A writer’s App list, updated.

I’m a big fan of tech. I’m pretty much never without my tablet, and I depend on it heavily throughout my day. Mostly because it reminds me of Penny’s book in Inspector Gadget. But also because it’s an incredibly useful tool that I use to make my busy life easier.

While I do have Instagram and Candy Crush on there, I use my tablet more for life management and writing than playing. Today, I’m going to give you an updated list of the apps that I use daily to keep everything in order. Some of these you’ve likely heard of before. In fact, you might have heard of them from me, because I’ve written a similar blog post before. But the apps I used have changed since the last time I wrote it. (Here’s a link to the post from May first, 2016.) So it felt like it was time for an update. Unless otherwise indicated, none of these apps cost money. I’m also not an affiliate at all and did not receive any money from writing this post.

Apps that I’m using for writing

Buffer

I’m still using Buffer, after over a year, and there’s a reason. Look, I understand three things about social media. 1. It’s important for a writer to have a social media presence to gain a fan base. 2. Social media and the rules that govern it change all the time. 3. I will never have the time or inclination to check and post on multiple social media platforms every day.

So, Buffer is still my best friend. I’m able to change when and how much I post anytime I need to. Buffer has a built-in tool that can tell when the people who follow me are most likely to be online so that I can post at the best time. It also allows me to schedule social media to the minute.

Evernote

I’m still using Evernote as well, even after breaking my first tablet and transitioning onto another one. I use this to keep all my outlines and Series Bibles handy wherever I am. I also keep my Control Journal on Evernote, which is easier than having it in a big binder. (The control journal isn’t mine, it belongs to the Fly Lady.)

Dropbox

I’m still using Dropbox to store my drafts in case I lose my computer. But I learned something new that it can do.

If you have a document on dropbox, you can send out a link to anybody so they can access it! So, for instance, if you run a challenge via email and want to include some nifty printables along with it, you can pop them in Dropbox and put a link in your email. That’s what I did with my Controlling Your Life email course, and it worked great.

Grammarly

I’m kind of assuming you’ve seen the ads for Grammarly, but I’ll talk about it anyway. I’ve been using it for every single blog post or short story I write. I would use it for my novels too, but it has a size limit. It basically goes through and checks all of my grammar to make sure I’m not sending my work out into the world with silly grammar mistakes.

Mail Chimp

I’ve been loving Mail Chimp, especially when I was doing my email challenge. It’s still, after using for several years now, the freaking easiest way to send emails.

Apps that I’m using for life management because managing your life is the first step to being successful in your writing.

Todoist

I actually stopped using the todoist app for a while. I was writing out my daily to-dos in my bullet journal. This was taking up a huge amount of room, obviously. It was also a huge pain in the ass transitioning things that I do every day.

Todoist lets me schedule repetitive tasks for my daily, weekly and monthly chores. This also helps because then I don’t have to remember them!

Stop, breath and think

This is my favorite meditation app, by far. It tracks how long I meditate, has a built-in list of guided meditations and gives me stickers for completing certain challenges. I start every day with the Welcoming The Day meditation.

White noise

During the summer, I had an air conditioner in my bedroom. Now that it’s gone, I’ve found that I can no longer sleep in silence. So, I’ve started using the app White Noise. It comes with several different nature sounds and uses little enough power that my tablet still charges while the app is on.

Telegram

I don’t hate Messenger, but I don’t love it either. Worse, it takes up a lot of the limited space on my tablet. So I’ve started using Telegram to communicate with my family and friends. This one is purely fun. I can send gifs to my kids and husband, share documents, and set up large group chats.

Google calendar

I assume I don’t need to tell you all about Google Calendar because there’s a good chance it’s open somewhere on your screen right now. It is on mine.

My husband and I have ours synced, so we both know what’s going on with each other. I can keep track of everything, color coded. And, this one is new, it integrates with Todoist, so my to-do list is right on the same screen!

Technology continues to make my life easier, and I hope it helps you as well. If I missed a super useful app that helps you, please let us know about it in the comments.