5 Apps for Executive Assistants to Simplify Their Lives

PaperKarma: Junk mail is inevitable. The minute you put your name and address on anything, you inevitably get inundated with catalogues, post cards, marketing collateral, and the works. You could spend 10-15 minutes—between getting connected and wait times— on the phone with each sender asking them to please remove you from their mailing list, or, you could simply use PaperKarma.

Open PaperKarma and take a snapshot of the junk mail you want to discontinue receiving. PaperKarma will contact the sender on your behalf to remove you from their list.  The app keeps track of everything you request removal from, and updates each as the removal process is complete.

Hipmunk: Compare multiple travel sites at once.  Okay, it’s not that innovative, but what makes Hipmunk special is that it gives users the option to rank flight options by taking price, flight duration and number of stops into consideration, removing the agony of travel coordination.  Users also have the option to save their preferred airlines or travel times.  In addition, Hipmunk allows users to integrate their Google Calendar into search and filter out results that conflict with already-scheduled events such as meetings or dinners.

Milo: If you’ve ever been in a crunch to find a gift on-the-fly, Milo is an app you want to keep handy.  Search for the item you’re looking to purchase and Milo will pull up a list of local retailers that have the item in store, including their asking price.  You can purchase the item directly through the app and simply pick it up.  This is a great tool for last-minute buys where buying online and shipping isn’t an option due to time.

Google Now:  Google Now scans your data and automates (automatically sends or “pushes”) important information that is relevant to what you’re doing now.  For example, if you have an event with complete information saved in your calendar, Google Now will alert you as to what time you have to leave your current location if you want to get there on time, complete with real-time traffic information and directions.  If you purchase movie tickets through Fandango, Google Now will pull up an electronic ticket for you as you arrive at the theatre.  Let’s say your boss and a business partner are travelling to Brazil on business, but your boss’s flight departs from Boston and his business partner’s flight departs from New York.  Google Now will update you on the status of both flights automatically, always keeping you in the know.  It anticipates your needs as you go, so the more information you put into it, the more efficient your experience will be.

Pocket:  The internet is an infinite library of media, and it’s impossible to make time to enjoy all of it.  Pocket allows you to save articles, videos, sound clips—basically anything digital—to your mobile device, and access it at a later time, whether you are connected to the internet or not.  Simply email the link of whatever media you want to save to add@getpocket.com.  Then, on your commute home or if you’re stuck in an area with no service, you can access all of those interweb gems you found throughout the day.  If you frequently find articles of interest for the executive you support, this is a great way to send him/her the information even when they’re in and out of areas with spotty reception.  You can add tags to articles to categorize them, and save them as favorites.  The app also gives the reader the ability to toggle between serif and sans-serif styles, adjust the font size, and left or center justify with the touch of a button.  Pocket is one of our personal favorites.