With Christmas behind us and New Year’s coming up fast, it feels like an appropriate moment to give a shout-out to some of the things that have kept us informed and highly functional over the past year. Here are some of the apps and websites that made our day-to-day schedules run a little smoother, our commutes feel a little shorter, and our digital lives stay a little more organized. Hopefully by sharing some of our favorite tools and how we use them we might give you some ideas for your own productivity in the new year.
Apps:
Pocket – IOS/Android/Web
“I use the app Pocket to save longer articles that I want to read later. I can save articles directly from my browser or social media and read them via my phone, tablet or desktop. I’m not bothered about standing in line anymore, because I know that I always have something to read (even when I don’t have cell reception).”
– Rachel Bowes, Director of Digital Marketing
Any List – IOS/Web
“Any List allows me to make and share lists with others. It is invaluable for collaborative to-do lists and grocery lists.”
– Caitlin Frank, Responsive Web Designer
Weather Underground – IOS/Android
“I’ve fallen in love with Weather Underground’s mobile app. Being a data nerd, it makes weather prediction fun.”
– Gary Thayer, WordPress Developer
Venmo – IOS/Android
“Venmo has made life considerably less stressful. In the past when there would be an awkward shuffle for calculators and paying with multiple cards, now it’s a simple text and you’re good for it.”
– Mary Soule, Junior SEO Analyst
Audible – IOS/Android/Windows Phone
“Listening to audiobooks makes driving seem like less of a chore.”
– Matt Harrison, Vice President of Technology
Google Tasks – Anywhere you access Gmail or Google Calendar
“With the amount of things I need to remember for the many clients I oversee, Google Tasks makes it easy for me to keep short notes in a checklist style format.”
– Beau Haseltine, Small Business Group Coordinator
Magicseaweed – IOS/Android/Windows Phone
“This app allows me to check the surf forecast anytime, anywhere.”
– Marc Breglio, Paid Search Manager
Websites:
CSSTriggers – http://csstriggers.com/
“This interactive chart shows all the work that a browser has to compute based on which CSS property is being used.”
– Tim Howe, Lead WordPress Developer
WooRank Tool – http://www.woorank.com/
“The WooRank tool is a free service that analyzes websites and gives suggestions on how to fix aspects that it determines to be incorrect or sub-optimal. This includes text to HTML ratio, use of keywords in content, social mentions, backlinks, and more. It’s great for taking a first look and doing a final check of a site.”
– Mike Johnston, Director of Web Performance
The Next Web – http://thenextweb.com/
“I use this site to help keep me up on industry tech and web news. It has articles that touch on electronics, devices, programs and operating systems, and the occasional SEO article.”
– André McKay, Technical Search Manager
Codrops – http://tympanus.net/codrops/
“This is my favorite website for discovering fresh and creative ideas.”
– Jessica Lavoie, Front-End WordPress Developer
BuiltWith – http://builtwith.com
“I use this site any time I want to find out which technologies are being used on various websites.”
– Jonas Levasseur, Vice President of Operations
Google – http://google.com
“I’m not really an app person but sometimes I use Google when I need to find things on the Internet.”
– Tom Hall, President