Does your Youtube search history include phrases like:
‘Help! What are the best apps for biz organization and send the glass of wine with it?’ 😉.
Or are you searching for organizing apps on Google, while brushing your teeth before the bedtime, hoping to find a solution to your, let’s be honest, chaotic schedule?
Well, Kristina from a few years ago would be raising her hand, guilty as charged!
As a food photographer and a graphic designer I am running two energy & time demanding businesses. I used to struggle with keeping up with deadlines and tasks while also juggling family commitments as a mum of two and a wifey (to one, of course 😉).
I wish I had Monica Geller at my home, to keep everything organized, scheduled and written on a blackboard (and her lasagna would be nice as well 😉), but I discovered second best option.
In this blog post I’m revealing my top 8 workflow apps,
which save me lots of time and keep me up to date with my projects:
You know what they say: work smarter, not harder!
So, whether you’re a food blogger or a food photographer, who is developing the business, learning all the skills, taking the dog out, singing the bedtime songs and trying to take time to have a dinner date with a partner, keep reading!
Which workflow apps are the best
As an owner of two brands (Story on a plate food photography and styling & Designlicious graphic design) I love planning apps and the ones for automating certain tasks or creating custom workflows.
That way I can focus on more important aspects of your work, such as creating content, nurturing my newsletter community, writing blog posts like this one (thank you for reading!) or interacting with clients.
Overall, workflow apps are an essential tool for any creative business owner. By using the right workflow management software, you can stop loosing time during your work processes, increase efficiency and keep your head clear while achieving greater work results.
When choosing a workflow app, it’s important to consider your specific needs and limits.
Some things to keep in mind include:
- the size of your team or business, because organizing one person is different than navigating a team.
- Complexity of your workflows and level of you marketing efforts.
- Your budget and time you’ll need for learning how to use the app, which a progress as well.
- The level of automation and customization you require for your business and its communications.
Why you should use workflow apps for creative business
As a creative business owner, I have found that using workflow apps works as a magic wand of my fairy godmother.
Productivity boost: I use Trello to improve my productivity, keep my mind at ease, my head clear and boost my effectiveness.
Task Management: Workflow app allow me to easily manage my tasks and keep track of my progress. I can create to-do lists, set deadlines, and assign tasks to team members all in one place.
Project Management: Again, with Trello, I can easily manage multiple projects at once. I can see all of my tasks and deadlines in one place, which helps me stay organized and on track.
It also makes it easy for me to collaborate with my team.
We can:
- share files
- leave comments
- brainstorm new ideas
- assign tasks to specific team members
- send cute encouragement messages to each other ❤️.
This helps us stay on the same page, to keep our passion fired up and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goal.
Efficiency: Another app I use is ConvertKit, which is here to automatize my communication steps and eliminate unnecessary steps. I can automate repetitive tasks (welcoming new community members) and create templates for common sequences.
This saves me *so much* time and allows me to focus on creating new weekly emails.
Best 8 apps for organizing my creative business
Ah, I am creative soul, who loves the spontaneus instincts, sparks of inspiration
and flowy tempo while I create. But with so many things in my (only) two hands,
I realized a while ago I need some apps to help me stay on top of my game,
without sacrificing my free-spirited approach to work and life.
Those 6 apps are the ones I swear by and I use them every single day.
Each of these apps has unique features that make them valuable for different aspects of my workflow, from project management to automation to team collaboration. Let’s dive into the details of how I use each of these apps and why they’re so essential to my daily routine.
01 Adobe Lightroom: desktop + mobile
for photo editing
Quite obvious the first one, right?
With the arrival of their rival, I remained loyal to Adobe Lightroom, as they imporved their software drastically. One of the factors for my loyalty is the fact, I am very familiar with it and I got super fast over the years. Why change something that’s working great right?
I use the desktop version for editing all of my images, mobile version comes in handy for quick and easy edits on the go, for my personal photos mostly. I’m in love with the magic of photo transformation. It’s really a game changer in the world of photography.
I love making my own personalized editing presets, as they save me *so much* time.
Applying suitable presets and tweaking a few details is my go-to editing process.
Time saver for sure!
02 PhotoBulk:
to resize and optimize all photos at once
I stumbled upon this one just recently when my yearly subscription for another program expired. I soon discovered that this one is just as good as the previous one and is also very budget-friendly. It’s exclusively designed for Mac users, so you can find it on the Mac App Store.
PhotoBulk may not necessarily outshine other apps when it comes to basic image tasks like resizing or renaming. However, it excels at getting these tasks done without any hassle, offering a clean and swift interface that minimizes the time and effort required for mundane tasks like these.
It serves as a comprehensive image editor, allowing me to add watermarks, resize, and enhance image quality. It’s an easy-to-use tool, and the ability to save previous setups is a real time-saver, making it a valuable feature.
02 Adobe Premiere:
for video editing
I use it for detailed and elaborate desktop video editing. Adobe Premiere Pro is the video editing software that offers powerful editing capabilities, numerous effects, audio editing tools, and a customizable editing interface.
I love it for the freedom it provides with smooth transitions and its intuitive user-friendly software.
But I understand where you’re coming from; it may seem a bit intimidating at first, and the workspace is quite different from other programs. I have a confession to make. When I opened Adobe Premiere for the first time, it took all my willpower to explore it further. So, I closed it for a year. As I honed my skills with other programs, I eventually told myself, “Okay, Kristina, it’s time to try again. You’ve got this!” I’m still learning because there are so many features that I don’t know about, but it’s important to start slowly and take it step-by-step.
So, be brave and try again! You started to love video the same way as photography in combination with Adobe Lightroom.
03 Wondershare Filmora:
for video editing & screen recording
Wondershare Filmora is an excellent choice for those starting with video editing. It’s user-friendly, offers many compelling features, and maintains video quality at a high standard.
With Filmora, you can swiftly and effortlessly create videos from existing media or start from scratch using intuitive drag-and-drop editing tools, transitions, effects, and titles. The user-friendly interface ensures that even novice video editors can achieve professional-looking results.
Personally, I love it because it offers good value for money with its personal perpetual plan, which comes at a one-time cost.
Additionally, there is a mobile version available, which is incredibly convenient for quick mobile edits.
Wondershare Filmora also offers screen recording and I bet I don’t have to write again, how easy is to use. And trust me, I tried so many screen recording apps, which weren’t as good as this one.
Overall, Filmora is exceptional. It’s relatively fast, easy to learn, and provides enough advanced features to keep you satisfied for years. With each video I create, I often discover new tools or innovative ways to utilize the tools I’m already familiar with.
04 Video Smaller:
to reduce video size in no time
Ah, I love this little helper for compressing my video content in less than a minute!
Believe it or not, VideoSmaller is a free service that allows you to reduce video file size, compress video file size without losing quality. Maybe it looks a bit old school, but as long as I can
I use it to reduce the size for Pinterest videos and Instagram reels.
It supports MP4, AVI, MPEG, MOV video formats but the size limit of the original video is 500MB.
05 Trello:
to manage any type of project, workflow, or task tracking with my team
My one an only project management tool which allows me to be up-to-date with my team.
Trello allows you to have more than just 1 workspace (meaning more different group of collaborators), each is organized into boards, which can be divided into cards (each card means 1 task or one par of a project).
I’m more of a visual type and I like to see my projects tidy and organized the way that I have control and whole overview with less clicks. I tried many new and fancy apps (expensive and featured as the best organizing apps) but I keep coming back to old good Trello, which is in free version currently enough for my needs.
It is really transparent, easy to use and clear.
I love the file attachment and team member tagging feature. So simple and so helpful!
06 Tailwind:
to manage my pins
If you’re using Pinterest as a part of your marketing strategy, you’ve probably heard of
Pin scheduling program, right? I swear by Tailwind for it’s:
- efficiency,
- interactive features and
- simple scheduling outlay.
It’s not free to use, but well worth the money spend, as it can save you hours of manual Pin pinning each month. Love it!
Oh, and don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest.
07 Preview:
to manage & plan my Instagram posts
If there’s anything I like more, it’s when my Instagram feed looks neat and pretty. Monica would be so proud of me. Instagram is a great platform to use as a career portfolio and showcase your skills so it’s good to keep it up to date, interesting and in your own style.
Preview is the go-to visual planner for Instagram & TikTok.
But Preview it’s not just to make your feed look pretty, it also saves you some time when planning your post ahead. You can schedule just everything!
Key Takeaways
Workflow apps are necessary for your creative business so you can make life easier for you.
I suggest you not overwhelm yourself with too many apps which would take your focus away from the things you love the most. These apps are here to help you, not to complicate your work days.
As the apps are contributing to your workflow, the monthly fees could start to accumulate significantly. I recommend prioritizing payments for essential apps that cannot be easily replaced, and consider seeking out free or budget-friendly alternatives for those that are less critical or resource-intensive.
Streamline, automate, and simplify your processes to stay organized and efficient.