When I first got a smartphone I was so excited that I can finally automate my life and have one place to store everything – appointments, to-do lists, music, address book, etc… you get the idea.

So, at first I used a lot of different apps for a lot of different things. I’ve written about some of them in my Tapping into Tech series here on the blog, but since it’s been over a year I figured I’d update you all on the apps I currently find most useful as a working mom.

Google Calendar

This is a must. I have multiple online calendars and can share each one with those that need access. I also subscribe to some calendars, so that things like holidays and candle lighting times are automatically updated for me.

Calendars I share:
1. Family – Shared with DH and has all family appointments. I also add events as reminders.
2. Birthdays – Shared with extended family. Also includes anniversaries.
3. Babysitter – Shared with my babysitter and husband. We update her on our schedule as needed and keep our dinner menu on this calendar for her to easily access amd for me to easily update.

Calendars I subscribe to:
1. Our school calendar
2. Us holiday calendar
3. Jewish calendar with candle lighting times (hebcal)

Oftentimes I also create events in my calendar as reminders to do things. This is especially helpful when I’m at work and know I need to do something later that night. Or when I need to remember to return/renew our library books.

BigOven/Out of Milk/Ziplist

I haven’t yet found a grocery app I love more than Ziplist (which was shut down), but a grocery list app that categorizes your items is a must for easy shopping.

Google Keep

Great for short checklists. Like for days I have off and need to accomplish a million and a half things.

Smart Siddur

Davening and bentching always by my side. I no longer carry around a small siddur or keep a bencher in my desk drawer.

Gmail

The email service provider I use. I love the social and promotions tabs – all of those promotional emails and emails from social media services are filtered out and in a separate tab from the rest of my email. I also apply labels to different emails as they come in so I can easily find what I need.

I also recently started using Boomerang which allows me to schedule emails to be sent and will also make an email reappear in my inbox when I need it.

Google Drive and/or Evernote

For whatever reason I use both of these apps to store similar types of information. I think I will eventually settle on one of them, but for now my “system” seems to be working for me.

I mainly use Google Drive to store medical forms, class lists, and random spreadsheets I occasionally need to reference.

I use Evernote to store smaller pieces of info, our library card numbers (so I don’t need the cards with me to check our accounts), random recipes I find online and Shabbos and Yom Tov menu plans.

And, so there you have- the top apps I use.  Which would you add to the list?

Until next time,
Shaindy