Today’s gonna be the day, right? Today’s the day when you’re gonna do everything on your checklists, re-arrange your desktop, nail that meeting with your new client, and clear out your inbox, right? Right? Well, you can dream, can’t you?
You start your day with the best of intentions, but it seems that the mountain of work always seems to outpace you. Thankfully, there are some fantastic new tools out there to help bring focus and clarity (and maybe even productivity) back to your workspace. Here is a list of some of our favorites!
Asana
What it is: Project management software
Who it’s for: Teams that are working collaboratively to help organize, plot, and plan
Why we like it: Once the onboarding process is through, Asana can greatly reduce, or even eliminate the need for email within your team.
Trello
What it is: Project management software
Who it’s for: Visual thinkers and compulsive Post-It list makers
Why we like it: Trello works with boards so you can get an overview of what needs to get done, when you need to do it, and what you’ve already accomplished. Plus it connects with your other productivity tools.
Stay Focused
What it is: A Chrome extension that monitors the amount of time you spend on sites you specify where you frequently find you spend a lot of time (read: Facebook) to help avoid internet worm holes.
Who it’s for: Anyone who finds at the end of the day that nothing has gotten done, though you may have a much-improved knowledge of bird-watching or beekeeping and an eBay order for twelve new hives
Why we like it: As the name implies, it really does help you stay focused.
What it is: Bookmarking app
Who it’s for: Those who want to save an article, PDF, eBook, or video to view later so they can stay on track at work
Why we like it: Like the “Save for Later” button on your Amazon cart, Pocket keeps track of stories you want to read, videos you want to watch, and pretty much any media that might be better viewed after work wraps for the day.
Harvest
What it is: A time- and expense-tracking app
Who it’s for: Business owners and managers who want a clean and easily accessible management interface
Why we like it: The app is mobile, meaning you can complete more tedious parts of your job like expense tracking on the go. Plus, you can send invoices and track if they’ve been paid. Paperwork, banished.
The Digital Era may be responsible for time-sucks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and internet shopping, but it has brought some pretty stellar tools with it too. Now, the trick is making some time in your day to use them.