Apr 19, 2017
10 Terrific Tools You Can Use to Skyrocket Your Productivity
If you’re an entrepreneur, the responsibility of making an income rests squarely on you.
Starting, building, and growing a business inherently has a lot of moving parts that you need to take care of in order for that income to happen.
Since you can’t get more hours in the day, you need to know how to pack as much punch into those hours as possible.
Even if you don’t actually work 8 hours a day, you still want to use the hours you work as efficiently as possible. I would argue that if you are so productive that you can cram an 8-hour workload into 4 hours, then you can give yourself a pat on the back and call it a day.
I know the to-do list is infinite but life enjoyment is more important than checking shit off your list.
The to-do list is like a never-ending string of handkerchiefs coming out of the mouth of the most annoying magician ever.
So, here are some of the productivity tools I use to hunker down, focus and get. shit. done.
Wunderlist
My go-to list app. If I don’t put stuff on a list inside Wunder, it’ll be forgotten. Every time an idea pops into my head I make a quick note in my Inbox on Wunderlist that reminds me to either put it in the calendar to work on or file it for some other day.
I got lists upon lists for everything from song titles and karaoke songs to try, all the way blog posts to write and products to create.
A Calendar App
I use a combination of iCal and Google Calendar. If it’s not scheduled in the calendar, it won’t happen.
I use my calendar as a hybrid to-do list and appointment scheduler.
If it’s a “needs to get done today!” I’ll have a specific colored calendar to remind me.
Facebook News Eradicator
This Chrome extension is fantastic! It replaces your entire newsfeed with an inspirational quote. That way, when I reflexively log into Facebook, it just shows me a thoughtful quote and I go “Well….I guess there’s nothing here to see…back to work!”´
Due to my social media presence on my other businesses it also helps me focus on working on my Pages instead of being distracted with what my friends are sharing at that moment.
Can’t recommend it enough!
BeFocused/PomodoroTime
If you’re not familiar with a Pomodoro timer, it’s a special timer that’s set to 25 minutes intended for focused work. Once the timer counts down, it gives you a five-minute break.
I like using it when I’m writing my eBooks. That kind of deep and thoughtful writing is hardest for me and it’s nice to get a breather every 25 minutes.
I used to use the breather to look at Facebook but now I just stare aimlessly into the distance…
A Journal Like The 5 Minute Journal
I start my day with the 5 Minute Journal or the Freedom Journal.
I doubt it takes me more than 2 minutes to write in it every day, but I guess five minutes has a better ring to it than two.
Maybe I should create my own 2-Minute Journal to compete. Think about it, if you walk into a bookstore and see 5-Minute Journal and 2-Minute Journal, which one are you going to pick? The 2-Minute one of course. Ain’t nobody got time for five minutes!
(If you didn’t get that joke you should watch this video).
Fiverr
I’ve given up on trying to do everything for my business. If I need a design for an eBook, interior layouts or 3D product images, I always head to Fiverr.
I’ve even used their contractors to create novelty gifts. You can really get everything there, the only limit is your creativity.
Evernote
I bet you’re probably already using Evernote, but I thought I’d mention it anyway. I’ve recently started using Evernote again to cut articles, do quick outlines, and save pictures for research.
It’s incredibly handy and also probably the most no-brainer thing on this list.
Recurpost
Recurpost is a service that recycles your social media so that you’re constantly posting your content even if you don’t do it actively.
You create categories and decide on a publishing schedule. Then it just goes through your queue and posts on your behalf.
It’s handy if you have a series of posts, a lot of little tips to share, or questions to ask your audience on a recurring basis.
Runkeeper
Being constantly productive requires energy. I exercise to create more energy for myself and Runkeeper helps me keep track of my stats, how long I run and how many calories I “hypothetically” burn.
It’s not a productivity tool per say, but the exercise helps keep me productive.
Spotify’s Instrumental Playlists
I can’t concentrate when there’s music with vocals and lyrics because I’ll immediately get distracted by the meaning of the song. However, working in a silent space is too depressing so I crank up all kinds of instrumental playlists on Spotify instead.
How Do You Stay Productive?
What are some of your favorite productivity tools that you use on a day to day basis? Let me know!
Cheers,
Björgvin
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