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Introduction
Are you constantly looking for that “perfect for you” app(s)? Whether you’re an illustrator like me or work in another creative field, I’m sure you’ve come across apps that have become your essential go-to’s. Do you enjoy watching those “What’s on my phone or iPad?” youtube videos? I certainly do. Over the years, I’ve found some great apps that I love to use, especially as a creator. Starting in no particular order, here’s a list of my favorite go-to apps.
1 Procreate
Hands down my favorite drawing app. One of the main reasons I love Procreate is because it’s like having a portable art studio at my fingertips. Procreate has truly replaced Photoshop for me. I love all of the features, default brushes, and the option to import free or paid custom procreate brushes. You also can’t beat the one-time $9.99 fee. Have you ever thought “Is it worth it to invest in the iPad and Apple Pencil to use Procreate?” Yes! It’s worth it!
2 Todoist
I’ve tried many note-taking/to do apps and Todoist is the main one I’ve stuck with. Back in the late spring of 2022, I was struggling to find something to use for project management. At the time I was using the free version of Todoist and then tried to jump on the Notion bandwagon. However, Notion just had too many distractions for my brain and I got stuck in the dreaded loop of customizing a setup; killing any hopes of being productive.
So I circled back to Todoist and viewed some tutorials on how others were using it and I decided to upgrade to the Pro Plan. The interface is not overwhelming, it’s a pretty straightforward app to create tasks, and projects with sections set reminders, and organize to your liking with labels and filters.
I haven’t mastered finding my productivity map for my days. Although, Todoist has been a great tool for me to help manage my neurodivergent brain.
3 Google Drive/Docs
Yes, I think I may be tied to the Google ecosystem for years to come lol. Anyway, I use Google Drive as one of my file backup sources. Whenever I complete an illustration project, I export different working file versions into folders I have organized on my account. Google Docs is my go-to for all my document writing needs e.g., writing this blog post. With cross-platform capabilities, it’s a very convenient resource for personal or business reasons.
4 Clockify
A recent find that has replaced Engross for me. If you’ve been looking for a great Pomodoro app check out Engross. I switched to Clockify (free) because it offers a better breakdown for keeping track of my project work hours in the timesheet feature.
In addition, you can put in your bill rate, and it auto-calculates how much your time is worth based on the project/tasks. It’s a great way to help gauge what to factor into your value-based pricing.
5 Dubsado
The CRM I was searching for months back in 2018. I’m so glad I came across this platform. I’m not going to lie Dubsado has a huge learning curve, but it’s worth the time to learn. There are tons of resources online via Dubsado blog, support, youtube, other blogs, etc. I love that it has everything for managing a business within one system. Such as creating lead capture forms, contracts, subcontracts, proposals, invoicing, client portals, and more.
When Dubsado had a Black Friday Sale (2018) I snagged the opportunity to get the now-grandfathered price of $25/mo. Want to streamline your workflow? Check out Dubsado.
6 Pinterest
In need of photo references or looking for a spark of inspiration? Well, Pinterest is the place to be. Don’t forget to use this platform for sharing your content as well. You can follow my boards if you’re curious about what I pin from time to time.
7 Instagram
Even though these days I have a love/hate relationship with Instagram, ugh the algorithm, I still use it to share my illustration work. Like everyone else, I miss the old days of IG when it was more of a photo-sharing app. My brain doesn’t have the energy to fight to keep up with all the new bells and whistles IG throws at us lol. It’s less stressful for me when I just post whenever I’m in the mood and do not worry too much about the “numbers”.
8 Twitter
Open, close, open, close. Yea throughout the day I lose track of how often I’m on Twitter in a death scroll. It’s mainly my mindless “entertainment” release when I want to stay in the know on what’s happening be it current events or random stuff. I’m the queen at “liking” and “retweeting”, with a few sprinkles of my tweets when something is on my mind.
9 Snapseed
For photo editing, Snapseed has been my go-to for several years now. It has a clean interface and provides some wonderful options when I need all the photos I take with my phone.
10 Spark
If you haven’t tried Spark as your email client, I highly recommend you give it a try. You can connect all your email accounts and each account is filtered out into a personal inbox, newsletters box, notifications box, and seen box. There’s also a pin section for any of those important emails you like to pin for later viewing.
I love that you can set a custom notification sound alerts for each email account. For my business emails, I set unique sounds so I know when emails are hitting that box.
11 Skillshare
Need to learn a new skill or need a bit of refresher, well Skillshare is a one-stop shop for all your educational needs. They have so many teachers offering a variety of classes from illustration, graphic design, marketing, and photography to plant care. Whatever you want to know Skillshare has a vast knowledge base of courses to choose from. If you’re interested, try out your first month free of Skillshare here.
12 Daylio
This is a helpful little mood tracker app. As someone who lives with an invisible illness, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Major Depression, and anxiety to name a few.
I use Daylio to help me track not only my mood but also my chronic pain symptoms and sleep habits every day. They offer a free and paid plan, I use the former and it’s a great tool to keep a record of how my days are going, and what might have changed physically, emotionally, or mentally.
You can set reminders for the app to check in with you throughout the day to log anything you would like to track.
13 Ynab
Keeping a budget became a thing for me back in 2015. It was a great habit to pick up, especially since that year I began my process of moving out on my own as a first-time homeowner. Chile, that’s when adulting truly kicked in when I had to learn how to maintain all of the house bills. And it’s also when the phrase “it’s always something” fell out of my mouth on the regular haha.
It’s never too late to get on that budgeting train and know exactly what your money is doing. You’ve got to give it a try!
14 Password Safe
For anyone notorious for forgetting their passwords, get a password app asap. My memory is trash so a password keeper is a must. Oh, try not to use one password for everything. I know, I know it would be so much easier, trust I use to do that. Although with how slick hackers are nowadays you got to get a bit more creative with your logins.
15 Amazon
Need I say more? Prime all day every day.
16 Spotify
Music is a must. When you need that little push to get you activated to start that task or project, turning on some tunes is a good motivator to get you going. I have an eclectic selection of playlists and podcasts I route through. I find if need to focus on something I go for the instrumental background music. Whenever I’m drawing or working on any sort of project or activity and in the mood to “sing” I say “Hey Google, Play music” and vibe out to my Liked Songs playlist.
17 Calendar
Just like my passwords, I need to have reminders set for everything, including bills. The default calendar app that came with my Samsung S20 FE easily syncs with all of my Google calendars to help me stay on top of doctor appointments, bills, meetings, and general reminders.
18 Reddit
Please don’t sleep on Reddit y’all. So many forums to join on any topic and it’s a great place to vent, read vents, and of course, get helpful answers to all your questions with anything you may need help on.
19 Fitbit
I got my first Fitbit back in 2019, I believe, mainly to track my sleep because being an insomniac my sleep health is an essential part of managing my pain and mental health. I recently upgraded to a Versa 2 after my Charge 4 decided to break on me. Even though the app can be temperamental at times I still find it useful to have and it meets my needs.
Till Next Time
Thanks for checking out my post. I hope you found some of these apps on my go-to list useful on your creative journey. I loved to hear about your favorite go-to apps that you use all the time.
Please share in the comments below.
~ Gigi
