There’s an App for That

“There’s an App for that.” We’ve all heard these words before and maybe even said them a time or two. Apple coined the phrase in their 2009 iPhone 3G commercial, and it stuck. The thing is, it’s true! If you can think of a need you have on your Smartphone or tablet, there’s most likely an app that can do it for you — and if there’s not, there might be some money in it for you if you can create it!

We use apps in our daily life for everything from entertainment to news and keeping our lives organized. Many of us at the Academy have some favorite apps we use for a variety of purposes. We thought it would be interesting and informative to tap into the everyday lives of some of our Academy team Members and ask them — What apps make your life a little easier or more entertaining?

To start things off, I’ll share my favorite app. I’m a super user of the Google Drive app. I have it on my Smartphone, tablet, and use it on my work and home computers.

The thing I love about Google Drive is the ease with which you can create and share documents with friends or team Members. Since the Recruiting/Marketing Department at the Academy is made up of several individuals who are all located in different geographic areas, creating many of our reports that need to be kept up on a weekly or even daily basis is as easy as creating a new document and sharing it with the individuals who need to have access to it.

Not only can they then view the document on any devices they have Google Drive installed, but they can also make changes to the document on behalf of the team. Other team Members can then view the document with all the changes and can see what changes have been made since they last viewed the document. It’s a great way to keep a collaborative list or report going without several different versions floating around and confusing your team.

Similarly, I use Google Drive for personal use, as well. When planning a dinner party, to keep a collaborative list of attendees and who is bringing what dish, my friends and I use Google Drive so we can all see what others are bringing and what items still need to be claimed for the dinner. Often, the host of the dinner will put instructions about times, dates, parking, and attire on the Google Drive list as well, so everyone has it at their fingertips. It’s much easier than trying to send emails back and forth and then trying to find the most recent email when you need it quickly.

The Google Drive app makes my life easier and more cohesive from the office to the comfort of my home. For teams who are separated by distance, I strongly suggest using Google Drive to store the documents that help keep your team organized and on the same page.

Kathryn Adams
Public Relations Manager
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com