A couple weeks ago, I sold a bunch of my stuff in San Diego and hit the road again. After 2 years and change in SD, I needed to get moving again.
I’ve got a car with a few things in San Diego still, but for the most part, I’m on the road for the foreseeable future (or at least the next few months).
I’ve been in Barcelona for the last 2 weeks and will be here for 3 more before heading to Greece and Croatia (with Switzerland, Iceland and Amsterdam being wildcards that may or may not make the cut). I’ve got a couple other events and meetups coming up as well that you can find more about here.
Since I’ve downsized my office back into my backpack, I’ve had to streamline the tools that I’m using to get stuff done on the road and run my business while traveling.
Here’s a peek inside what’s currently running on my phone:
Social Media
Twitter is still my favorite social media of choice.
@joelrunyon / @impossiblehq / @impossibleorg
Instagram is where I’m posting most of my workout and travel photos.
@joelrunyon / @impossibleheadquarters
SnapChat is a behind-the-scenes view of what’s going on daily. A lot of the stuff that happens in-the-moment or doesn’t make it to Instagram. You also get the occasional rant when it hits me. I’m “joelrunyon” on SnapChat (click here to add me).
I use this to communicate with team members on 4 continents. Works flawlessly.
I’m trying to meditate more and make it into a routine. I’ve used this and Headspace, but this has shorter sessions so I’ve been using it more. #babysteps
I found this last week from Till. Super useful app to help you find local cafes to work from based on a variety of filters. I’ve been harping that this should be an app for a long time now and I’m pumped that it finally exists.
Team and Project management on the go. The hub for all of our projects.
The only app that I can use to help me organize schedules and actually stick to meeting times. The “meet” functionality is killer for 1-on-1 meetings.
Track your sleep and see trends with your sleep over time. Also, if you need a power nap in the middle of the day, their sister app PowerNap is perfect and gets you up before you hit a deep sleep.
Entertainment
For podcasts, this is the best podcast app by far. Great for long walks around Europe. Here’s some of my favorites:
- TropicalMBA
- Startup
- The Vertical with Woj
- Joe Rogan (every 5th one or so – theses are wayyy too long).
All my music. Anytime. Anywhere.
Fitness
There are a lot of apps that track a lot of different things, but they’re all separated and none do a great job of doing it all. Gyroscope is the first app I’ve seen that pulls everything together into one dashboard to see your entire life at once. It’s pretty awesome, still relatively under the radar and is designed beautifully. Check it out.
Run tracking with a crap ton of data. Great for cyclists too.
I totally stole this from app from Clayton. That said, this is a great metric for knowing where your fitness and recovery levels are at and to see how different factors are affecting you..
Helps me take all the photos I post on Instagram. Quick filters and tweaks to make each photo a little better.
Uber has a bigger footprint, but a worse reputation as sort of a shady company. I try to use Lyft where I can.
Showing no mercy to my ADD brain. Freedom cuts off access to a set list of apps and sites, so you don’t mess around or get distracted. I have this on desktop too. Totally worth it.
Bonus Track, Bonus Track!
Bullet Journal / Strike Thru Analog System
I’m going to do a full post on this here soon, but this offline system for tracking my daily action items has made me at least 3x more productive than any online app has to date. To date, nothing has made me more productive than an old school pen and journal.
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Did I miss anything? Any apps I should be sure to add? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for the article, very nice list of apps.
I’m waiting on the full post on Bullet Journal / Strike Thru Analog System. I find for myself if I’ll sit down in the morning and write down short list of things to accomplish today, this makes me productive. But I didn’t think about having EVERYTHING in written form. The only thing that I’m concern about – having 1 copy with no backups.
I have question not related to this post – how much do you spend on learning stuff vs executing and working on your business?
Nice list! Sunrise is one of my favorites too so I was disappointed when they said they were discontinuing support later this summer. Do you have any back-up apps in the wings to replace it?
Hey Joel, I see you are going to visit Greece as well.That’s awesome!
I live in Patras,Greece and I’d love to attend a meet-up in Greece if you arrange something like that(as long as the meet up isnt on a hard to access island).I’d also be glad to have you as my guest .I do understand you have your plans set allready but if you need any tips or info (about bookings,places to visits , islands that have good nightlife and island that are more chill,etc) from a native let me know!
Cheers
Chris
Nice list of Apps!
I use AimHarder to track my Fitness, works like a social network you should check it out.
Cheers
Thanks for posting this Joel. I’m right there with you on the Calm app – it’s been a real game changer for me. May I add one to the list that I stole from Chase Jarvis?
Habit List – It’s been great for tracking some of the most important things I want to accomplish each day.
Great article Joel, I tried the Sleep Cycle app years ago and I’m giving it another shot thanks to you 😉
I read you might be in Amsterdam. Let me know if you are so we maybe can meetup. It’s always nice to meet someone else with an impossible mindset since I don’t have many people around me like that.
Nice collection, and glad we made it on this list 😉
I currently use “pzizz” for power-naps (sometimes even for sleeps). It’s free, simple to use, and surprisingly effective.
Nice list Joel, found some new stuff here.
Hey Joe, great list of some very useful apps.
I did not know about Work Hard Anywhere, thanks for that!
Another app that you might be interested in is called Noisli. Great app that has high quality ambient sounds, such as white noise, rain, a crackling fire… It helps you focus while you are working, relieves anxiety, helps during your meditation or yoga classes, or is just a great way to relax while reading or before going to sleep.
Btw, if you have the chance to go to Iceland, and did not yet, definitely go there! It’s incredible. Much fun in Europe mate. Cheers.
I’m headed there today. Any tips?