MY TOP 5 APPS AND GADGETS TO STAY PRODUCTIVE ON THE GO

I’m a guest blogger on Elitemeetings.com. Check out this article that I shared about being productive on the go.

As event planners, we are always on the go. We’re traveling from airport to airport, taking site visits at random locations and working in the closest Starbucks we can find. It’s easy to feel like we aren’t being as productive as we are when we are in the office.  But, while there is nothing like sitting in front of your desk at the office, there are a lot of tools that can help you while you’re traveling. Imagine if you could be nearly as productive on the go as you are in the office. Here are my top five apps for event planners on the go!

Karma Wi-Fi
One of my biggest frustrations as I’m traveling is that I can never get access to reliable Wi-Fi. My client needs a document uploaded and it could take me hours just to try and find a place that will have a strong enough signal to upload the document needed. With Karma, I can take my hotspot on the go. And, the best part is that you pay for only the data you use. Rather then find a package through my mobile provider that gives me 2GB a month, I can pay only when I needed it. Let’s say I am working mostly from the office this month, I don’t pay anything. If I’m really busy and traveling a lot next month, I can use as much data as I need. It’s really flexible and reliable.

Dropbox
Dropbox is my favorite file storage platform. It allows me to upload the documents that I need on the go and share them, as needed. Their mobile app is great as well and I can access the documents I need, make changes, and re-share them with the appropriate people.

The Pages App
One app that I’m sure we all have is the Facebook app, but I would bet that many people have not downloaded the Pages app. For those of us who are managing our brand pages on Facebook, this app is a really great tool for checking notifications, responding to messages and making sure that we are engaging on a regular basis with our Facebook audience. I have found the general Facebook app to be incredibly underwhelming when it comes to brand management, so rather than waiting until you get back to your desktop to deal with a comment on your Facebook page, you can now do it while you are waiting for the train or sitting on the bus.

Slack
Slack is a new team communication tool and I love the ability to filter feeds, create conversations and eliminate email. This tool is designed for collaborating as teams so it’s a great option to use for your employees. It manages their conversations and keeps them in this platform instead of everything being in your email. And, their mobile app makes it easy to stay connected and updated on the go.

LogMeIn
Alas, I must admit that there are simply times where a mobile app has not been designed for one of the things that we need to do on our desktop. This app is great because it will allow us to log into our desktop from our mobile and access files that we need. Sometimes, there’s simply no greater answer then having direct access to your desktop.