16 Apps to Boost Productivity

I'm a huge fan of using technology to help streamline and simplify our busy lives. No matter what type of business you run, being productive is a must. Techniques and strategies aren’t enough if you don’t have the tools needed to implement them. Fortunately, there’s an app for that!
Here are 17 apps that are guaranteed to boost your productivity, accountability and success:
 

1. Asana

While there are tons of different project-management apps out there, Asana is by far one of my favorites. Once set up, this app helps you reduce internal email, delegate tasks and check the status of your projects from one central dashboard.
 

2. TripIt

Tracking travel is important -- not just for organizational purposes, but for expense and tax filing as well. TripIt succeeds in keeping all of your important information in one place.
 

3. Focus@Will

Distraction is a huge challenge facing most business owners, but it’s one that can be avoided. If you like to listen to music while you work, check out Focus@Will, an app that provides special playlists designed to improve focus and bolster creativity.

4. Evernote

One of the most versatile note-taking and storage apps available, Evernote is accessible from any device. The cloud-based app allows you to store, edit and tag documents for effortless organization.
 

5. Producteev

Delegation is an important part of business success, whether your team is large or small. Producteev, a powerful task management program, allows you to easily assign tasks to other team members, as well as hold them accountable.

6. FlipBoard

Staying up to date on news and industry changes is easy with FlipBoard. Don’t waste time flipping between a dozen different websites -- this app summarizes your favorite feeds in one place.

7. Pocket Analytics

Every business owner should know the status of his or her business at all times, and that includes web analytics. This app provides an easy-to-read mobile overview and a dashboard that tracks multiple services.

8. Contactually

Keeping in touch with members of your network is important, and Contactually makes it easy. Allowing you to segment your contacts and assign follow-up cycles to each category, this app makes sure you never lose touch with your team or your prospects.

9. Sunrise

If you’ve got multiple calendars floating around, you need Sunrise. This easy-to-use calendar app connects seamlessly to all major calendar services, allowing you to stay on task and productive.

10. TrackMaven

Staying ahead of your competition is a challenge, but TrackMaven can help. The app can optimize your content distribution and help you identify marketing opportunities, while also tracking your competitors’ content and strategies.

11. Skitch

Skitch makes it effortless to add markup or annotations to existing content. If your job involves providing frequent feedback, this app makes it easy to give and simple to understand!

12. Mint

Proper money management is important, whether you’re saving up personally for an upcoming expense or a Fortune 500 company managing a vast number of people and resources. With Mint, you can get a quick snapshot of your financial situation any time you log in to your account.

13. EchoSign

Never find yourself scrambling for a scanner again! EchoSign lets you to sign vital business documents electronically and records your document history, making future document audits painless.

14. Hootsuite

Save time on your social media marketing efforts by managing all of your social profiles in a single app with Hootsuite. It’s an easy way to take the pain out of maintaining and updating multiple accounts.

15. Box

Box is a cloud storage system that helps you track your projects in real-time -- an essential feature if you work with a remote team. Even better, the program’s responsive design allows Box to be effective no matter what device you use.

16. IFTTT

A great app with a huge range of applications, IFTTT allows you to create programs that respond to events with a certain action. For example, the app can be used to send an Instagram post to Facebook, or to send you a text if a weather event is brewing in your area. The possibilities truly are endless. 

17. DesignCap
DesignCap is an online graphic design tool to speed up your creative process to make striking graphic designs for your business, event, social media, and more.

I Sat on a Wellness Panel and it was Awesome

I had the great pleasure of speaking with an inspiring group of women in business at the AWSCPA at the Deloitte on the 50th floor at Rockefeller Center, (which has breathless views, btw!). The AWSCPA is a national network connecting and supporting women CPAs through their careers using innovative training, mentorship, and focused relationships. It was wonderful to talk to this group of women about their health, implementing wellness in the workplace, as well as the challenges of a work/life balance. The meeting was inspired by Ariana Huffington's recent exit from the Huffington Post and her book Thrive. We listened to their concerns, answered questions, and I even demonstrated a couple of easy stretches that they can do at their desk (glute and piriformis!). 

Rachel Beider, Alicia Baughn, and Carin Crook on the Wellness Panel 

Start Now

Photo by Ariana Prestes for Unsplash

Start giving your gift *now*.

Not when you have more money. Not when you're more famous. Not when you have a "platform." Not when you have the perfect job. Not when you have a degree in it. Not when you lose the weight or look hot. Not when you've "healed." Not when you've taken the next workshop or training. Not when you've quit that thing you're addicted to for good. Not when your parents finally understand you, accept you unconditionally, and approve of your self-expression fully. Not when you've "discovered your purpose."

Start giving your gift now.

Not when you've "discovered your gift."

You already know what it is.

If it is connecting people, then start connecting people, now.

If it is loving people unconditionally, then start loving people unconditionally, now.

If it is cooking for people, then start cooking for people, now.

If it is sharing your insights via writing, then start sharing your insights, now.

If it is entertaining people with your singing, or your humor, or your acting, then start entertaining people, now. In your kitchen. In your friends' kitchens.

If it is helping people get through difficult times, then start helping people through difficult times, now.

If it is getting people more grounded in their bodies, then get people more grounded in their bodies, now.

If it is making people feel worthy, accepted, and loved, then make them feel worthy, accepted, and loved. At work. On the street. In the park.

The idea that you can start giving your gift "when something" is an illusion. The "when something" you are dreaming about will come, if it comes, when you start giving your gift. Now.

And it it doesn't come, that's fine too. Because you'll be giving your gift. And that is the greatest gift.

And if you really do need something in return, I'll just say, usually, great things, surprising things, come when you start giving your gift with no expectation of return.

So just start giving it. And be open to being surprised. Not surprised at how fast your previous daydreams come to fruition (though they might.)

But rather, surprised at how held you are, how appreciated you are, how supported you are, and how good it feels, all in ways you never expected, with people you never expected, once you start giving your gift freely and unapologetically, with no expectation of return.

Tag, you're it.

Your gift, that is.

You are your gift.

By Author: Michael Ellsberg

Addressing Fear

Photo by Ashley Bean for Unsplash

“What we fear doing most, is what we most need to do.”

— Timothy Ferriss

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by what you need to accomplish? Is there something in particular that you've been putting off, because you're afraid? I know when I'm particularly scared of doing something, or am afraid that I don't know how, I will often start to procrastinate. What was once a small task on the "need to do" list is a big scary thing that I try not to think about, except for in occasional bouts of panic. Tim Ferriss, author of the 4Hr Work Week, writes that the things we are most afraid of are what we need to address the most - and I know that when I start to feel that dread creeping in about a particular task, I must put that task on the top of my To Do list. We often spend far more time worrying about doing something than actually doing it! 

If you're generally scared to take a step forward in your career or for your business, write down exactly what is scaring you. Then follow up by writing down the very worst case scenario of what could happen. Lastly, write down all the ways that you would recover and get back to feeling ok if the worst case scenario happened. What you'll start to learn is just how resilient and resourceful you are. This can be a truly great exercise both professionally and personally. What scares you the most in building your practice? 

New Practice: Massage Greenpoint

I've been terribly excited to see massage clients and consulting clients at my newest studio, in Greenpoint Brooklyn, called Massage Greenpoint. We've been open just 7 weeks now, and have already treated 200 massage therapy clients. I've been using the very methods that I speak to my clients about, in regards to getting new faces in the door, and retaining the clients we have. Here's a quick tour of my new space - it boasts 8 treatment rooms, a welcoming reception, and an eco-friendly sustainable build-out. 

Treatment Room at Massage Greenpoint

Massage Greenpoint Reception

Your Future Self is On Your Side

Image by Haley Phelps for Unsplash

I took a meditation class at the Shambhala Center in NYC, and was thrilled to hear a lecture from a talented teacher. She spoke about how easy it is to get stuck in thinking that we can't accomplish something because when we look back in our history, we haven't done it yet. Maybe we haven't tried, maybe we've tried and failed, maybe we've been too scared to start, but for whatever reason we are bound up in our personal history of inexperience, and the thought that we simply can't do something, or are scared. She suggested, if you're going to get caught up in your past, you may as well get bound up with your future as well.

So, what on earth does this mean? She offered this for an example: you wouldn't start attending college without envisioning yourself as a graduate. You wouldn't begin a diet without picturing yourself as a healthier person. When you're starting something new, imagine your future successful self, reaching back through time, to encourage your current self, and pull you forward towards those open arms. If you're going to be scared by your past self, you may as well be cheered on by your future self.

I like imagining my future successful self - who she looks like, what she's doing, what she's accomplished. I like that she's on my side, pulling me forward towards the future.

How To Start or Grow your Private Practice

I was thrilled to present my two hour course on how to Start or Grow your Private Practice at the Swedish Institute in NYC. I addressed a room of about 50 entrepreneurs, who were massage therapists, acupuncturists, personal trainers, yoga teachers, pilates instructors, and nutritional counselors. We talked about finding ideal clients, understanding the needs of your target market, building a brand that celebrates your core values and uniqueness, valuing your services appropriately, speaking about what you offer, building solid referrals, SEO and social media, the importance of consistency, staying organized, using marketing materials, and SO much more!

As this was my first attempt at teaching a course, I was quite nervous, but what I didn't anticipate is how much I enjoyed speaking with people! The class was so involved and asking great questions, and I saw a lot of people nodding and taking tons of notes. I really loved my experience, and hope that I made a difference and inspired a few people. I've been getting some fabulous feedback and can't wait to do it again!

Required Reading: The Ultimate Business Book List

Photo by Toa Heftiba for Unsplash

Over the years I have refined a list of business books that have been extraordinarily helpful to me and many others. My required reading list is as follows:

The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss. I LOVE this book because it helped me to streamline and automate many processes, as well as delegate tasks so that I would be able to scale my business up. This book also helps me to hold myself accountable for what I want in life, what I'm afraid of, and how to go after what I'm looking for.

Book Yourself Solid, by Michael Port. This is a must read for anyone in the service profession who feels uncomfortable with traditional marketing. Port is a genius at explaining how to position yourself and brand your services appropriately.

The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber. This book explores why most small businesses fail within the first year, and what you can do about it.

Get Content, Get Customers, by Joe Pulizzi. A helpful and extremely convincing book on the importance of generating original content within your business.

The Personal MBA, by Josh Kaufman. As someone who didn't go to business school and felt that I was missing out, I was thrilled to see this book which breaks down a lot of the basic concepts that you learn in business school. Its an excellent reference and resource of a lot of the books you'd need to read if you attended a business school.

Re-work, by Jason Fried and David Hansson. This book talks a lot about recovering from something that's no longer serving you, getting back up and pivoting into what is.

The Power of Eye Contact, by Michael Ellsberg. This book is a wild card, as its not a traditional business book, and yet the power of eye contact is extremely important when making connections with people - whether with business or in your personal life. A fascinating and fun read.

What are some of your favorite business books? I'd love to hear from you!

14,000 Unique Clients!!

Pretty stoked to announce that Massage Williamsburg, (which was once my small private practice that I've expanded) has just seen over 14,000 unique clients since opening! We have been serving our community since 2008, and could not be more pleased with this milestone! 

Exciting News! My massage practice is expanding to Greenpoint!

I'm so thrilled to announce the expansion of Massage Williamsburg to Massage Greenpoint, in (you guessed it..) Greenpoint! The studio will be opening it's doors soon on Greenpoint Avenue between Franklin and West. I can't wait to show you the lovely exposed brick, lofted ceilings, and beautiful peaceful treatment rooms!

As with any business that I start, I like to create a combination of space to be used for my massage practice, as well as to foster community and support within the space. I will be opening up a few rooms to local practitioners, to create a Coworking Space for Healers within my center. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you know of anyone looking for a beautiful space to practice in. 

With Love and So Much Gratitude!

Rachel Beider