Business Tools I Use To Stay Lean and Organized

One of the first things I did when I started my first business in 2016 was order a brand new planner. I liked writing things down and crossing them off. Over time, I got frustrated checking my schedule or jotting an idea while away from my desk. It took me a couple of years, but I finally went digital.

Ever since, I've tried endless tools, searching for the ones that keep my day simple and never over-complicate the backend of my business. Because running your business should never live exclusively in your head. It should feel easy.

These are the tools I actually use in my business every day.

Heads up! Some links below are affiliate links. I only recommend what I actually use to run my own business.

Todoist

My digital planner — every task and project, accessible anywhere.

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Circleback

Records meetings, takes notes, and assigns action items. Saves me 5+ hours a week.

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Calendly

Automates my paid sessions end-to-end — booking, calendar sync, and payout.

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Shopify

Easy to customize and keep current, best for scale.

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Google

The backbone of my operations — free, and it syncs with everything else here.

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Flodesk

The most user-friendly, creative email platform I've used.

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Claude

Sharper reasoning, real automations — and it challenges you to grow.

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Notion

My go-to recommendation for leveling up client operations.

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Todoist

This is where my day-to-day business lives. Every client project, every internal task, every idea I don't want to lose. One system, checked off the same way I checked off my first paper planner in 2016. If it's not in Todoist, it's not happening.

Circleback

I stopped taking meeting notes the day I found this. It records the call, writes the notes, and hands me a list of exactly who owes what by when, automatically. Five-plus hours back in my week, every week, that used to go to typing things up after the fact.

Google

One login runs my entire operational backend. Gmail for communication, Calendar for scheduling, Meet for every client call, Drive for every file, and it's the thread that ties Todoist, Circleback, and Calendly together into one system instead of four separate apps.

I still remember how good it felt crossing things off that first paper planner. These 8 tools are the digital version of that same feeling, designed for the business I run today. They simplify my day-to-day operations and helped me grow lean. The tools you choose shape how you design your business. These are mine.