Apps could either waste your time (Pokemon Go) or help make your life easier! I tend to look at apps as the latter. If you looked at my phone, I have a ton of apps. But only handful of apps that I actually use a lot because they are just so helpful. I wanted to share with you some that I feel are highly effective in making your day more efficient. Best of all - these are all free! Here’s a list of apps that help with productivity. My Data MgrThis app helps me manage my data when traveling so I know not to overuse it and be charged with unnecessary roaming fees! But even if you’re not traveling and you just have a limited amount of data, this will really help track with how much data you’re using. At the beginning of your billing cycle, set the amount of data you have on your plan. It will even keep track of how much Wi-Fi you’ve used and how many days you have left in the cycle. Key Feature: It will notify you if you’re using up your “daily budget” which they set for you based on how much data you have in the cycle. It will also notify you if you’re nearing the end of your allotted data. Get My Data Mgr: iPhone | Android Square CashIf you’re like me, you probably eat out a lot with your friends. But dealing with the check afterwards is usually a nightmare. Not if you use Square Cash! Square Cash is an app that allows you to send money (or request money). If you eat out with your friends, you don’t have to worry about splitting the bill. Its user friendly interface is simple and straightforward, so there’s no confusion! Key Feature: The money is available in your account the next day, but for a fee, you can get it instantly. Get Square Cash: iPhone | Android Prosper DailyHave you ever gotten a charge in your bank statements where you have no idea where it came from? Well if you have multiple accounts, that means you have had to sift through each of them in order to find that. But who has the time to do that? With Prosper Daily, you link your credit cards and debit cards to the app, and they will show you all the charges you have made to those accounts. You can monitor how much you’re spending and what you’re spending on. Key Feature: Any charges that the app finds suspicious (such as duplicate charges) they will flag it for your review. And they will show you how many other people have flagged the same charge, so you can decide whether or not that was a mistake. Get Prosper Daily: iPhone | Android Hours TrackerWhen I started working as a freelance visual designer for a startup, I needed a proper way to log my hours. Startups usually have no structure, so it was up to me to figure this out! I tried using just a timer app on my phone, which of course was inefficient. With the Hours Tracker app, you set up your hourly rate and the projects you will be working on, and then clock in to different sessions when you work on them. The app calculates how much you’re making by the minute! Key Feature: You can take breaks and the app will not calculate earnings during the time you’re clocked out! Get Hours Tracker: iPhone | Android CalendarWhat would I do without my calendar app? This is an Apple Native app, but I use it everyday so it’d be silly not to include it in this list. What I love about the Calendar app is that it syncs to other calendars as well. I have it synced to my Google Calendar. Key Feature: Since it also syncs to my inbox, any upcoming events will automatically be written in the calendar for me. After I book my flights, I never have to type in the information as it will automatically be there. Calendar App is native to iOS but get the Google Calendar app here: iPhone | Android Apps are such a helpful invention! Staying organized has never been easier (and fun!) Which app was your favorite?
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There has been some devastating news that hit close to home recently, and this not only shook the entire community, but shook many people around the world. You may have heard about the Oakland warehouse fire that happened last week that resulted in 36 deaths. According to SFGate, “Ghost Ship” an artist collective warehouse erupted into flames on December 2 around 11:30pm. It happened during a party that was being held there. The warehouse as described were cluttered full of furniture and art— a fire hazard, as many of those items were wooden. Partygoers were trapped on the second floor of the building, as the makeshift wood-pallet stairs disintegrated in the fire. 36 people died that night. Though I don’t personally know anybody who was a part of that tragedy, I can’t help but feel extremely devastated as I read through articles, and hear stories of the victims that perished. I can’t imagine what the families are dealing with, as I myself cannot focus on anything else but to think about this event. Especially now during the last two weeks of school, it’s hard to focus on something as trivial as finals when there are families who have lost their loved ones. But what happened motivated me to write a post about how to stay motivated during difficult times. I mean, we all have problems from time to time. Big or small, sometimes it’s hard to ignore it. And this definitely doesn’t help when we also have other important things on our mind (like deadlines). Deal with it in a way that is right for youWhenever a difficult situation arises, I tend to deal with it by distracting myself with a ton of work so that I don’t have time to think about it. But this obviously won’t work for everybody. Everyone deals with things differently, and it’s not up to anybody else to decide how to deal with a situation except you. Life happens. And unfortunately it’s going to happen during the most inconvenient times sometimes. Nobody has the right formula as to how to fix it in the best way, only you know that for yourself. So whether you want to cry about it, or distract yourself with other things, make sure it feels right to you. Allow yourself time to deal with the problemHaving said that, it’s important to have some time to deal with the problem. You can avoid it all you want but just know that it will eventually arise at a later time again if not dealt with. I always set some time to meditate on the issue and when I’m done, I usually feel more at ease about it. Let yourself have the time to deal with the problem, and then when that’s done with move on to your next priority. Remember that if you don’t deal with it, the problem will come up in a different context later on. Talk to somebody & get support from othersFind somebody you trust, and just talk to them. Sharing thoughts and concerns with one another can help make the situation much easier to handle. Support one another as needed and you can quickly move forward. Find an outlet to express your thoughts and feelingsScream into your pillow, meditate, go for a walk… find a healthy way to express your thoughts so that you don’t bottle up your feelings. I like to journal, so whenever an issue is holding me down, I make sure to write it down. I find that it’s extremely therapeutic when I write, and as soon as I’m done, I feel much better and can look at the situation in a different perspective. Again, by setting aside that time to deal with the problem will get you through it much quicker. The idea is not to entirely fix the problem or even get rid of it, but being able to deal with things in a healthy way so you will recover as quickly as possible. Everyone deals with problems everyday, and if people let problems take over we would be living in a very negative frequency. So next time if something is bothering you, just know that it’s okay to be upset and take a breather, as long as you are able to bounce back from it. Click here to donate to the Oakland Fire Relief Fund.
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AuthorFull-time advertising student. Part-time freelance designer.. Always busy. Archives
December 2016
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