Do you ever find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day to get through all that we have to do?
Over the last ten years I’ve taken an interest in the study and application of productivity.
More than ever we need to find new ways to manage the ‘busyness’ in life, while at the same time keeping our mind calm and uncluttered, so we have all our resources available to focus on our goals.
I want to share with you 6 digital tools I use every day and how they save me 350 hours per year.
1. Feed Reader
Feed Reader is one of the many RSS (Rich Site Summary) tools available. An RSS Reader allows you to connect to ‘blogs and online newspapers’, so that when they’re updated, the article comes directly to the RSS Reader. This way you don’t have to visit the blog’s specific website every time you want new articles. These tools are enormous time savers because they bring the internet to you in a single location so you never miss an update.
How I use it
I’m passionate about learning new things. Fortunately, my work and study have always required me to explore new thinking, and this has often required research. I use Feed Reader to synthesize over 50 sites into a single feed which I scan every day.
My process is:
- find blogs of interest and add them to Feed Reader
- read new ‘feeds’ and articles every day
- asterisk the articles that are of interest
- post articles (via Twitter, Linked In, or also email to colleagues) or save for specific reference purposes
How much time it saves me
It would easily take me between 2 to 4 hours a week to do the same amount of research I do through Google Reader in just 30 minutes. That’s a minimum time saving of 1.5 hours a week.
2. Evernote
Evernote is a suite of software and services that allow people to take and archive notes on the web, on a smartphone, or a tablet. While the Evernote suite has many applications, I get the the most use out of Evernote itself.
How I use it
I’ve used many other note taking applications in the past. However, Evernote is among the very best and most practical. I use Evernote to:
- capture and collect new ideas: whenever I stumble upon a new idea it goes straight into Evernote.
- manage an idea through stages: I use Evernote as the drafting tool to flesh out an idea. In the subject lines, I actually change categories as I go to manage the idea through these steps – ‘idea’, ‘draft’, ‘review’ and ‘finished’. Even this blog post started in Evernote and was 90% complete before I added it to this website.
- a second memory: there are some actions we do infrequently that are very important to our success. For example, planning goals and objectives, organising a family holiday that is 6 months away, submitting a tax return, and so on. I store my notes on these diverse subjects for reference during the year (or just so I don’t forget) in Evernote.
- search function: Evernote has a fantastic search feature, so all you need to do is enter a keyword to find notes you’ve written many months ago. Even better, the search will also find documents that you’ve written by hand and scanned into the program. For this reason all of the diagrams that I draw go straight into Evernote (eg. process maps, charts, sketches, systems diagrams).
How much time it saves
I’m constantly using Evernote and would estimate I gain 1.5 hours a week in efficiencies (of writing, researching effectively, not forgetting, and having information accessible wherever I am).
3. Buffer
Buffer is an online tool that allows you to schedule social media updates in advance. For example, with Buffer I can ‘load up’ 10 social media posts on the weekend, and they’ll be distributed by the ‘Buffer’ app throughout the week.
How I Use It
Often people tell me ‘you send so many Tweets, I don’t know how you find the time!’. The truth is I’m very specific about how I use social media. Outside of responding to people’s comments (which I do daily), twice a week I spend 30 mns on updates. My process is:
- review articles or quotes I’ve read or flagged over the last week
- select the most interesting content
- load this content into my Buffer account, knowing these updates will be sent (2 or 3 per day) over the course of the next 3 to 4 days
I use Buffer to manage my Linked In and Twitter updates, though you can use this tool for many other social media applications.
How much time it saves
It’s said that every time you’re interrupted from completing a specific task, it will take you an additional 7 minutes to return to the same level of concentration you had before you were interrupted. This is why I manage my social media updates twice a week, instead of continuously during the day. For this reason, I would estimate that Buffer saves me at least 30 minutes to 1 hour per week.
4. Toodledo
Toodledo is an online task management application that helps you track tasks and optimise your productivity.
How I use it
I’ve been a long time advocate of this product. This is the fifth year I’ve used it, and I’m constantly refining the ways that I leverage the tool. I use Toodledo to:
- capture: capture all tasks which I’ve agreed to or have been assigned to me
- categorise: categorise the ‘context’ for the task (eg. whether it’s an ’email’ or ‘errand’ or ‘call’ and so on)
- schedule: schedule when I will complete the task over the next week or month
- track: track when tasks delegated to others are due and whether they’ve been completed
- notes: store and retrieve my notes about important meetings, research and ideas
Two of the biggest benefits I’ve received from using Toodledo are:
- freedom of mind: because I have a system for managing my commitments, I don’t have to retain them constantly in my thoughts. This leaves my mind free to focus on the important opportunities in front of me
- productivity: with Toodledo I am able to get more out of each day, and take a real joy in completing actions I’ve agreed to
How much time it saves
Toodledo would save me 2 hours per week through additional productivity and increased focus.
5. Gmail
I know, I know, I’m sure we’re all very familiar with Gmail. However, because it’s such a good tool, I feel it deserves a mention.
How I use it
As a long time user of Gmail, there are 3 ways I feel it trumps many other email solutions:
- search: it’s search feature is very fast. I’m amazed just how quickly Gmail is able to locate emails from years ago when I search for them. And there are many occasions when I have to find previous conversations, receipts, booking references, and so on.
- junk mail: Gmail’s spam filter is very good. When using other email tools, I often found spam incredibly frustrating. Gmail does a great job of removing the junk, so I don’t have to.
- multi device: I have an Android phone, an iPad and an Android tablet, and I find Gmail works seamlessly across all these devices.
How much time it saves
Based on its abilities to quickly search for previous information as well as de-clutter my inbox from junk mail, Gmail would save me 1 hour a week.
6. Combined Calendar
If there’s one thing all busy families need it is a combined calendar. There are plenty to choose from, such as Cozi and Zoho Calendar, and my personal choice is Google Calendar.
How I use it
By far the greatest use I have for this calendar, is that I can see the calendars of other people that have shared their schedule with me. This is especially the case for family members and very good friends.
Instead of having to call around in order to plan events, with a shared calendar, I can see when everyone’s working or busy, and simply book time with them.
With this calendar I can also setup multiple reminders and I use this feature frequently. If I have an important meeting coming up, I schedule an alert 2 weeks prior to the event, then 1 week and then 1 day before. These structured alerts keep me thinking about what’s coming next.
How much time it saves me
By using this shared calendar in place of phone calls and emails, I save 30 minutes a week.
Added up, that’s 350 hours a year…
That’s right, taking the minimum times highlighted above in green, multiplied by 50 weeks (leaving out 2 weeks for holiday), that’s a whopping time saving of 350 hours per year. Isn’t it amazing how saving an hour here and there can add up to so much time within a single year?
Question: What digital productivity tools do you use to manage chaos and reach your goals during the year? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
