A week ago, we discussed several “cleanse and protect” tools for VAs, including Copyscape, Ccleaner, and Mozy. Now let’s move on to…
Week 6: Productivity & Project Management Tools for Virtual Assistants
Don’t you wish life were easier sometimes? If we could just automate parts of our lives (for instance, grocery shopping and laundry) like we automate parts of our businesses, then we might just have some time for ourselves. The following tools can certainly help you get there. Find the one that’s best for you and your lifestyle and get organized!
BigContacts: BigContacts is a fully-featured, web-based contact manager using Ajax. You can share contacts and set up group calendars, tasks, and notes, thus allowing you to keep up with all your business contacts, associates, friends, and family. Best of all, you can work from anywhere!
Backpack: Another nifty little tool from 37Signals is Backpack, a web-based organizer that keeps your to-dos, notes, ideas, and schedules on different pages. You can set up reminders to be sent to your email inbox or cell phone, make it private or share it with others, and access it from any computer with an Internet connection. There are, of course, premium accounts (that hardly cost you anything), but for the lightweights, the free accounts work just fine.
Jott: Do you Jott? If not, you might want to start. This cool little tool is pretty much like your own little reminder assistant. Get organized by reminding yourself of important things, delegating tasks to people, communicating with all your team members in one fell swoop—and about a hundred other things for your business and personal life.
How does it work? Basically, you call a toll-free number and speak your message, list, instructions, or whatever, and your message gets transcribed to text and delivered to the inbox of the person or group you Jotted.
On the road with the next BIG idea that you’re sure will make you millions? Well, you could pull over on the side of the road or you could just Jott yourself. Stuck in traffic and want to start a grocery or to-do list? Then just Jott! Jott to yourself, jott to a group, jott to your assistant, or jott to anyone else in the US or Canada.
Remember the Milk: Did you remember the milk? If not, then this little tool is for you. Manage your tasks, make lists, and get reminded no matter where you are. Organize your information in any way you want. Remember the Milk will remind you via email, SMS, and yes, even instant messenger! So whether you use AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype, Yahoo or Gadu-Gadu, you will be reminded. Have you ever arrived at the grocery store only to find that you’ve left your list at home? Then grab your cell phone and retrieve your list. Have you ever sent your hubby to the store and forgot to tell him to get the most important ingredient in your mom’s famous chocolate chip cookie recipe? Add it to your Remember the Milk grocery list. You can even share or publish your lists.
Time Stamp: Hopefully you’re not tracking your time with a pen and paper. Get the free Time Stamp to set your hourly rate, track your time, and export your data so that you can customize a client report on your letterhead or invoice. Nothing is simpler.
What’s your favorite productivity tool? Leave a comment and let us know. And don’t forget to check back next week for more free tools!
