Use technology to become more organised
A guest blog by Hayley White, VirtuVA
We all spend our lives on our phones and laptops now, but with the ability to do so much from your fingertips do you ever feel like you get less done? Juggling work and life from a screen can be tricky no matter the size of it. Thankfully, app developers have our backs and with the advent of such new technology we also see new apps and extensions to help manage it all. These five apps and browser extensions are just some of the great organisational tools out there – have you downloaded them yet?
Time Tracking: Toggl
Toggl is a reliable time tracker that allows you to monitor how much time you’re spending on each project so you can work smarter, not harder. Start a timer, assign it a project or label, and simply stop it when you’re finished – done! Toggl delivers reports on the time allocations spent and can be used across teams to monitor performance and resource management. Advanced functionality allows for costings and resource reports to be split across projects and presented onward.
Bookmarks and Browser Tabs: Toby
Browser extension Toby runs with the tagline “bookmarks are for books, not browsers”; and once you use it, you’ll soon agree. Bookmarks, links and documents can all be stored in differently labelled collections for easy access and shared across teams so that everyone’s able to access the same materials whenever they may need them. It’s used by the likes of Google and Uber, so you’ll be in good company once you download it.
Font Finder: WhatFont
There are literally tens of thousands of fonts online, and unless you’re a graphic designer, you may not be able to tell them all apart easily. WhatFont works by scanning a webpage and comparing the fonts on it to its database of over 130,000 fonts to quickly and automatically identify what’s being used. From here, you can download it and install it if required, or simply pass on the information. You’ll never need to comb through a font library again!
Video Messages and Share Screening: Loom
Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams meetings have quickly become the ‘new normal’ across remote workers, but there remains difficulties for those on different time zones or with hectic schedules. Loom allows individuals to record video messages, share screens or give presentations in the form of recorded medium that can be downloaded and watched whenever the other person is free to. This allows for the sharing of content across different teams and offices and for it to be stored to be watched back later as required.
Colours, Shades and Tones: ColorZilla
ColorZilla works as a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox and allows users to quickly identify the exact colour used in anything on screen. The simple eyedropper can be clicked on to anything and will present the exact colour reading and coding of it. Individual colour details can be supplied or the full palette of a page and/or document, with the functionality behind the extension allowing for full CSS scripts to be created including all relevant data. Never again need you listen to someone say “I like THAT yellow” and not explain any further!
These are just five tools available for free (with premium add-ons available) that can prove invaluable once you start using them. There really is an ‘app for that’ to cover everything – you’ve just got to find it, navigate it, and get to work!
After an 11 year career in Human Resources (HR) and the need to find a balance with family life, Hayley started her business as a virtual assistant. Working under the name VirtuVA, she is able to provide administrative and HR support to all kinds of busy people, in all manner of demanding positions and roles.
Admin is an unavoidable part of everyday business life - Hayley can look after your business affairs from her remote office, giving you the valuable time to concentrate on what matters most – generating more business and achieving your goals.
If you are struggling with your admin - get in touch with Hayley - virtuva.co.uk - she loves it!
