In my last post, I expressed my affection for my new iPhone.
Today I want to share five apps that I use every single day. As far as this user is concerned, these are must-haves.
1) Things
This is the Cadillac of my app collection, costing me a whopping $10. That value, however, has been quickly returned. Things, slick to operate and a pleasure to use, serves me multiple times per day as my daytimer, to-do list, project planner, and general note-taker. It lends itself particularly well to anyone attempting to implement “Getting Things Done” order into their lives, though it is easily accessible for anyone unfamiliar with that particular system.
2) Evernote
This may be the most valuable, free app available anywhere. As a note-taking and organizing system, Evernote comes with nearly infinite possibilities. If you have any need for “catching” information, sources, ideas from the vast flow of ideas that most of us live within, then Evernote is your tool. Upon starting an account, one can feel overwhelmed at where to even begin. But there are numerous great blogs on how to effectively use Evernote. Several bouts of late-night reading have helped me hone my system to something quite usable. As starting points of learning, you might be served well HERE or HERE or HERE. As well, Evernote runs a blog that often contains helpful bits on how to best use their program. If you want a steady stream of Evernote tidbits, follow @michaelhyatt on Twitter. He’s been a great source in trying to craft a fruitful Evernote system.
The thing that truly sets Evernote apart is its search capabilities. It’s one thing to have a giant bucket to collect things in; it is quite another to have the ability to locate a given “piece” with nothing more than a keyword or two. Evernote provides this cataloging ability. I’ve had Evernote on my computer for nearly a year, but teamed up with the iPhone’s camera and dictation capabilities, the chore of inputting such data, the essential first step to any collection system, just became a lot more fun and a lot more simple.
Evernote is quite simply one of the very best apps out there. If you’re not already using it, you might be soon!
3) Twitter
I don’t know why, but I think keeping up on Twitter is just more fun on my iPhone than it ever was on my computer. For that reason alone, this app gets frequent use. In my exploration of the app world, I have researched a number of alternative options to the comes-with-the-phone Twitter app. While intrigued by a few of them, I have yet to pull any triggers on paid apps. If anyone out there has opinions on superior apps to Twitter’s own, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.
4) Buffer
Speaking of Twitter, this freebie can significantly enhance the tweeting experience. It allows you to schedule your tweets throughout the day, in an effort to avoid flooding your followers or to maximize prime times within your Twitter universe. There are limitations on what Buffer‘s free service can provide, so diehard tweeters may wish to explore the paid options. But for some, myself included at the moment, this app is pretty sweet. If you sensed a tone of hesitation in my previous sentence, it is because I am still exploring for any superior alternatives to Buffer, specifically more flexibility in number of tweet “slots” each day AND more freedom on the time selection process.
5) AppAdvice
When I first got my iPhone, I flipped through several months worth of MacWorld back issues at the library. Much of that was in the quest to read app reviews and locate those that might be most useful to me. For a couple bucks, I now have just such a resource, updated frequently, on my phone with me. AppAdvice is a joy to the geek within me. Some of you may wish to buy a coffee with your toonie, but me, I’ve got AppAdvice–a bargain for any app-freak.
What apps do you use everyday?
Please add to my list by commenting below. I’d love to learn more.
My top 2 are the same realm as yours. I use OmniFocus for tasks and Simple Note for notes, both of them sync with apps on my Mac so it doesn’t matter if I’m working on the phone or Mac, I’m good to go.
If I’m driving or doing chores I’m either listening to podcasts on Stitcher, or music on Pandora. I slowly take more and more pictures and for that I either start in Camera+ or go straight to Instagram (I just discovered Grid Lens, it seems good, but it’s only been a couple of days). YouVersion’s bible app is pretty great, and a lot lighter than a bible.
The last thing on my home row is Pomodoro. If I have a large assignment or project that I’ve got to concentrate all day on, I live by the tomatoe timer!
Kyle,
Thanks for the list. In all my digging, you listed a few apps I’ve not even discovered: Stitcher and Pomodoro.
I also enjoy Camera+ and YouVersion. I intend to do a future post on those upgrade apps that the average iPhone use may want to explore, such as upgrading the default Camera, Twitter, or Contacts apps. But I need to do a touch more research before that one.
This week: I’m going to discover the tomato timer!
Thanks again, Kyle.
the CBC Music app is just new, but really good. super good access to Radio2, Radio3 and a bunch of other channels that are sorted by genre. (so far for me it has been stuck on the Alt Country channel).
also, get Words With Friends and lets play!
Thanks Jer.
I’m not typically a CBC radio listener, so I’d have been hard-pressed to find that one by myself. As for Words with Friends, that is the game that gets the most action on my phone by far. Look me up, and let’s do it!
‘Guitar Toolkit’ is also a good one with a metronome, tuner, chord structure charts etc.
that is one of the only apps i have that i paid more than $0.99 for, but it is handy to have a tuner in your pocket at all times. and even at $10 (i think) it is far cheaper than an actual tuner or metronome.
Another nice call, Jeremy.
Right now, I’ve got one of the free guitar tuner apps. It works, but I don’t particularly enjoy using it. I’ve never used a metronome, but it would likely be good for me.
Look at your wild self, venturing into the $0.99-and-up realms!
Not so focused on productivity… but Flixster is my choice for a movie app. For sports “The Score” is nice because you can follow players and sort them into lists. This will help you save time when you come out retirement next year and join the hockey pools again :).
I’ve not looked at Flixster yet. My quick Netflix browse led me to conclude I didn’t need it. The Score hasn’t supplanted TSN on my phone yet, but the player feature would certainly tie it nicely in to the fantasy sports life–those were the days!
Thanks for adding those, Tim.