10 apps I recommend using to survive your MBA Hult Blog

Written by Global Ambassador,  Dani Werner, MBA student, London campus, Class of 2017. Module A has come and gone, and I am finally getting back into the student life. These first 14 weeks have been incredible†¦and tough. As a technophile, I am always trying out new gadgets and apps, and below are the ones I turned to during this first part of the MBA programme. They’ve helped me work faster, communicate better, and maximise my downtime. To work 1. Todoist People think students have an easy life, not having to be in class from 9 to 5 every day. Actually, I’m busier now than when I had a full-time job! While I used Todoist before starting the MBA, it’s certainly come in handy now. I can quickly throw in my tasks, then organise them into projects and sub-projects, add deadlines and prioritise them. What’s more, I can share projects with others, allowing for easy team collaboration. Todoist is a to-do list app available on just about every platform, including iOS, macOS, Windows, Android and online. It’s free, though you can upgrade to Premium ( £21.99/year) for additional features, such as adding comments to tasks, iCal synchronisation and location-based notifications. 2. Ulysses Ulysses is my go-to writing app. In fact, it’s what I used to draft this list, as well as any notes I took on the computer. I write everything in Markdown, which is a quick method of writing with formatting without breaking your flow. When I’m ready to take it elsewhere, like to one of my blogs, I can copy the HTML underneath or export as a Word document or PDF. What’s more, it has a handy document organisation panel to easily swap between documents. Ulysses is available on iOS ( £18.99) and macOS ( £34.99). Yes, I know this is a little on the pricey side, but after trying so many different tools, Ulysses offered everything I needed and more. It was worth it. If you want to try writing using Markdown without downloading anything, you can also use online apps like Dillinger and StackEdit. 3. RefME Referencing — the bane of every student’s life. There are a lot of strategies and tools out there, but the one I use is RefME. With its Chrome extension, I can easily collect articles I find online into project folders. I can also manually add sources to projects, such as interviews, or scan books using the iOS or Android app. Group members can be added to projects so whole teams can work together to collect sources in one place. Swapping between referencing styles is simple, and then all my references can be exported for free in the right format, ready to go. For those wanting an extra level up, RefME also offers a Microsoft Word add-in that lets you add in-text citations and automatically updates a reference list at the end of the document. Bear in mind that this does come at a bit of a cost ( £24.99/year), so weigh up how much effort it’ll save you! 4. Slack Slack is my favourite communication tool. Ever. I’ve used it at work, with my best friend (and co-blogger), and for group projects so far at Hult. It supports multiple platforms support (meaning desktop, phone and web apps) and multiple teams, and you can share documents and have video calls right in the app. The icing on the cake is its excellent search facility, making it preferable over other messaging tools like Skype and WhatsApp. Best of all, you can use it for free! (With additional functionality at a cost, of course.) 5. Focus@Will I was not completely sold on Focus@Will for a long time. The interface is a little bit clunky, and it is expensive. However, during midterm time, I gave in to the call of a 50% off sale†¦and I don’t regret it. Focus@Will plays music that’s been specially engineered to increase productivity and focus, and I do personally think it works. You need to play around and find the best genres and energy levels for you, but once you do, you’re good for hours of solid work! To get around 6. Citymapper I’m fairly sure most of the class relies on Citymapper to get around London. Not only does it do directions for public transport, it allows you to save locations for easy access later and gives you an ETA to share with your friends. Most importantly, however, is that it pulls in alerts regarding delays or closures, something I make sure to check before heading out to class. You can’t be late at Hult. 7. Monzo Monzo is a new British banking start-up, but all the action happens on your phone. You get a debit card you can load with money from your standard debit card, and as you use the card, all your expenditures are listed in the app, complete with categorisation and location. You can even take a photo of the receipt to store against the transaction! I think Monzo is great for students, I really do. I can set myself a spending budget each month and then try to stick to it, seeing how much I’m spending and on what as the month progresses. It’s money transfer functionality with anyone else with a Monzo card is also quick and easy, great for if you need to pay a friend back or borrow some cash. To destress 8. Spotify I love Spotify so much I wrote a paper on it. I’m not joking. Specifically, a microeconomic analysis of the business, so I really know it well now. I retired my music collection a couple years ago to an external hard disk and now rely on my Spotify Premium account for all my musical joy. Not only does it have almost everything I’ve looked for, but I’ve discovered more music than I would have otherwise through its playlists and recommendations. Plus, the offline functionality available with a Premium subscription means I can listen to my favourite albums and playlists on the London Underground! With student subscriptions going for  £3.99/month, why wouldn’t you sign up? 9. Netflix I don’t watch live TV; I’m part of the streaming generation, moving completely to online viewing. Netflix is my platform of choice, with an affordable subscription and an ever-increasing variety of TV shows and movies. When I need to just switch off for half an hour to an hour after class, I know it’ll be there for me with something — anything — to watch. 10. Pause With so much work to do, it was easy to get anxious and stressed. It’s important to take a step back and breathe, or try a little mindfulness. Mindfulness is becoming increasingly recognised as a valuable practice for calming down, but it’s not always that easy to do for everyone. That’s where Pause has been so helpful for me. Pause is an incredibly simple app for iOS and Android ( £1.49) that gently forces you to let go of everything around you and slowly follow a circle around the screen before giving you free rein while you close your eyes. The best use I’ve found for Pause is helping me go to sleep. When breathing exercises haven’t been enough to quiet my mind enough so I can drift away, five minutes of Pause has worked 9 out of 10 times. Bonus offline tools: my Passion Planner and bullet journal! Yes, I’m a techie, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the physical world in certain situations! Two items I take with me every day to class are my Passion Planner and my bullet journal. There’s something about writing out my day and what I need to do on paper that I just can’t replicate on a touch screen. The Passion Planner is a weekly planner meant with a special focus on figuring out your life goals and how to achieve them. They come in two sizes and different styles, and I’m on my second one! As an added bonus, for every planner bought, one is given to someone who can’t afford one. Bullet journals take life back to the basics. One notebook to do everything, including time management, task management and note-taking. Once you know the basics, it’s quite possibly the most flexible and powerful tool to sort out your life. I’ve adapted it to just getting to grips with each week ahead. Every afternoon, I sit down with my bullet journal and look at what needs to be done by which day in the following week, as well as what events to keep in mind. I can then use the weekend to make sure I’ve done everything I need for the next week, with the added satisfaction of crossing things off on paper. If you’re looking for any more app recommendations or more information on any of these tools, find me on Twitter @dani_w121! Written by Global Ambassador,  Dani Werner, MBA student, London campus, Class of 2017. Hult offers a range of highly skills-focused and employability-driven business school programs including a range of MBA options and a comprehensive one year Masters in International Business. To find out more, take a look at our blog My Masters in International Business: Looking back on a life-changing year. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself. Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021 Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021"> During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . Happy New Year, Hultians! . Happy New Year, Hultians! .