Whether you’re an employee working for a business big or small, or you’re a business owner, I think that working smart instead of working is so important. I first encountered this notion in middle school while helping to setup for a volunteer event. The older, wiser person helping me pointed out a much easier and faster way to accomplish the task we were working on and told me, “work smart, not hard”. I’ve come to always be a big believer in this, and always try to work more efficiently whenever possible. In my real world job working with business, I often espouse this idea when discussing a software automation recommendation.

With today’s modern technology there’s a ton of easy, cost affordable ways that you can work smart instead of hard. I wanted to share a few with you today. Hopefully these spur some ideas for how you can save time, energy and maybe money in your own life!

Asana – project management

You might have a team working in your office space or have everyone working remotely but whatever the case, every member needs to be on board when it comes to organizing and carrying out projects.

There’s nothing worse than endless meetings just waste time and the back of forth of group emails means it’s very easy for vital information to get missed off or lost in the trail and that’s where Asana comes in.

This software will transform your collaborative working. Get everyone set up and your project leader will be able to assign roles, check on progress and see the big picture as the project moves forward. 

The other great thing about Asana is that it integrates well with other software, so if your shared documents are on Dropbox you’ll be able to incorporate that into the Asana package. At less than $10 a month, it’s well worth signing up to.

Xero – accounting

Unless you’re a bit of a personal finance nerd like me, you probably don’t love recording the income and expenses in your life or work. However, spending time doing is a time consuming but necessary chore. If your business is more than just receipts for goods paid and involves more complicated accounting, such as dealing with bail bonds, then Xero is for you.

Get it set up and your accounts will run themselves. The software allows you to send invoices, deals with your tax and pays your staff. Allow your accountant access and they can pull out all the information they need. You’ll never spend time totting up the figures again with this helpful software.

Dropbox – data storage

Long gone are the days of saving things locally on your desktop or carrying around a thumb drive. In today’s fast paced world it’s important to have what the files you require whenever, wherever. This file storing and sharing facility allows you to drop all your documents into safe, online and easy to manage folders.

There is a free option if you’re storage needs are limited or a paid for version (guess which one I use?). Recently Dropbox has also introduced a feature called Paper which will also allow for collaborative working on a par with apps such as Google Docs.

Make your working life go easier with software that supports your business and allows you the chance to work on what matters while the logistics take care of themselves.

Take on software that manages the complex business of your accounts or gets your team working together seamlessly. Or software that allows you to store and share documents without the need for endless emails or reams of paper and copying. Think software that allows you to work smarter, not harder.

Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links that may earn me a commission.