Entrepreneur. Whenever we hear this word, we subconsciously start thinking of an affluent person who lives in a lavish villa, drives around in a top-notch German car and drinks the most expensive liquors. Although that may be true to some extent, it does take in hours after hours of hard work, a dedicated mind, and continued wise decision making to get to that point. In conclusion, entrepreneurs have an extremely busy schedule. They don’t lead the average 9-5 job life. They seem to be completely occupied throughout the day – writing emails, preparing spreadsheets, thinking of new ideas for business expansion, making crucial business decisions, delegating orders and whatnot. Their business might require their attention at any given moment, maybe during a family vacation or while they are cracking a cold one open with the boys (or girls) or even so when they are having a quiet time with their significant other in the middle of the night! Additionally, at the end of the day, they too are human beings made of bones and flesh, having their personal lives, family and friends. Yes, entrepreneurship is tough. But bless the Lord for technology! Although the destination stands still, some apps do make the ride smoother. In case you are venturing out in the mystical kingdom of entrepreneurship, the following apps will do wonders –
Apps that for productivity and efficiency
Imagine how great it would be if you had a little virtual assistant that will constantly help you organize your work, keep track of progress, and in general trim down the hustle of successfully running a business? Well, all of that could be possible in your very own laptop or smartphone, and that too free of cost! First off, some apps strictly mean business. Their sole purpose is to improve a fundamental aspect of success, and that’s productivity. Now, whenever we talk about productivity we are reminded of the term “focus”. Working for prolonged hours can get monotonous and it’s easy to lose concentration in the workplace. Productivity can only be enriched once an individual stays focused, be it getting pending work done before the deadline or staying aligned with the business’s long-term goal. Several apps can assist retain an individual’s focus. One fine example is Online Pomodoro, an iPhone app. This app is designed based on the Pomodoro technique, which divides your work into an interval-sprint (pomodoro) cycle. In this time management method, you work dedicatedly for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break to replenish the stress. Another app, Toggl, helps you keep track of how much time you’re putting into each task so that you stay on your toes throughout the time. Yes, the focus is important, but it is also important to know where to focus. Predetermining a “to-do list” helps plan an efficient schedule for your day. Otherwise, the random thoughts of “What should I do? Where shall I start?” etc. will consume a significant portion of your office time. However, it is understandable that it might feel like a hassle to maintain such a list through pen and paper after a long day of work. But with the aid of apps like Wonderlist, Trello, and Xmind, the whole process gets far simpler and convenient. Trello for example uses three sections to keep track of work progress- To-Do, In Progress, and Done. You can just name your project, add the sections and pass it onto your subordinates. As simple as that! Yet, organizing doesn’t end only at task management. It may also mean something as simple as a “well put together” laptop screen or a clean browser. The solution to this problem may be apps like One Tab and Pocket that help organize multiple tabs and save downlinks for later usage. Remember! A messy environment, be it physical or virtual, creates a general repulsion towards work. Finally, regardless of how hard you work, prepare yourself in advance or stay organized, you cannot always stay on top of your game. In the end, all of us are humans and sometimes we slack off or are unable to take all the pressure by ourselves. That is exactly when you can look up to apps like Upwork, Slack and Convergely, where you’ll find millions of other entrepreneurs, known as freelancers. There you can communicate, delegate tasks, and automate processes to get these freelancers to complete a certain task on your behalf.
Apps to ensure that you live a healthy life
An entrepreneur’s only point of concern, however, isn’t just to get his business running fluently and making money. Money may be a currency but health is wealth. To ensure a longer serving time, maximized working ability and a generally better life, a properly functioning body is pivotal. Yes, money can pay your medical bills but a healthy lifestyle and optimum fitness can prevent you from ending up there in the first place. Healthy habits may include walking, jogging, cycling, hitting the gym, and maintaining a balanced diet. For the walking, jogging, and cycling part, if calorie burning is not enough of an incentive to get you up and running, an app named Charity Miles donates money to various charity funds for distances covered by its users. It measures the distance covered by its users through GPS and donates at a rate of 25 cents per mile for walkers or runners and 10 cents per mile in the case of cyclists. For the gym part though, doesn’t it just drive you nuts when a slob keeps practically walking on the treadmill while you wait it out for hours till he gets off and you can finally have your 20-minute sprint session, and that too after a hectic day of “entrepreneurial work”? Well, GymFlow makes it far less stressful by updating entrepreneurs (and everyone else) with data regarding just how crowded they should expect their gym to be by the time they walk into it. It does so by recording when and where people swipe to select gyms. Finally, mental health is just as important as physical health, if not more. Yes, you guessed it right, there’s an app for that too! The GPS4Soul app assists its users to relax and prevent the adverse effects that stress has on an individual’s health. By accessing the smartphone’s camera, the app can measure its users’ heart rate and suggest ways to ease up. This is especially important for entrepreneurs as running a business can create heaps of stress.
Apps for your mental resilience
Talking of stress, stress can make it easy to lose motivation. With the inherent difficulties in the procedure of handling a business, entrepreneurs may start feeling that their efforts aren’t worth the outcome or that they are continuously banging their heads against a wall and their venture is going nowhere. As a result, their efficiency may slack as they steer off the motivational track. Let’s say you’re working on your dream EdTech start-up. It may potentially be a million-dollar business, but in the first two months of operation and after hours and hours of exhausting labor and a significant sum of capital invested into it, you’re unable to generate any sort of profit or exposure. Understandably, you may lose hope. Thanks to apps that will then guide you in the right direction. One such app is Quotes. The purpose of Quotes is to present its users with inspiration and wisdom on a daily through various motivational wallpapers. There remain only a handful of things that hype you up like a good ol’ motivational quote. How else can we lose motivation? Well, one of the most difficult parts of starting your day is getting up from the bed. “Wakie” is another smartphone app that wakes its users up in a unique manner. Once the user’s alarm goes off, a real person on the other end of the screen gently wakes them up. Cool! Isn’t it? Not only the aforementioned two, but there are also numerous other apps like Asana, GoalsonTrack, Coach Me, MotivateMe, etc. that are extremely effective in making entrepreneurs stay dedicated.
Apps that offer you the best of both worlds
With all being said and done regarding work, work and work, entrepreneurs do have their own life too full of personal interests to pursue and sound relationships with close ones to share. Did you know? One in every three women-owned businesses is run by a mom. Imagine what work-life balance may mean to someone who’s having to deal with foreign clients at the office and then having to change diapers at home shortly after! Running a business as well as raising children sounds like a challenge. However, according to research, “mompreneurs” have revealed their apps of preference that help retain work-life balance. One of the leading apps in this category is Zoom. Zoom is a free-to-use conferencing app that allows entrepreneurs to arrange face-to-face meetings in a virtual space with a capacity of up to 100 people. Frequent users claim that it provides a very user-friendly interface and that face-to-face interactions are extremely powerful. Anyone can schedule meetings according to their convenience and have a quick discussion with peers anytime, anywhere. Additionally, amid the hustle and bustle of owning a business, it may be hard for entrepreneurs to manage time for something as simple as grocery shopping. But with smartphones and apps, grocery at your doorstep is just a click (or touch) away. In the end, we can say that all these apps combined really can make a big difference when it comes to reducing job stress and improving productivity for entrepreneurs. To conclude, although entrepreneurs live a hectic life, technology and apps can soften the blow for them. And assist them in multiple aspects so that their burden is lifted a little bit.
