Apps to Help Run Your Biz Archives - Your Chief Simplicity Officer

3 Solutions When Your Dropbox Is Full

‘My Dropbox is full because of the size of these files, and I cannot receive anything else.’

This is a common complaint when a group of people use Dropbox to share information, especially when the oldest shared info is never purged. Luckily, there are some easy ways to resolve this problem.

[Not familiar with Dropbox? See the description at the end of this post.]

In this case, the problem was a large photo file of an awards banquet shared with all members of the NAWBO-VC Board of Directors.

Here is the answer I sent to my fellow board members:

Here are three options when your Dropbox account is full:

1. Delete the [photo] folder from your dropbox. As long as you are not the original owner of the folder, this just deletes the photos from your account, not from anyone else’s account.

2. Download the file onto your computer and remove from Dropbox.

3. Have a friend, relative or colleague open a new Dropbox account (free for both of you) and that gives you additional storage. They don’t have to use the account (and it does not share any of your folders with them), but as long as they create a new account, you get more free storage. To do this, open Dropbox on the webpage, click your name at the top right, click ‘settings’, then click “account’. Scroll down and you will see the ‘invite a friend’ option. [hint: my sister ‘invited’ her 12 year-old son and got extra storage that way].

Here’s a link to Dropbox help with more information on what happens when you delete a shared folder.

What is Dropbox?

It’s a free way to store and share large photos, docs, and videos files (i.e. too large to email) with others. You can send any file instantly to anyone, whether they have Dropbox or not. Anything you add to Dropbox will automatically show up on all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website — so you can access your stuff from anywhere.

Why use Dropbox?

I use Dropbox to share files with my virtual assistant, a business partner, my sister, and the aforementioned board. I also created a file of head shots, so it is easy to share them with a link when I am asked to speak.

If you’d like to open a free account, use this link and we’ll both get 500 MB of bonus space – so neither one of us will have to worry that our Dropbox is full.

Filed Under: Apps to Help Run Your Biz

Review of the Chronos Time Tracking App

By Maura Raffensperger Leave a Comment

The big issue with most time tracking software is that you have to remember to click it on and off with each task. Frankly, most people forget to do this consistently. That’s why I love Chronos.

A little background: One of my clients was spending 2 and 1/2 hours a month creating her client invoices. She had a bookkeeper, but could not delegate this task because she (my client) did not have a consistent way of keeping track of time spent on projects for each client. I suggested Chronos to keep track of actual time spent onsite with her clients.

Chronos is an free app (available for iPhone and Android) that runs automatically in the background of your phone to track everywhere you spend more that 15 minutes. It even tracks your ‘in-transit’ time. Just carry your phone with you and Chronos will automatically capture where you are and what you are doing – as long as you are not in airplane mode.

When I turned on airplane mode because I was in a movie, the app showed me ‘in-transit’ for the travel to the theater, in the theater, and from the theater. You can go back into the app on your computer and add the time you were in the theater, but it’s a bit of a pain. Still, as long as you are not in airplane mode, the app is remarkably accurate.

It’s also not a full-featured time tracking app, as it only allows you a limited number of categories, which you cannot edit:

Home
Work
Social
Exercise
Errand
Transit
Educational
Spiritual
Sleep

This would make it troublesome to track time spent on individual clients while you were in your office, but perfect for tracking time spent at a client’s workplace and/or time spent traveling to/from a client.

A benefit I was not expecting was the sleep tracking. Like most people, I should be getting more sleep. The sleep tracking is ingenious; simply flip your phone face down when you go to bed, then turn it over when you wake up. Seeing my actual sleep time in the personal infographic Chronos creates from the data it is capturing from my phone is (excuse the pun) a real eye-opener.

Chronos also allows you to set goals, such as:

Go to sleep before midnight
Go to gym for 30 minutes
Spend time with friends

What I love about the Chronos App:

It runs automatically, without me having to remember to turn it on/off.
It’s free
It tracks my sleep
It allows me to set goals, and lets me know how I have done in personal infographic

What would make the Chronos App even better:

Allow me to add goals not in the list
Allow me to add new categories (such as volunteering)

Best uses for the Chronos App:

Keep track/verify time spent with clients
Set a sleep goal
Keep track of actual travel time

Available for iPhone and Android. Download from your app store, or go to GetChronos.com on your computer.

Filed Under: Apps to Help Run Your Biz, business management, time management Tagged With: sleep, work-life balance

Overwhelmed With Your To-Do List? Try Trello

By Maura Raffensperger Leave a Comment

Overwhelmed with To-Do’s?

One of the most powerful tools you have in dealing with an overwhelming to-do list is your goal list. Post your goals where you can see them as you work; when you have too many tasks to accomplish in too little time, look at your goals, and prioritize the tasks that move you closer to attaining a goal.

But, ah, you say, my list of goals is almost as overwhelming as my task list! Read on for some solutions to your dilemma.

Aarg! My Goal List is Overwhelming

Here are some tips to solve that problem:

Don’t confuse a goal with a task. A task is something that moves you towards a goal. Calendar a task, or write it on a separate “to-do” list.
Trello is a wonderful (free!) tool to keep track of tasks and projects. I made a 5 minute video to get you started with Trello. It’s so easy to use, that may be all you need. Watch the video.
Limit your goal list to 3-5 goals. It’s great to brainstorm a long list of goals, but that’s only your starting point. Your next step is to highlight those goals which are most important to you, then try and combine similar ideas into one goal.
Sometimes it makes sense to work on one goal before taking on another; in that case, put the only the first goal on your short list (the one that you see daily). Keep the brainstormed list in a file; when you attain a goal, revisit the long list and add a new goal to your short list.
Make your goals measurable.

Filed Under: Apps to Help Run Your Biz, Getting Stuff Done Tagged With: Trello