My Top 10 Productivity Apps and How They Help Me in Marriage

Like many wives, my days can get busy.

I weave in and out of different roles and duties in the course of a day.

I happen to love order and systems – not because I am perfectionist in nature – but because I love efficiency.

I love doing things well and on time.  

In the course of time I have discovered a few tools that keep me productive and forward-moving.

So today I’d like to share my top 10 productivity Apps and how they help me in marriage.

My top 10 productivity Apps and how they help me in marriage

1. Evernote.

I love Evernote and I use it for all my writing.

Evernote helps you store and organize things online.

What I love most about it is the ability to sync across all my devices: phone, tablet and computer.

I can draft a post on my phone (which am doing right now at 4.19am Friday morning), save it and then continue writing from the computer later in the day.

I love the “Web Clipper” tool, available on the Desktop version, which allows me to “clip” information from the internet and save it on Evernote for later reading or use.

I use the free version of Evernote but whenever I need more options, which are not available on the free version – I can upgrade  premium.

At 5 dollars month, no long term commitment – you can cancel any time – it’s a good deal.

My husband and have created a shared Note within Evernote where we save all our shared information.

From thoughts and discussions, to projects we are working on together (e.g right now we are planning a marriage conference in Kenya sometime next year. Update. Click here for more info ).

When I update something within the Note, he gets an email alert and we can discuss things later.

Really helps when it comes to keeping each other on the loop.

(Michael Hyatt has tonnes of free information on Evernote, you can read it here. Kent Sanders provides a service for anyone wanting to master Evernote, you can read up on that here.)

2. Wunderlist

Initially I downloaded this App on my phone to help me organize my daily to-do list.

But I am an out-of-sight-out-of-mind kind of girl – I must see my do list for me to actually follow through.

Having to reach for my phone to cross-off a completed task does not work for me.

So Wunderlist is my official grocery list maker!

Previously I kept a sticky note on my fridge where I entered/crossed off groceries as needed.

But now I just key in the items on my Wunderlist “Grocery” list.

The cool thing about it is that you can share lists, so I have shared this particular list with my husband and at any time he knows what we need to stock up in the house.

No more frantic end-of-day “Please pick up some bread and milk!” texts : )

(You will need to set up email alerts to get an email when a new item is added to a joint list.)

Really cool way to stay organized on the domestic end!

3. Google calender

I love my Google calender.

I store  important dates and reminders – birthdays, anniversaries, doctor appointments, work and ministry and personal commitments.

I will set up all and any recurring (yearly, weekly, monthly) on the calender as soon as it comes up.

The cool thing about the Google calender is that you can “invite” others to “events” you’ve created.

So either my husband or I will set up a reminder for an important date (“event”) and then invite one another.

We both get reminders  – through email and the actual calendar on the phone – when the event is due.

For example this week I set up some payments coming up for the blog and invited my husband – he brings home the bacon and needs to factor in these expenses into our budget.

Google Calender helps us stay connected and in the loop with one another – no “oops I forgot about that appointment!”.

4. Samsung phone alarm

I don’t know if my Samsung G4 phone qualifies as an App : ), possibly not.

But it I use it every single day for a myriad things.

It’s my kitchen timer for baking, my alarm for clothes in laundry. I’ve set up weekly alerts for some blogging work, who I need to call, important emails to answer for certain days.

It’s my little brain of sorts, reminding me   – with sound – small tasks that need to be completed and which are not necessarily recurring or overly long term.

My husband knows I am a “reminders” kind of person and will sometimes ask me to note things for him on my phone.

Cool way to be Help-meet!

5. Pandora, Amazon Music

I love music and have created different “stations” on my Pandora and playlists for my Amazon MP3.

My music categories are almost always “slow” and “fast”.

Fast songs are mainly for the gym.

And when my brain needs a reboot.

Slower songs are for any other time.

My husband loves music , much more than I do really, and it’s great to share the same music, discuss artistry, talk about memories from songs.

And sing really loud in the car.

6. Google Hangouts

I used to be Skype girl.

I still use it for interviews and a bit of coaching but after I discovered Hangout I’ve been grazing there a little bit more.

I am not tech savvy and setting up hangouts is rarely an event-free process. But it’s now my default for most things online which require community.

Lately my husband has been traveling quite a bit and Google Hangout has been our default system for talking “face-to-face”.

We chat and text during the day and then catch up “face to face” in the evening.

7. The Kindle

I love reading. So much so at one time it almost cost me my life!

I love thumbing through real paper and it’s taken a while to adjust to flicking through a screen.

I like that I have a wider library: I have more books on my kindle than I’ve ever had in real physical form.

There’s the down side to that of course – having more books than you’ll actually ever read.

So typically nowadays I only download books that I will actually get around to reading.

I have been trying to find out how to loan my husband books on his Kindle. I’ve heard it’s possible but I haven’t gotten around to Googling that up yet.

(If you know how to do that, let me know in Comments below)

By the way you don’t have to own a tablet in order to read books from Kindle – you can download the App to your smartphone or computer and then buy books right off amazon

Ebooks are almost always cheaper than paperbacks.

Or just take advantage of the many free books (and quality) out there.

8. You Version Online Bible

I love my physical Bible and but I’ve grown to love my online Bible.

I use the You Version online Bible mainly for Sunday church sermons.

I enjoy copying sermon Scriptures directly from the online App and pasting them directly into my Sermon Note on Evernote. I don’t have to physically write them out.

It’s also our default Bible when my husband and I are reading the Bible together.

9. Blue Letter Bible

Blue Letter Bible is an online bible study tool which “provides powerful tools for an in-depth study of God’s Word through free online reference library, with study tools that are grounded in the historical, conservative Christian faith.”

Basically this is what I used to do a more in-depth study of the Word. I use other online tools like Bible Hub & Bible Study Tools but this is my current favorite.

I am married to a Word nerd, he loves meanings and wants to understand the reason behind things. I am the opposite – I don’t need to understand everything!

So I love that I can sound intelligent when discussing things with him! And of course have a better grasp of the Word : )

10. Pinterest

This is more of a social media work App, more than a productivity App.

But I find tons of information to help my marriage and aid in my personal growth on Pinterest.

From recipes, to gift ideas, to workout routines to neat fun stuff and information for my marriage.

(by the way, are we connected yet? Follow me on Pinterest here!)

Funny thing I only got into Pinterest last year and like some other techy stuff my hubby introduced me to it…before promptly leaving!

But every now and then I still find interesting “Pins” to send him. We discuss new findings and discoveries.

One of the latest way it’s helped my marriage? Learning how to weather criticism together.

He doesn’t like it when people criticize  me online – which seems to be happening more lately on Pinterest. Talking about non-constructive/below-the-belt criticism here

I don’t like criticism either and my default response is to ‘lash’ back – ensure that I am heard. And heard real well.

So both of us are learning and growing in this area together. More grace, more love and tougher skin.

11. Plain ole paper.

Okay this is not an app! Rather, it’s my trusty ole sticky notes and notebook.

I use both to plan and organize my to do list (when I remember to write it down, that is).

Paper and pen are handy for those quick notes and details that crop up during the day.

Basically, these old fashioned pen and paper keep me efficient and productive as a wife and worker.

So there’s my Top 10 (or 11) productivity Apps and how they help in my marriage.

Do you have a favorite App (or App-like tool) that you use in your work/business/ministry which also helps you in your marriage? Do you use any of the ones I’ve mentioned? Please share in Comments below!

Linking with Messy Marriage, Wifey Wednesday, Titus 2sdays, we are That Family