TB storage portal on the paid version.

WESENDIT – are based in Switzerland so advertise Swiss security for sending encrypted files up-to 5GB to three recipients simultaneously on the free version.

1TY.ME – is a one time self destructing link for sharing sensitive information. Use to send a password or other simple text-based sensitive information safely and securely to the recipient. You will receive notification when the link has been accessed.

Travel & Diary Management

I undertake diary management for my clients & this often includes organising global meetings & travel. In addition to having more than one timezone activated in my shared calendars, I use the following:

WORLD TIME BUDDY– to select up-to four locations in the free version (subscribe for more) & easily compare times in the different timezones. The desktop platform is easier to use than the mobile app.

SKYSCANNER – I’ve been using Skyscanner to check flight options since it was a beta application. If not stuck on definite dates, then it’s really useful to check prices across the month. Filter out direct flights & preferable times, or subscribe for alerts of increases/decreases in cost on your chosen route.

GOOGLE MAPS – is super useful to estimate travel options & times in cities & locations that I’m not familiar with. I no longer use our satnav in the car, but default to Google Maps each time.

TIMETREE – after researching different stand-alone free shared calendar options, my client decided on TimeTree which seems to be working very well.

And finally, as I access many email accounts for clients, I’m trying out Shift, a dashboard in which it’s possible to easily access not only various inboxes, but also messenger apps, social media platforms & much more. Take a look a Shift & see if it will help your productivity.