Stay Focused and Organized with these 7 Apps and Extensions

Being an online creator requires self-discipline and thoroughness, which are not always easy to maintain. Here are our favorite Apps and extensions to stay focused and organized.

However, some helpful people have developed products to make our work-life-from-home easier.

We tested and gathered some of our favorite tools and apps to help you stay organized and on top of your business day after day. Bonus: most of them are free!

• Block Site
  Purpose - Block Site allows you to block any webpage that you’ve previously listed as blocked. You can also set how long you want these web pages blocked. For instance, if you need to focus on writing a script or an article, you can black-list all social media and inboxes to avoid getting distracted. This resource is simple to use, and handy when you need to get one task done but can’t quite focus. 
  Link - You can download it as a Google Chrome extension 
  Device - Desktop or laptop
  Price - Free
  For whom - Anyone
  
  
• Cold Turkey
  Purpose - Cold Turkey freezes your screen and your entire device until you’ve gone through a set period of time or typed a set amount of words. It’s particularly efficient if you need to figure out an action plan, write a script, or create written content. We love the blank page that takes up the whole screen, and the little progress bar on top of the page that shows how much left there is to go. Most of the time, you’ll end up getting more work done than you intended. The magic of focusing!
  Link - You can download it on their website
  Device - Desktop or laptop
  Price - Free
  For whom - Anyone who has to write
  
  
• Focus To-Do
  Purpose - This extension enables you to work in chunks by setting a timer (25 minutes default) to complete a task. You can create tasks lists for the current day, tomorrow, or some day in the future. Assign time to each goal as you go. The list of completed tasks is a helpful way to keep an eye on what you’ve achieved so far. We love the little countdown that shows on the extension icon (top-right corner) once you set the timer.
  
  Assigning chunks of time to different parts of your day leaves you with a sense of achievement (even if it’s just 25 minutes of reading, 30 minutes of laundry, one hour of doing emails, etc.). At the end of the day, the app provides a grand total of how much time you spent getting things done and a breakdown of where that time went. 
  Link - Exists as a Google Chrome Extension or on the App Store
  Device - All devices
  Price - Free with in-app purchase
  For whom - Anyone who has lots to do, but never knows where their time goes.
  
  
• Habit
  Purpose - Create habits you want to track on a daily basis and grow your progress as you tick them off. We love that Habit is very visual and colorful, as well as intuitive. You can set reminders and motivational quotes for each goal. From your morning routine to your health practices to your work productivity, track your habits and see how each one affects your day. Seeing each percentage bar grow is very satisfying!
  Link - You can download it on the App Store
  Device - iPhone
  Price - Free with in-app purchase
  For whom - Anyone
  
  
• Preview
  Purpose - Preview is an app that allows you to plan your Instagram posts in advance, much like Later and Planoly. This is especially useful for people who run multiple accounts. However, the number of sessions is limited in the free version of the app. We especially love it for the “Preview” feature, which allows you to see how future posts would fit in your existing grid. The app displays all your previous posts, so you can add and move around your upcoming publications and get a sense of what works visually. 
  Link - You can download it on the App Store
  Device - For smartphones and tablets
  Price - Free with in-app purchase
  For whom - Instagram users
• Stir
  Purpose - Stir is a “financial studio” that enables online creators to keep track of their financial stats, and to send and receive payments. It gathers all revenue generated across all channels in one place, saving creators time and worry. At present, only invited users can make an account.
  Link - You can sign up on their website (registration is invite-only for now)
  Device - Laptops, smartphones, tablets
  Price - Custom
  For whom - Creators who were invited to use the platform
• Trello 
  Purpose - Trello is an e-calendar that lets you create to-do lists and calendars. We love the possibility of creating main categories, called lists (e.g. Personal, Admin, Chores, YT channel, IG account), and filling them with their corresponding sub-tasks and daily goals (called cards). This organization keeps the different areas of your life separated, while still compiling all the things you have to do. You can add deadlines to each card and display them with a weekly or monthly view on your calendar, which offers a great sense of all categories ranked by dates. Checking off the things you’ve done as they’re finished is very satisfying. You can even upload your Trello to your Google Calendar. 
  Link - You can download it on the App Store
  Device - Works perfectly on laptops, smartphones, and tablets
  Price - Free
  For whom - Anyone

Stay tuned for more articles to help you run your career as an online creator!