5 Productivity Tools You’ve Heard of, and 5 You Haven’t
Productivity.
It means something different to every single professional.
Which also means it looks different in your life when compared to your colleagues.
Regardless of your instinct, everyone needs productivity tools for a variety of reasons, including staying on track, managing various demands, working with virtual teams, and the list goes on and on.
Because of this, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of tools to help you; the unique instinctual you. This blog post is designed to highlight 10 of those tools; 5 you’ve heard of and 5 maybe you haven’t. Enjoy!
5 Familiar Productivity Tools
Slack: A collaborative hub for work
Slack is one of the most commonly used productivity tools on the market. By organizing conversations and projects into specific channels, your team’s are able to be better connected. This connectivity can be very helpful for individuals - and teams - who value keeping things arranged (organized).
Trello: Organize and prioritize your products
Trello offers a task manager solution that places emphasis on different categories of focus (boards), where users can arrange tasks in order of priority; or by who is in charge of completing the task. Unlike other organization resources, Trello may be best suited for those who like to implement tasks with precision and timeliness; you can think about this tool as a line it up and knock it down type of process.
Audible: Spoken audio entertainment
Audible is a library of spoken audio entertainment. For the on-the-go professional, Audible can be a resource for education, inspiration, and even rest. In some ways this tool offers highway education. Whether you like to gather and share information fast or slow, audible provides solutions to take in knowledge at the pace that best fits you (you can also just take in entertainment).
Basecamp: Replace all over the place with one placE
Basecamp is a designed project management resource to organize both internal and external conversations and tasks for each of your projects. This productivity tool helps keep teams informed from a macro and micro level. Basecamp provides an implementation platform that goes beyond tasks, and gets into project types, organization of necessary documents and conversations for the projects, as well as offering specific tasks for individuals within your teams. This tool is perfect for teams who require more design around their process and client work.
Grammarly: Write your best
Grammarly exists to help you improve your writing, opening yourself up to better conversations, remarkable accomplishments, and healthier relationships. This application, as you type, flags grammatical mistakes and keeps your messages clear, mistake-free, and impactful. If you’re quick to write emails, blogs, or the like, Grammarly can aid in keeping you looking your best, even at a fast pace.
5 Unfamiliar Productivity Tools
Mindjet: See your work in a whole new light
Mindjet is a mind mapping software that helps you brainstorm ideas, plan a project, construct a timeline, outline a strategy, and much more. With a visual display that’s aesthetically pleasing (to say the least), Mindjet can impact your productivity by keeping your mind organized. This tool can be quite helpful for individuals who want to thoroughly organize their thoughts before beginning a task.
Bullet Journal: The analog method for the digital age
Bullet Journal is an analog method of documenting life, and productivity, for those who enjoy the physical form of writing. Using bullet points organized by certain symbols, the Bullet Journal keeps track of tasks, notes, and events. Do you feel more organized by writing out your daily needs? If so, this productivity tool may be a good fit for you.
Time: Keep better track of time spent on your smartphone
Time is an app you can install on your phone to help you stay on top of your scheduled tasks. By creating a physical timer for the items you need to be doing, this tool notifies you if you’ve deviated from those tasks. Because of the accountability built within this resource, Time can help individuals who struggle with completing tasks be more organized and protected from distraction.
Harvest: Time tracking for those who value insight
Harvest is a time tracking plugin for your business needs, keeping time and providing insights for your individual time, your team’s time, the health of your projects, the payment collection for those projects, and your businesses plan for the future. If you value understanding the right set of facts to better make structured and intentional decisions within their teams and processes, this resource may be valuable to you.
Momentum: Set your focus for the day
Momentum is a browser extension that allows you to set a daily focus / goal. Once that goal is set, as you navigate throughout the day, you’ll be continuously reminded about that goal. The idea is that with a more constant reminder, you’ll be more prepared to keep the momentum. Designed to arrange your day around a common goal (theme), this resource will help you design and execute the tasks necessary to accomplish your daily goals.
My hope is that you take the time to explore these productivity tools, and others like them. Remember, productivity is your journey, teaching you how you can be more productive can be ours.
Here’s to you being more productive in the way that best fits your instincts.
-E