Month: July 2014

As summer begins, millions of college students put their textbooks away and replace them with leather-bound briefcases. After a series of comprehensive research, phone calls, and interviews, many of these young adults choose to move away from their home or college town and instead spend the summer in a new city. While this can be an exciting process, busy interns in a new city also face many difficulties in dealing with everyday life in this unchartered territory.

How can this experience go from one of being constantly stress and overwhelmed to a fun, stimulating process? These 8 apps can help any new intern get acclimated to a new environment while juggling work and play.

#1: Moovit          
A public transit app that makes traveling so much easier. When you put in your destination, Moovit will find the fastest route for you to take, giving multiple options, and it is constantly being updated in real-time. My favorite part of the app is that it tells me if a bus is running early or late and it informs me the names of each stop so that I know when to get off.

#2: 24me          
More than just your ordinary calendar app, 24me is a personal assistant, which helps you manage your life. The app links your calendar to your email so that you do not miss any meetings or appointments, and allows you to make quick to-do lists on your phone, and if you do not want to complete the tasks myself, you can link to TaskRabbit to ask others to do it for you. Most importantly, its new features inform you when to leave for your meetings based on traffic or weather conditions. 24me helps you organize and manage your life in a simple way.

#3: MyRoll       

The ultimate way to arrange your photos! MyRoll automatically organizes your photos and videos from your phone, showing you life events in an interactive collection which can be shared with friends. You will no longer forget about pictures hidden in your gallery because all the pictures will be organized in a way that’s easy to reach. 

#4: Yelp     

Helps you find restaurants, shopping stores, and other local services in any city. There must be times when you are craving a certain food but have no idea where to go to purchase it, even though there is a restaurant in your neighborhood. Yelp can solving this problem by finding your local restaurants, shopping stores, and more. 

#5: Instacart          

A grocery delivery service that delivers within an hour. Instacart connects you with Personal Shoppers in your area who pick up and deliver your groceries from your favorite local stores. I love this app because I often get home from work late and I do not want to spend my entire evening going to do groceries. Additionally, my only way of getting the supermarket is by public transportation which can become a hastle. I am so thankful for Instacart.  Currently, Instacart only delivers in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

 #6: Washio          

An app that allows you to have your laundry and dry cleaning picked up and dropped off from your house. You schedule the place and time and someone will show up to get your clothing and will return it clean the next day.  This is perfect for a busy intern who doesn’t have a lot of time for laundry and does not have a simple way of getting to and from a Laundromat. Currently, Washio is limited to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

#7: RunKeeper             

The summer is the best time to improve your fitness, and this app will definitely help do so. This app is a GPS Running, Walk, Cycling, Workout and Weight Tracker.  Track your pace, measure workout distance, chart weight loss, crush training goals and more. Make sure to enjoy that beautiful summer weather and stay in shape at the same time!

#8: Bill guard     

This is important for an intern to use because now that you are out of your home, away from your mail, statements, and bills it is hard to track what you are spending and what is being charged to your credit card. There is a solution to managing you financials and Bill Guard is the answer. Bill Guard is a personal finance security app which tracks your spending, and allows you to view all your accounting in one place, and protects you cards from unwanted charges. 

 

Adding these apps into your life will really help you save and organize your time. Being in a new internship can be very time consuming and use up a lot of energy. These apps will help ease your time so that you can find time to explore the city. 

 

 

   Written by Amanda Herman, student at University of Maryland, studying Accounting

 

Do you feel that heat? Summer is finally upon us.
As we enter July, the hectic process for your July 4th Independence Day event is underway with full speed planning. Whether you’re thinking about having a BBQ, watching fireworks, listening to good music, or enjoying the company of your loving friends and family, you must make sure you’re organized each step of the way.

Planning a July 4th event takes more energy and time than you realize. Who’s hosting this year? What’s on the menu? Who’s invited? The list could go on and on.

This year, 24me can help to solve all your problems and make your day run smoothly and be stress free. 24me is a smart and automatic calendar and to-do list app that acts as a personal assistant right at your fingertips. It will make your life more organized and coordinated. Here are some of the cool features offered by 24me that can help you plan the perfect event.

 

1) Check your calendar

The 24me calendar is unique because it automatically generates your scheduled events from each of your calendars and from your real life accounts. If someone at work invited to a meeting in advance, and you forgot to put it on your calendar, you no longer need to worry because the meeting was put on your calendar automatically. If you want to schedule your BBQ around the time of your local fireworks, you can simply do this using the calendar. 24me presents your free time, comparing each of your calendars, whether its Google calendar, outlook, or Yahoo!- all your events are in one place! Check to see what times you’re free this weekend and schedule your event as soon as possible.

2) Create an Event and Share it with friends
Create your event in advance, be it a BBQ or trip to the park or beach. Once the event is created, setting a time and date, with one simple click you can invite all your guests through your contacts. The app will send a message to your friends and will save the event on their calendars as well so no one risks forgetting about the exciting plans.

3) Create a Task List
There are many necessary steps which must be completed in preparation for your event. To make everything easier, write each of the steps down as a task you must complete. Within each task, you have the ability to write notes. Then, these tasks can be shared with friends. This allows you to divide up tasks so that everyone can contribute to the event, and you will not need to do everything yourself. If you do not have time to complete these tasks yourself, you can outsource your errand and a certified Task Rabbit professional will do that for you. This can be used for a variety of services ranging from pickup and delivery to cleaning and other administrative and annoying tasks. When sharing tasks you can also add notes or photos so everyone is on the same page with ideas.

 

4) Informs you when to leave
On the day of the event, there is definitely going to be a lot of traffic. If you put the reminder on you calendar with the location, 24me will inform you about the right time to leave based on traffic.

Overall, 24me is the perfect app for planning and organizing your Independence Day event as well as future events and tasks. 24me manages your life so that you are organized and never miss a step.

Happy July 4th!

 

Written by Amanda Herman, student at University of Maryland, studying Accounting

School’s out… for summer!

When kids hear this classic song, they’re filled with delight, as summer means over two months of endless water fights, play dates, and fun for them. Parents, on the other hand, may not have it just as easy. Two months of children out of school means busy parents have the stress of planning summer activities that ensure everyone gets the most of their summer.

Here’s how to keep your kids from the constant “Mom, I’m bored!” complaints while also allowing yourself to do the activities you want before this season of sunny skies comes to an end.

1)   Create a summer bucket list of tasks you and your family want accomplished before summer is over, and store them in your “someday tasks” folder on 24me. Check them off as you go to track how much you are getting done.

 

2)   Set a schedule in the mornings with daily to-dos, keeping both you and your children in mind. Plan indoor activities such as arts and crafts in the morning and leave yourself quiet time when its hottest out and the kids play outside.

 

 

3)   Don’t be hesitant about entertaining guests. It’s a great way for all members of the family to be around friends. The 24me “share tasks” button makes it easier to plan events- no tiring phone calls necessary!

4)   Take a vacation. All your hard work earns you some time to relax. Whether it’s with the family, by yourself, or with your significant other, planning a trip is easier with 24me. Once you get there, make sure you unwind, soak in some sun, and let 24me take care of the rest.

 

 

Written by Ashley Sadighpour, student at University of Southern California studying Business Administration