Maximizing your productivity with your Android phone

When productivity matters, the system or process you have in place must keep up with your demands. For the mobile professional, carrying a laptop doesn’t always work out and is rarely the most convenient way to maximize your productivity. As for paper planners and to-do lists, their limited volume and capabilities quickly slow down even the best-laid plans.

Fortunately, the evolution of smartphones has reached a tipping point. Much more than a means of mobile communication, smartphones are a powerful and effective means of maximizing your productivity. I have explored and experimented with various smartphones and have landed squarely on the Android operating system. Not only to handle my communication needs, but also to help design and implement my organizational and productivity system.

Being a small business owner of a part time business, sales manager of a Fortune 250 international corporation, civil servant in my hometown, husband and father or two, my time needs to be maximized, productive and organized. With the help of a few apps on my Android-based phone, I am able to perform all the tasks I need for my business life and still have plenty of quality time for my personal life.

This is how I do it.

Google Apps

The Android operating system integrates seamlessly with many of Google’s free apps. The most important for productivity are Google Calendar, GMail, Docs, Tasks, and Voice. Each of these apps is free and only requires setting up a Google account.

Google Calendar automatically integrates and updates the calendar on my Android phone wherever I am. With the added ability to share my calendar, my business partner can view, edit, and add events to my calendar. These changes are synced directly to my phone. Since I’m rarely in my office, having live updates via the Google Sync app on my phone gives me the confidence that I always know what my ever-changing day is like.

The email inbox built into Android phones is capable of managing a number of my business and personal emails, including my GMail account. I keep my Gmail account separate from my other accounts as I use this account for personal use only. Keeping the personal and the business separate is a wonderful productivity enhancement made easy by the Android operating system.

Google Docs allows me to store files for future review, as well as share files to collaborate. Being responsive to my clients is critical in my field and having the ability to have collaborative files sent directly to my phone has allowed me to respond to clients quickly and accurately.

Google Voice is by far my favorite Google app. The Google Voice app, which is a free download from the Android market, works perfectly with my Voice account. Not only can I receive voicemail transcripts via email directly to my phone, but I can also set up multiple outgoing messages. I have messages specifically for clients, my business partner, family and friends, as well as strangers. The level of customization is incredible, and if used creatively, it can make an important client feel like they are the most important person in the world. Being able to manage and edit all of my Google Voice features from my phone is a powerful productivity enhancement that I now depend on for my business.

For those trying to use all the free Google apps, Astrid is a simple yet effective app that is free to download. With its ability to sync with your “Remember The Milk.com” account, the Astrid app can be automatically backed up and synced directly to and from your Android phone. Astrid provides a different level of control over Google Tasks and her simple and clean interface makes managing projects or task lists enjoyable.

Having used or owned many different smartphones, I feel confident in saying that the Android operating system and the myriad of Android apps provide the most powerful and effective combination available for enhancing productivity. Although there are many other apps for the Android operating system and other smartphones, this combination has worked wonders for me and my business. Also, every app I listed here is 100% free!