With 2019 upon us, you are probably looking to make some changes to your productivity and organizational toolkit. The start of a new year provides a great opportunity to onboard new project management tools, discuss new platforms to adopt, and discuss new strategies. New tools are released all the time, so making sure your business is keeping speed with the latest technologies is vital to your success in the digital age. The start of 2019 is a perfect time to beef up your toolkit. Here are 8 tools for staying organized in the new year.
Top Tools for Planning for 2019
1. G Suite
One of the most powerful free online tools with endless possibilities, G Suite offers a whole host of functions for everyone from the small business owner to the college student. G Suite by Google includes Drive, where you can store images, collaborative documents, and folders, Sheets, which stands as the Google version of Excel, Docs, where you can write and save written documents, Slides, where you can create and share powerpoints, and Calendar, where your schedule can be easily entered and viewed. One of the most valuable functions of G Suite is the ability to get secure and private email addresses for your business, which although comes at a small expense, is more than worth it to build customer trust. Also included in G Suite is Hangouts, where members of your team can communicate and touch base easily. G Suite is an essential tool for any small business owner in 2019.
2. Perch
Does your social media need improvement? Are you constantly losing customers to competitors? Then the free Perch by ThriveHive app is perfect to kick off your 2019. Perch is able to track social posts and new reviews for your own business, as well as competitors, in one app, and is available for iOS, Android, and on the web. Perch also sends out weekly recap emails with the most important news and activities, helping your business stay on top of your social presence.
3. Asana
If you struggle with project management, productivity, and organization, Asana is another great free tool to help you organize and distribute your projects, tasks, and responsibilities. Asana allows for users to easily create teams and invite members to collaborate on the same projects and assign tasks to different people. Asana also has options to mark tasks and projects as complete and in progress to easily track workflows, and integrates with lots of other tools, such as Slack and Gmail. Asana is a perfect addition to your 2019 toolkit.
4. Trello
Trello is similar to Asana in the project management aspect but carries some different features as well. Trello is organized into boards with cards that contain tasks and itemized lists within each card. Cards can be dragged and dropped between different boards, such as “in progress” versus “completed”, users can be assigned to each card or board as needed, and attachments can be easily added. Trello is also free and can be useful for a variety of functions.
5. Canva
You don’t have to be a graphic designer to create graphics for your small business (although graphic designers are pretty amazing!). Canva is an easy to use application that can help you to design beautiful cards, Instagram posts, or other branded content. Whether you are in need of print or digital media, Canva is able to fit all your small business needs, and can easily be used for everything from holiday cards to graphics for your website. Canva comes with preset sizes and backgrounds to easily craft the perfect design for all your small business needs in 2019 and beyond!
6. ThriveHive Grader
Creating a Google My Business listing can help you get found by customers, improves your website SEO, and boosts exposure. We know that Google My Business is one of the most powerful tools for any small business owner, but how do you know you’re using it to its full potential? That’s where the ThriveHive Grader comes in. The ThriveHive Grader evaluates your ability to be found and presents you with a grade and asses your Google My Business Profile health. The Grader divides your score into 3 categories, presence, reputation, and outreach, to help you find your problem areas and improve. The ThriveHive Grader is a great, free tool that will help to improve your Google My Business Listing and get your 2019 off to a great start.
7. Grammarly
If you often struggle with proofreading or find that you make more mistakes than spellcheck can handle, then Grammarly is for you. Grammarly is a free extension for your browser that will monitor and enhance all your documents by correcting your spelling, grammar, and language. Rather than a tool as simple as autocorrect, Grammarly can pick up on the context of your messaging and make suggestions, correct spelling mistakes, and even email weekly insights regarding your typing and writing abilities. Grammarly is the perfect tool to kickstart your 2019.
8. ThriveHive 2019 Marketing Calendar
There’s no better way to prepare for 2019 than by making sure your marketing calendar is up to snuff! The ThriveHive 2019 Marketing Calendar is completely free and includes social media suggestions, holidays, monthly tips for small business owners, and promotional and blogging ideas. The ThriveHive Marketing Calendar makes it easy for your social media to be amazing all next year and is the perfect content addition to your 2019 toolkit.
While adopting new tools may seem scary or overwhelming, the beginning of a new year is a perfect time to make those changes! You don’t have to use all of the applications mentioned above, but starting with a few may really help you to cut down on lost time and be more productive. With some new additions to your project management and organization toolkit, 2019 is sure to be your best year yet.
Looking to kickstart your 2019 with more great marketing ideas? Download the 2019 ThriveHive Marketing Calendar below!
