Six of my favorite apps (Luke)

I know we all have certain apps that we use more than others. In today’s article, I am going to briefly review six of my favorite mobile apps. Hopefully, some will be new to you or I might shed some light on unique ways that I use them throughout my day.

Smartnews

I used to struggle with keeping up with current events in all of the categories that are relevant, important, and interesting to me. Smartnews is a great news app that makes it easy to keep up with everything going on in the world. You can pick the topics that you want to learn more about or that interest you (Top, Local, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Politics, Sports, Business, Technology, etc.) and it will aggregate relevant news articles and videos for you. The really cool part about it is that it learns what you are most interested in as you use it and it alerts you if it thinks you might like it (it works really well too)!

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smartnews-local-breaking-news/id579581125

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.gocro.smartnews.android&hl=en_US&gl=US

Truebill

As a relatively recent college graduate, I needed a way to keep up with my finances and be more considerate about how I was spending my money. Truebill is really simple and it keeps up with all of your expenses and even gives recommendations on things you might want to cancel like unused subscriptions/services.

I think it would be great for coaches to use for their teams so they can know exactly where they are spending and how they can keep track of expenses on a daily basis.

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/truebill-budget-bill-tracker/id1130616675

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truebill&hl=en_US&gl=US

Reminders

I use the reminders app on my iPhone almost every single day. It’s a great way to ensure that random tasks that come up throughout the day/week are completed at some point. I use it for work, personal life, and even to remind myself when a TV show or movie is going to start. Below is a link to set up a shortcut called back tap on an iPhone. This feature makes it easy to access shortcuts on an iPhone (taking screenshots, talking to Siri, etc.). I use it to get Siri’s attention so I can set reminders faster (and you don’t have to sound weird by yelling “Hey Siri” throughout the day).

Article with step-by-step instructions for iPhone back tap: https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/23/21300157/ios-14-hidden-feature-back-tap-accessibility-custom-commands

iPhone: Already downloaded

Android: Not available

Trello

Trello is an app that helps you stay organized. It is basically a to-do list on steroids. You can create tasks that you need to do, are doing, and have completed. You can customize each task with descriptions, set reminders, and it is super easy to use. Out of all the apps I use, I think Trello’s user interface is the best. It makes it fun and engaging to complete your to-do list throughout the week.

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trello-organize-anything/id461504587

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trello&hl=en_US&gl=US

Instagram

Instagram is my favorite social media platform at the moment. It’s an easy and engaging break from my day to check out what my friends and family are up to, watch engaging content, and even communicate with others. The new “reels” section of the platform is pretty addicting and it has some great content.

It is also an incredible tool to market your program, your team’s culture, and communicate with potential recruits.

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/instagram/id389801252

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram.android&hl=en_US&gl=US

Google Drive

I use Google Drive a lot when I am on the go and need to stay up-to-date with work. It’s pretty incredible that we can work from so many different platforms/devices throughout the day and easily access that work from our phones. Google Drive definitely helps me stay productive throughout the day if I have some time or I’m not near my computer but need to do some work.

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-drive/id507874739

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs&hl=en_US&gl=US

Hopefully this article gave you some insight on some mobile apps that you might enjoy or potential different ways of using apps you already have downloaded. Thanks for reading!

Luke Lechner is one of the co-founders of Advanced Recruiting Intelligence (ARI), a next-generation software for college coaches to not only track their conversations with recruits, but also measure their interest in their programs using proprietary tools. For a free demo to see how it works, and why so many coaches are switching to this new way of monitoring their prospects’ path through the recruiting process, click here.