Tablets aren’t just for fun. Paired with the right accessories and apps, your tablets can become real work machines. When properly incorporated into your business, they can boost productivity and help your business thrive. How can you make your tablet contribute more to your business? It’s just a matter of selecting the right applications and accessories to get the job done. Here are some strategies to turn your tablet into a powerful productivity tool.
Goodbye Games!
For the sake of your business, you need to get rid of the distraction of games on your tablet. Burying them in a folder won’t help when you know they’re there. If you don’t want to waste your time and want to be more productive, uninstall those games from your tablet!
Hello Keyboard!
One of the major disadvantages of a tablet is the lack of a physical keyboard. Using the tablet on-screen keyboard probably isn’t a good idea when you’re trying to handle several documents or do a lot of writing. This drawback can be overcome with a portable Bluetooth keyboard. This way you can easily respond to emails or edit documents. Investing in a good Bluetooth keyboard will improve your overall tablet experience and help you to be more productive. Some even come inside cases, so that you always have it available.
Organize your home screen
Keep your home screen simple and clean. Make sure all of your work-related apps are on the home screen. Organize other apps in the menu by using folders.
Work-friendly apps
Most tablets come with pre-installed apps – such as a calendar, calculator, email, clock/timer – and they can be productive apps. They have, of course, limitations and your tablet has the potential to do much more than telling you the time or helping with numbers. Here are some other productivity apps for your iPad or Android tablet.
- Dropbox: This app lets you store, synchronize, and share files online. You can gain access to your files or share them with your colleagues anywhere, anytime. And what’s more, it’s safe! With Dropbox installed, your tablet becomes a powerful device that enables you to bring up anything you might need for references while working. Alternatives include Google Drive and Microsoft’s OneDrive.
- Skype: Most businesses are starting to take advantage of the features Skype offers. Need to discuss something with your teammates? You can get in touch with them by using the instant messaging or group call features. Skype also allows you to share files with your colleagues with a simple drag-and-drop function.
- iWork: If you’re an iPad aficionado you’ll find that iWork boosts your productivity, with three combined apps – Keynote, Numbers and Pages – that can act as your entire office suite whether you’re in the office, at home or on the road.
- Aqua Mail: Aqua Email is an app that optimizes email management, especially if you have multiple accounts. The app supports Gmail, of course, but also many other email services, letting you keep an eye on all of them at the same time.
- WPS Office: WPS Office is a free Android productivity suite that stands up to competing apps, thanks to a solid feature set and simple, easy-to-use interface. The suite includes a word processor that lets you write, edit and save files, and email integration makes it easy to send and receive documents as attachments. Editing features include the ability to tweak text alignment, change fonts and colors, and insert tables.
- Evernote: Evernote is a powerful note-taking application that lets you manually enter notes, or dictate them verbally. You can also snap photos, create to-do lists and much more. And because it features text identification, the app can index typed and handwritten notes for easy searching later.
- Mint: Mint is a personal finance app that’s also a good tool for individual entrepreneurs who want to track spending and budgets. Once you add your bank accounts and credit cards, the app can pull in spending data and categorize your transactions. It even organizes your data in graphs and charts so you can see at a glance where your money is going.
- GoToMeeting: When you can’t meet face-to-face, video-conferencing is the next best thing. GoToMeeting uses the camera on your Android tablet to let you virtually meet with anyone and even participate in group meetings. It’s a good workaround for those times when an in-person meeting just isn’t feasible.
- Microsoft Remote Desktop: Microsoft Remote Desktop works like a direct portal back to your desktop PC, letting you view your full Windows PC desktop right on your Android tablet. That means you can view files and even run Windows applications such as the full versions of Microsoft Word or Excel, right on your tablet.
- CamCard: Even in the digital age, swapping business cards is still one of the best networking tools for entrepreneurs. But cards are easy to lose, and manually inputting all that contact information into your address book is a time-consuming chore. Thankfully, CamCard app can automate the process. Just point your iPhone or iPad camera at a business card and snap a photo. CamCard’s text-recognition software will extract key details like names, addresses and contact information, and then update your address book automatically.