Today’s entrepreneurs are in for some risky business — so risky, in fact, that there’s only about a 50-50 chance your business will even make it to the four-year mark. That’s why you need to be employing every tool in your arsenal to get those creative ideas flowing and navigate troubled waters when they arrive.
Fortunately, there’s good news. Those tools are now just a quick download away. Here are some of the apps you can use in your daily life to get your mind into the right creative space:
Todoist
Creativity requires giving yourself the mental room to think. This means having a checklist system that actually works, because a cluttered mind doesn’t have the space to dance around and be creative.
Todoist is the go-to application for creating necessary items. With coordinated mobile, desktop, and web interfaces, Todoist is everywhere you want to be. It’s built to accommodate those who want to quickly get a list going, as well as those who need due dates, categorization, reminders, and more. Todoist can mimic how your brain approaches problems, and that’s invaluable.
Pixave
Once your mind is clear, you need to get inspired. Some people keep folders on their systems full of inspiring art, photos, or even literature, and that works for them. But sometimes, a piece of software will do the trick.
Pixave, like Todoist, lets the user organize things the way his or her brain works. Do you just want to use its in-app browser to find websites you like and save them? Great. Would you rather create dozens of nuanced folders, and then use the app’s robust metadata tagging system for easy search and discovery? You can do that, too.
Unstuck
If visual inspiration isn’t enough for you, there’s always the MVP of creativity: Unstuck. Available on the iPad and Web, Unstuck was designed by creatives to help jumpstart your problem-solving, creative mind.
You’ll answer a series of seemingly unrelated, provocative questions based on the category you believe to be blocking you. Then, the app suggests potential actions to help unlock a solution. Often, simply getting yourself out of a loop can help you find that magic answer.
Runkeeper
Get up, walk to the door of your building, and get moving. Apps like Runkeeper track your movement, encouraging you to keep reaching further and hitting new personal records — all while simultaneously enhancing your creativity flow.
Within minutes of starting your walk or run, you’ll find your subconscious mind start to take over, tackling the problem from a different angle. You’ll soon see the problem in a totally new light and discover a solution that you could never have achieved sitting at your desk for hours. Some of your best solutions could come to you while out for a walk. And Runkeeper can help you keep it up.