Whether you are a digital nomad, a solo-entrepreneur, or a working within a company environment, sometimes it seems like there are not enough hours in the day to handle all the tasks with looming deadlines. One solution that many of us go-getters may first turn to is to work more, whatever that may look like for you. Of course, this will undoubtedly lead to more negative repercussions than benefits, especially when decreased productivity, increased stress, and reduced mental wellness is taken into consideration. Burnout, for example, may be caused by an increase in clocking more hours at work, as well as a negative perception of your task achievements, where you are consistently emotionally exhausted, and often unable to attribute positive feelings to your tasks, job, or career.
Another, more health-promotive, option is to focus directly on optimizing your hours available for work, thus improving your overall efficiency. Your productivity will make leaps and bounds when you make an effort to enhance your regular processes. Below, I will talk about some of my favorite digital tools (in no particular order) to save me time, as well as physical and mental energy.
1. Dropbox
Over the past ten years, Dropbox has made its name as a tried & true partner in task efficiency. With the ability to share files and other important data with just a few keystrokes, the dread of a prolonged email-tag with your other collaborators are made (almost) non-existent. On- and off-line, documents can be shared and edited with teammates or clients, with the ability to leave comments saving a lot more time, and leaves less room for miscommunication. During any given month, I may have an upwards of ten important documents synced across all relevant devices, accessibility making it simple to make updates while on-the-go.
2. PandaDoc
Ask me the name of my favorite (and only!) document preparation tool, and PandaDoc will be mentioned without hesitation. Over the past few months, PandaDoc has allowed me to save countless hours per week when dealing with various types of documents that may be needed on any given day. From client agreements, to project proposals and contracts, I can breathe easy knowing that PandaDoc will be there to make it easier for me to get these important tasks done.
You no longer need to hold your breath when sending that contract, hoping that it was configured well for electronic signature - PandaDoc has your back. With an easy-to-use minimal interface, and a quick walk-through upon sign-up that shows you the most important tools within the interface, it could be as simple as uploading a document (or using a template from the PandaDoc library), adding signature fields, recipients, and hitting “Send”. With a process as simple as this, automating document-preparation can free-up much-needed time in your workflow.
3. Evernote
Evernote has an elephant as their logo for good reason. You can make notes, synced across various devices, and never worry about losing that seemingly-fleeting thought during the middle of the work-day again. Not only are you able to categorize your notes, place them in designated “notebooks”, and tag them with relevant keywords, but a note can be anything from a webpage (the Evernote Web Clipper is a great time-saver), to a voice-note, and of course the traditional text.
Evernote is a simple-to-navigate hub for all of your important notes and reminders, and is surely an eco-friendly alternative to random post-its strewn across your desk.
4. Tiny Calendar/Google Calendar
Many say that managing time is not possible. How can you actually grab ahold of it to make it fit your particular needs? I get it.
While time may not be tangible, there are certain things that we can do to make it help us complete our tasks more efficiently. I’ve tried a number of different scheduling and time-management apps, but nothing quite seems to work better than my trusty Google Calendar. It has web, desktop, and mobile functionality, making it that much easier to keep abreast of deadlines, both self-imposed and official. Another alternative for ultimate mobile-functionality, is TinyCalendar, available on both Android and iOS systems. Even without access to the internet, I can book in integral tasks without a hitch.
5. Genius Scan
The mobile-revolution has gone one step further by now allowing us multiple options for scanning important physical papers, and converting them to the easily accessible PDF file. Currently, my favorite scanning app, great for when I need to convert documents quickly on-the-go, is the Genius Scan app. No need to wait around for your turn to use the scanner, or worse, running to a completely different building to access that functionality. Your smartphone and Genius Scan is pretty much all you need.
6. Mailchimp
As a freelancer/solopreneur, emails are an important part of keeping up with my clients and audience. MailChimp has been a time - and money - saver, helping me to automate various email processes, while giving me insight via in-depth analytics. There are a number of different email templates, all tagged as being suited for one particular desired-outcome or the other, giving you less of a headache when trying to figure out the functionality of your email design. Your email marketing goals will never be the same (i.e, difficult).
7. Trello
When it comes to project management and collaboration, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, really quickly. Trello is one of the best digital tools that I’ve found to assist with project planning, management, and collaboration, with no headache or miscommunication necessary. From rough, minute details found during preliminary research, to organizing the finished product, Trello allows you to create boards that make saving and organizing all material simple. With the ability to create categorized columns, this visual tool is laid out to give you a quick snapshot of your whole project in one glance, without any feelings of overwhelm. Give it a try for anything from travel planning, to event organization, especially if you thrive via visual communication.
8. Pocket
Information Overload is real, and unfortunately I have the (invisible) scars to prove it. There is so much information available to consume on the internet, from news, keeping up with social networks, and trying to stay in-the-know with the latest viral video. Keeping track of all of this takes time, and a lot of it that could be used more efficiently elsewhere (i.e, actually completing work tasks). To help ease this constant feeling of information overwhelm, I started using Pocket. The Pocket app, assists me by saving information that I would be interested in, and allowing me to come back to it at a later, more appropriate time. No longer do I have to worry about keeping abreast of multiple notifications, which typically disrupts the flow of my workday, instead, saving them for later so I don’t miss a beat.
9. Slack
When you run a business, especially one in the digital space, it is pretty-much impossible to avoid communication. From email messaging apps, to those exclusively for mobile-use, there are a ton of options available. Typically, I may be found between 2-3 apps at any given time of the day, but Slack is definitely the most powerful (and my favorite). Not only can I create separate threads for each project, or client, I can also manage them all in one place.
10. 1password
Trying to remember multiple passwords for multiple websites can be a challenge. Trying to stay ahead of potential hackers and password-thieves can lead to a trove of passwords that eventually begin to blur into each other, which makes an already-memory-intensive situation, worse. For a while, at least twice a week I could find myself having to restore passwords that then become forgotten almost instantly. This was more time-consuming than I initially realized, so I made the leap to signing up for a 1password, a password database that remembers everything that I can’t, allowing me to sign into websites with a single click, and without having to restore passwords unnecessarily. There are definitely alternatives available, so shop around and make the right choice for you, and your business.
They say that time is money, but productivity and efficiency are definitely the stars of any business show. Working longer hours, without making changes to how you work can be counter-productive, so keep an eye on how you can better maximize your daily opportunities for growth, putting you ahead of your own game.