Schedule Meetings More Easily With Better Tech Tools

There are many different commitments and responsibilities vying for our time… Clients, family and friends, business development, volunteering, personal growth, exercise, meditation, eating, sleep and more! When scheduling time with others, the back and forth communications can be overwhelming. What if there were tech tools to simplify and streamline this process? Well, you are in luck!

If you are scheduling a one-on-one appointment with someone, whether that's an individual or a team you are consulting, these tools will help:

- Acuity Scheduling --- automate client bookings, cancellations, reminders and payments as well as offer online sales of gift certificates

- Booking Bug --- multichannel bookings, event ticketing, customized booking journeys, appointment outcome analysis and CRM integration

- Calendly --- clean, simple, beautiful way to set your availability preferences and share a link to your calendar; then, after others pick desired times, they appear automatically on your calendar immediately

- Meetin.gs --- beyond simplifying scheduling, allows accessing meetings on-the-go to view details, respond to requests, receive notifications and connect via teleconferencing, Skype, Google+ Hangouts or Lync

- Pick --- compare calendars, regardless of email domain, and choose to share calendar link or use iOS app to schedule meetings on-the-go

- SchedFAST --- integrates receivables; provides email and text notifications for appointment confirmations, reminders and payments received; can import entire customer list and allows for multiple team member activity

- ScheduleOnce --- easily integrate booking page into your website, from which customers can book directly to your calendar from any device

- Setster --- include confirmations, reminders, cancellation and rescheduling options; allows requesting payment via PayPal; integrates with FreshBooks

- TimeBridge --- integrates with Outlook or Google, including maps; handles unlimited changes, rescheduling, cancelations, notifications, reminders, location details, conference calls, video conferencing and time zone sync

- Time Trade --- schedule appointments through any channel, like website, email, phone and social media; can include concierge and analytics

- Vcita --- much more than simply online scheduling with live portal to cull together inquiries, CRM, online payments, document sharing, widget with dynamic call-to-action for website, custom forms and tons of integrations

- Vyte.in --- see invitees' availability alongside your own; can suggest places directly from calendar inquiries; invitees don't need to have own account

- YouCanBook.me --- integrates with Google and iCloud calendars via your own personalized scheduling page; bookings go straight into your online calendar with reminders, payment options and rescheduling available

If you are pulling together a group of individuals for a meeting, team practice or volunteer session, there are plenty of tech tools that can help... In each of the following solutions, whoever will be hosting the event, meeting or gathering goes to the website, enters date and time options and gets a link for soliciting feedback from potential attendees; then, those being invited click through the link provided to indicate which of the options provided will work. I highly encourage anyone hosting to specify a deadline for providing feedback when sending out the indicated link, after which you can go with whichever option got the most votes. No back and forth. No email overload. It's a simple and direct way to save time and limit stress in scheduling.

- Doodle

- Meet-O-Matic 

- Need To Meet 

- WhenIsGood.net 

- When Should We 

Why waste time going back and forth with folks to simply set time for later? Why reserve time for something that will end up happening at some other date and time? Let technology aid your efforts so you can use your time for that which better aligns with your goals and needs, boosting your outputs and enhancing your peace of mind. Add these links to your email signature or website, and you'll move towards simplified scheduling immediately.

Have you tried any of these tools before? What technology do YOU utilize for setting appointments and scheduling meetings? 

Just a Few of My Favorite Tools...

With NBC airing a live production of The Sound of Music on December 5th, I can't get that song "A Few of My Favorite Things" out of my head. Therefore, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite apps. As I often repeat, there is no one-size-fits-all for organizing so there are many alternatives that might better suit YOUR unique needs; I preface this post with the caveat that these are just the apps (and one website!) that I currently can't live without, all for Android & iOS alike. Here are a few of my favorite tech tools:

1. Evernote - Online research, articles to review, ideas for upcoming workshops, client notes, checklists and much, much more... There's just too much for my little brain to remember, which is why Evernote's ability to help me "remember everything" is vital. My information syncs real-time between all my devices, and I can quickly locate what I need when I need it. Amazing tool!

2. Dropbox - Whether it's a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation or PDF image, when I'm traversing the state, it's important to be able to quickly and easily access what files are needed; plus, many files are too large to email while many recipients are frightful to open unexpected attachments. Dropbox solves both issues: I can store files in the cloud to share between devices and easily share with others.

3. EasilyDo - This "smart assistant" helps me get things done, like joining a conference call with one tap, sending birthday wishes, keeping my travel documents handy and automatically updating changes to my contacts. Yes, Siri is a great option for iOS while Google Now helps Android users, but EasilyDo gives me another boost.

4. Square Register - I'm often meeting clients in your own offices or out at a public location, making it imperative to have a tool for collecting credit card payments while out-and-about. Square is easy to use and reasonably priced.

5. DocuSign - In my effort to limit paper, DocuSign has become more and more a part of my day-to-day workflow, allowing clients to sign off on agreements remotely and me to keep those signed documents in an electronic form, whether in Evernote or Dropbox.

6. Dolphin Browser - This free, mobile web browser is customizable, allows for voice and gesture controls, offers extremely fast results and includes the ability to save / share content to Evernote, Facebook and Twitter.

7. AroundMe - With all my traversing across North Carolina, this app helps me quickly locate the closest coffee shop, gas station, movie theatre, parking deck, restaurant, supermarket or bank, allows me to search for specific businesses in the vicinity and shows the local weather report for wherever I might be located.

8. Skype - Meeting virtually with clients nationwide requires a tool for face-to-face connections without having to travel any further than the screen of my tech tool. Quick, easy and free = an awesome combo!

9. WRAL's Sports Fan - As a fan of the David Glenn Radio Show broadcast noon - 3pm statewide, I like to catch what portions I can between appointments or while working on my Mac. Sometimes, I'm not in a position to listen to it on the radio, but this app makes it possible to catch the broadcast from wherever I'm working.

10. PaperKarma - Want to cut down on the mail coming into your home or business? No need to go through the hassle of Catalog Choice... Just scan your address from the mailer into PaperKarma and block future mailings.

11. Doodle - Committee meetings, client sessions with corporate teams, planning appointments with those supporting my business efforts... There are countless times I need to schedule face-to-face commitments with groups of people. With Doodle.com, folks vote for which suggested option works best, and we schedule the meeting for whatever date / time works best for most.

12. MusicID - As someone who enjoys many different kinds of music, I'm often hearing a tune I like and wondering about the title / artist. When in doubt, I open MusicID, click "Identify Song" and hold the phone near my speakers. Very quickly, all my questions about the song are answered, and I can hop to iTunes to buy it.

Which are your favorite apps? And which are the apps without which you just couldn't survive?!? Please comment below and share this post with those you think would enjoy these helpful tools.