5 Apps that Might Change Your 2023
The time between Christmas Eve and January 2nd always has some sort of weird effect on me. I don’t work much, I never know what day of the week it is, and I almost always partake in waaaaaaay too much junk food.
By the time today (Jan 2nd) comes, I am always ready to reset physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Often times for me that means looking at systems and processes for work as well as calendar habits. Leaning into the new season means an opportunity to leave behind bad rhythms, and a chance to change some things.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”
Maybe, this is the season for you to make some adjustments in your life and if you resonate with that we want to help. So today, I am going to share some of my most practical tools for productivity and change. Then on Thursday’s edition (sorry guys, that’s for paid subscribers only), I’ll share some of my favorite spiritual practices.
Calendly. This app has saved me hundreds if not thousands of emails over the year. Calendly gives you a link to share with people who want to meet with you and allows you to set different types of availability that you want to give people. For example, I have a link for pastoral counseling, a link for podcasting, and a link for follow-up appointments. Calendly automatically reads my Google Calendar (which I use for everything) and shows people my available times to me. The best gift is that it prevents me from overbooking myself and compromising on the time I need to do deep work.
WhatsApp. I love this book for the building of community. I use it with family overseas, small groups, and any group that I want to build community with, but also don’t want group text messaging. This is important because you can turn off notifications when you need some space but also gives everyone a platform to commune together on in a productive way. If you find yourself in more than a couple of group chats, you may want to consider moving it over to an app like this!
Evernote. I have been using Evernote for a decade. I’m in pretty deep, but I still use it weekly to make sure the content I am creating is organized and available. What I love most about this app is the searchability of the notes, tasks, and pictures. While Google Drive has become very competitive with Evernote the difference for me is adding tags to the notes. At this point, I have 8 years of sermons all in Evernote and tagged by book of the Bible. Which is great if you want to review what books you preach from most often. I also take pictures and put them in my Evernote as a way to remember things. I have one whole file just for whiteboards when I have been in brainstorming sessions.
YouVersion Bible App. As a church leader, one of your primary goals is to make disciples. And when time is limited making disciples is really hard to do. So, this app helps with that. I like to say - it helps me steal inches. I use this app to read Scripture with the guys I am discipling. I choose a plan based on their spiritual maturity and walk with them in the Scriptures. Plus, it has a comment section, so I get daily feedback on their commitment to Scripture. It is the best way to walk with someone when they don’t live in your house!
Google Calendar. Okay, this one is not revolutionary, but it is the most important thing you can use to save time. I’m hoping/guessing you already use a calendar, and so the only thing I want to add to this is a hack I learned a couple of years ago: Schedule time for yourself. I literally put in my calendar every week, “Content creation time.” This way, when someone asks to meet with me I can say that I already have an appointment, or when I send them my Calendly link it shows unavailable because something is already there. Also, something I started doing in 2022 that I will absolutely continue into 2023; I only schedule fun appointments on Fridays. I keep the day really light and don’t let something that could be damaging creep into my weekend. It has been such a huge gift to my family!
Those are my top 5 apps for 2023. I hope this list helps, and more than anything I hope it gives you a chance to look at what you are using to manage your own life. One of the things I have heard in twelve-step rooms over the years feels really applicable here; it works if you work it.
Praying for you and for 2023!