Every single person I know who does social media just for personal pleasure believes that content creation and distribution is easy. It’s frustrating because those of us in the trenches, the #bossbabes who build community, speak on brand, and share our products services with the world, we know that building an online business on the various social platforms can be super overwhelming. It can cause our productivity in other areas to sink (because who among us does social media as a  full-time job???) if we’re not careful about the time we spend planning content: its creation, publishing and marketing,

So to get the rest of your year right, I rounded up the best goal setting and productivity apps that I use to keep me on track. Some of these apps I’ve used for years, others I’ve only tried in the last two months or so and they’ve become my bible.

All of the apps I recommend below are used in conjunction with my Social Media Planner because as tech-driven as I am, I’m still very much someone who enjoys soulful planing with just pen and appear.

If you have numerous to-do lists floating around on your smartphones, notes apps and scribbled on pieces of paper everywhere then you’ll love this simple and effective to-do list app that allows you to jot down your tasks on the go, in one space. I discovered any.do just before the Christmas holidays and I have used it every single day since.

Several things had made this app my fave end-of-year find:

It is has a clean, clutter-free design

It syncs with Siri as well as the Apple or Android calendar

It has a  one-stop functionality for organising all your lists; this is especially important if you’ve been yearning for some sanity in your overextended day.

Best of all it comes with a YouTube tutorial that makes the uptake seamless and fast.

Goal digging is always about consistency. Ok! We all know what happens at the start of the New Year. We set goals and by the end of June, we hardly remember what they are. Here’s the beauty of this app, if you are working towards an art exhibit or a conference or the launch of a new product, the Momentum app will not let you get sidetracked along the way. It gently nudges you to complete added actions daily your and as your  “chain of habits” grow longer, (the visual dashboard is the real game changer )  you are less likely to quit and more likely to succeed. Momentum allows you to set goals, form new habits and stick to them. Who doesn’t want that?

Planoly continues to be one of my preferred programs for managing multiple Instagram accounts but it also works really well if you’re posting to just one account as well. The gem about this app is that you’ll be able to schedule out your Instagram content weeks in advance and if you’re an agency like us, then your clients can review what you’ve posted, approve it or have you go back to the drawing board. A personal favourite that I enjoy is the way Planoly allows me to set a colour theme by seeing how each photo fits into my grid. If it doesn’t fit, no problem, I shift around my images until my grid makes cohesive, visual sense. One key feature that most bloggers and brands love is how the app helps to maximize engagement by setting posts to launch at the best times for engagement even when you’re busy. The fact that there are metrics  to determine which visuals resonate with my followers is by far one of the best features that I love about this app.

Hashtags are nothing but a discovery tool. I have written quite a bit about their importance and how using mid-sized hashtags that aren’t over-the-top popular, and making sure you have thirty tags  per post are key ways to be discovered on Instagram. But let’s face it, who has time for all the research. This app will do it all for you. Here’s how it works. In the app, type in one hashtag and it will give you 30 related ones so you can cast a wider net. Brilliant! You can save hashtag lists to be used in future relevant Instagram posts and just copy and paste.

I’ve been a big proponent of Canva, an app that lets any novice become a graphic designer and if you’re really really good,  an art director. Ha! Let’s not get too ambitious and stick to being a graphic designer on the fly.  Like Canva, Over allows you to throw together a graphic for Instagram stories or create a quick flyer.  They offer so many options, so you can keep your social media on brand. Their templates are super high quality and I  think (shhhhh, I’m keeping this from our Creative Director) it’s easier to use than Canva.

Email drives me crazy, well not the art of writing them but the anxiety I feel upon opening my Inbox and seeing how many I have to handle. Spark is magic for teams and those of us with busy inboxes. The interface is both beautiful and simple. I’ve been scheduling emails to be sent later in the day and keeping my inbox lighter without thinking twice. But there is another piece to the magic the app helps to prioritize email with follow-up reminders and a built-in calendar. It also makes collaboration a breeze with email links and the ability to assemble an email with a teammate. You may end up liking it better than Inbox for Gmail and Apple Mail (but it syncs with any email provider you have). I’m still exploring it, I only found it in early December but so far, so good.

What are your favourite apps? Comment below, we’d love to know.