As my business has grown over the last seven years, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to use my time wisely. With multi-faceted offerings I want to spend my time in the best way possible in order to maximize efficiency when I’m in the office and really disconnect at the end of each work day.

Do you know what I mean?

Maybe you’ve struggled in the past to really disconnect at the end of the workday, but friend, I’ve really found having tried-and-true tools in my back pocket to streamline workflows, make the most of my time, and serve my clients well has alleviated a ton of stress so at the end of the day I can unplug, disconnect, and switch into after-hours Bonnie instead.

And today, I want to share with you three of my favorite workflow tools that have saved me tons of time over the years, elevated my workflow process, and offered a streamlined experience for my clients as well.

#1 WORKFLOW TOOL

So first and foremost, my number one favorite workflow tool is my CRM, HoneyBook.

If you’ve been around here for a while you’ve heard me sing HoneyBook’s praises time and time again—but for good reason.

HoneyBook handles everything from onboarding new leads to educating new clients, to gathering all the information I need for every project to making my life a whole lot easier. From contracts and invoices to client homework and dedicated workflow templates, HoneyBook is where it’s at for us!

It’s hands down my favorite way to connect with my clients and keep our projects on track and it’s definitely made my job as a designer and strategist infinitely easier.

In the past, I’ve been able to rest assured while on my sabbatical or vacation knowing that thanks to the tools I’ve set up inside HoneyBook that my business is still moving forward even if I’m not available.

Not to long ago, I actually was able to secure thousands of dollars by booking a new client thanks to HoneyBook while I was on vacation. Talk about a tool that’s paid for itself time and time again.

If you’re interested in giving HoneyBook a try then I’ve actually got an exclusive link for you to use to save 50% on your first year and even try out the program for 14-days completely free. You can get started with HoneyBook today, right here!

#2 WORKFLOW TOOL

Next up, my favorite way to collect content, files, and necessary information from my clients is G Suite.

I use Google Drive for just about everything when I’m working with my custom branding clients. When we’re building out websites, each client gets their own personal folder inside Google Drive where we house their images, copy, and anything we need for their project.

On top of that I utilize Google Drive to share final files for client projects when we wrap up our time together.

And not to mention, my team and I use all the tools that G Suite offers to do things from marketing analytics spreadsheets to notes for the Brand Strategy Podcast to syncing up our calendars.

It’s hands down my favorite way to stay connected with my team and our clients and we are big fans of all the G Suite options around here.

#3 WORKFLOW TOOL

And finally my favorite way to connect with my team and keep us on track when it comes to our projects is through Asana.

Asana is such a powerful project management tool for us as we have launched so many new offerings over the past two years especially. It helps us stay on track as a team and really keep our finger on the pulse of what we’re pushing in any coming season. 

Inside Asana, we house anything from our marketing plan for the year to the template for our weekly check-in calls to the individual client projects we’re currently working on so that everyone knows what’s going on and whose responsibility it is at all times.

We personally like using Asana because it allows us to disconnect from our inboxes a little bit and see a birds eye view from everything we’re working on at once. We assign ownership and responsibility for any task at any point so there is no confusion about who should be working on what and at what time. 

I will say we use Asana in addition to HoneyBook because we use HoneyBook exclusively for client projects and Asana for internal projects. 

I have some students inside my course for designers, the Brand Strategy School, who choose to use Asana for client projects as well and I think that’s a great idea if that’s a workflow you enjoy.

Personally, I enjoy the aesthetic of HoneyBook and how user friendly that tool is over Asana simply because Asana has a bit more of a learning curve to it and aesthetically it’s not as pretty. 

Asana definitely is a tool that focuses on the nitty-gritty tasks of each project versus HoneyBook that focuses on the overarching details which is really what my clients need to know when we’re working together.

THE 3 MUST-HAVE WORKFLOW TOOLS

Those are the three must-have workflow tools I’ve loved the most over the last three years and they’ve really helped me save so much time and energy so that I can truly work smarter, not harder.

But here is a little caveat today friend, workflow tools are a personal choice and everyone works differently. I personally love Asana over Trello, but some of my industry friends are diehard Trello fans.

There is no right or wrong way to do it, you simply need to find the tools that work for you.

I wanted to share these three tools with you today because I have watched all the tutorials and gone through all the trial and error and found these three tools really do work the best for me. And if they are helpful for you and save you some time and make your life easier—then to me that’s worth it.

Friend if you’re interested in how to elevate your brand strategy, woo your idea client and transform your bottom line not only through workflows tips and tricks—but also through intentional strategy, heartfelt marketing, and powerful offer creation then I’d love to invite you to join the waitlist for the Heartfelt Brand Society, my signature six-month group coaching and mastermind experience.

Doors for the Heartfelt Brand Society are opening on August 20th and I would be so honored to have you join us.

AND if you add your name to the waitlist below, you’ll get exclusive access to join this initiate group coaching experience before anybody else. So if you haven’t yet, pop your name below to get all the details!