7 Apps To Get You Productive For Fall

As our own beauty and lifestyle editor, a public relations business owner and all-around creative, Erin Sousa, juggles what might seem like an obscene amount of to-dos. Yet, she does it with both style and grace. Today, she graciously shares the secret behind her productivity: A collection of favorite apps! Her top picks are below.

Heading into fall, we are shifting our lazy summer mentality (OK, so just me?) and getting back into the game. It’s a great time of year to revisit our routines and hone them for a productive fall season. There are certain things in terms of organization that we overlook time and time again. However, these small tweaks can make a huge difference in our stress levels. For instance, how organized are the apps on your smartphone? Simply moving the most-used apps from the depths of the fourth screen to the first can streamline things more than you think!

There are a few other ways that I’m getting organized to set myself up for post-summer success. I’m sharing them here because working smarter—not harder—is always a good idea!

1. Later: I run a media and PR business, and a lot of the work we do is not only on social media, but specifically on Instagram. I’ve implemented some new scheduling systems that have been huge game-changers in the way I keep content organized for my clients. The Later app has been a huge lifesaver. Later is an affordable multi-account app that allows me to easily toggle and schedule Instagram content for various clients. Once the post is due to be published, my team and I receive a smartphone notification.
2. Planoly: This is another planning and scheduling app for Instagram that is slightly more user-friendly than Later. It also allows you to see your feed with the scheduled posts, giving the option to drag and drop based on what looks best for you and your aesthetic. Plus, it shows you your Instagram “Likes” stats by day. The reason I don’t use this one exclusively is because it’s very expensive for multi-account use. Therefore, I’m sticking with Later as my main app for now. However, if you only manage your own account, this app is perfect for you.
3. Dropbox: This one might not be ground-breaking, but it’s essential for managing my business. It’s also a powerful tool for how I organize, store and share images with other people (and clients), as well as across my devices. I have yet to find a storage system that’s as user-friendly and worth the monthly fee. Download it on your desktop and phone so you can easily throw images into set folders. Then delete them, keeping lots of free space on your devices.
4. A Color Story: I use this app to edit my images. It’s the one-stop shop I need for straightening and adding specialized filters (that are actually useful!). It even allows you to save a series of editing steps for your own customized filters if you’re working on a large batch of images and want them to have the same look. Using this app saves me time because I can do all of my edits quickly in one place. 
5. Google Drive: Oftentimes, I’ll need to access a Word document or spreadsheet while on the go. This is a collaborative hub where I store files I know I’ll need to reference from my smartphone (Think: Guest lists for events, etc.). Being able to edit them from any computer or smartphone makes it simple to stay on track. It also keeps my team moving forward with the most up-to-date version of documents we are working on.
6. Trello: This management system is one the Glitter Guide editorial team uses on a daily basis. We use it to stay in-the-know about a range of upcoming interview deadlines, scheduled photo shoots and other pending stories. This keeps important team messages outside of our email inboxes where communication could get lost. Being able to access the system from our smartphones means that we don’t miss important notes while away from our computers.
7. Todoist: This is a great system for keeping and organizing to-do lists. It allows you to create different categories, set email reminders and invite other team members to your list.