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Planning to scale your business in 2020 but wonder how to get more time on your hands? This can help you do more…
Trying to scale your business and feel there aren’t enough hours in the day?
I bet it’s a feeling that most of us can relate to. I have been there too, I wanted to get more done, like being more visible than just working with my team & clients under the radar to help them grow…
I love working & helping my clients, however at the same time I am a giver too…I love sharing my experiences as well as lessons learned so those connected with me can implement them to grow as well as build themselves too… a major reason why I have taken time out to not just be on social media but also share my weekly experiences via this amazing platform.
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Hence, when you dedicate just 5-minutes or a bit more to read and discover my favorite productivity tools, you could in fact save countless hours; as they say, time is money!
We all just have 24 hours, yet somehow we see certain people seem to be able to squeeze more from that time than others. What it all comes down to is time management — how you choose to plan, prioritize, and spend the hours you have.
Do you use project management tools? I do, for me having a mapped out structure as well as the flow for the tasks as well as goals I am aiming for. It gives me a birds-eye view to strategically plan as well as implement my plan for goal completion.
The goals can be as small as planning my reading schedule to accomplish the goal of reading say, an n* number of books per year to mapping out my strategy to close n*number of clients per year for a certain turnover in my business.
I have tried Trello, Asana, Wunderlist, Microsoft to-do & more but when I moved to ClickUp my search for the right project management tool I loved, ended.
Here is a question for you — Do you prefer to have your tasks in a list view or a board view? Why not have both?
In ClickUp you can look at all of your tasks in both views! And, on top of that, it gets even better, when we can see how everything fits together by looking at everything in the calendar view! This way, I never overlook a task or miss a deadline again as well it helps us all tailor our views as per each person’s preference, as the collaboration with others is easy here too.
When working with me I don’t just help my clients build up their profits but also, set up their systems as well as processes to help them replicate their growth over time and hence, getting my clients organized as well is vital indeed!
Want to try it out? Click here to try the free version…
Next on my list is Notion, while the world loved Evernote, I love Notion it has been less than a year ago that I started using this tool, but I cannot deny the fact that I have totally fallen in love with it.
It can be used for keeping everything in one place, right from notes, documents, knowledge-base, tasks as well as projects or even databases. In fact, Notion is one of the fastest-growing tools for managing notes, tasks and internal wikis amongst teams.
For me, I use it to organize everything, right from my daily journal to the social media content, articles for my blog, publications to my client notes all are on notion helping me keep everything with me on the go right from my phone to my laptop.
Want to know more about it, check out keep productive blog. He too uses it himself as well as courses about the tool.
Want to get started, try it out by clicking here!
Before we dive a bit deep into Zapier, I want to say, this is a tool that we all value the least in our life. After all, if I have to value an online automation tool that connects over 1,500 apps so they all communicate with each other is a time saver.
Syncing up our favorite everyday apps with each other each day helps us de-stress and get our business to full capacity, that too keeping us sane than trying to code each integration out!
Now you tell me how valuable is that for you…
Via Zapeir all we need is to go through a simple step-by-step process, choose an app that triggers the automation and an app where the action happens.
If you want an example of how it helps me save time, here is one — I have set Zapier automation on ClickUp to help me keep a database on google sheets of the posts as well as articles with the links to refer back to from time to time as well as analyze the metrics. It helps me save a lot of time.
All I have to do is share the link to the post, in the task description and change the task status to closed to trigger the automation and add the data to the google sheet.
Before setting up the automation I had to always close the task on my task manager, go to google sheets, copy the post title paste it in google sheets and grab the link to the post and share it in the sheet as well.
But this is a short example, there is more to this.
I am even updating my automation as the time taken to complete tasks increases & would be sharing with you in the coming time.
Next, on the list is Google drive. I am sure you got a hint, after all, I did mention google sheets above.
Most of us already know, Google as file storage and synchronization system provided by Google.
But, most of all I use it for its secure file sharing
The idea of this platform is to simply ease the process of storing, editing, sharing, and collaborating on documents while working together on a common project or towards a common goal.
I mean imagine sharing documents with your team when you are creating, editing as well as a lastly sharing the content created in an organized manner.
I even have a file organizing system for my clients as well as the team.
Also, it is a good way to share specific documents with your clients working on specific programs if you organize well.
This might be personal but I suck at remembering passwords. Like seriously…
Hence, with a memory this sharp I needed a system that will remember all the passwords for me.
The best part with Lastpass is, to use LastPass you only need to set and remember one master password to login to your vault, which essentially is where all of your passwords that you have chosen to be saved are stored for easy access.
You can have a glimpse above and with the chrome extension installed it is simple for me to log in then look for my diary every time to find the page with all the passwords on it.
If you are extra cautious, LastPass also supports two-factor authentication, which is an extra layer of security that you can simply set up too.
How easily do you communicate with your team?
I used Discord for communication for sometime in between, but then got back to our old school fav – Slack API Right from audio servers to messaging, there are many reasons why I tend to have a bias towards communication tools.
The audio feature helps me communicate with a team member whenever needed to discuss a point out than pointless written chatter to help clear the fog in the vision or bring clarity with the task.
I even strategically design experience for my clients right from on-boarding to building the communication further.
If you are not okay with Slack, you can always go with Discord, ProofHub, Microsoft Teams, Chanty, and Fleep working similarly.
This is a tool I accidentally came across and the fall in love with… It not only is an appointment planner that helps me share my availability with my team, clients as well as prospects, but more…
I no more need to endlessly create zoom links for my client calls, meeting bird does that for me.
I no more need to check a new tab to insert my scheduling links in my emails, Meetingbird does that for me…
You might be thinking how much time does that take, but trust me, it has helped me save a lot of hassle indeed, try it once & you will get what I mean.
How many social media accounts do you manage? Just one, two, three, the list is long? Then how do you build it up & stay consistent?
I use Buffer for scheduling my Pinterest, Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram as well as Linkedin text-only posts.
It is simple and effective in helping me manage as well as build my brand presence strategically.
What else do you want?
Whether you struggle with grammar and punctuation or not, there is always good to have an extra pair of eyes doing the proof-reading for you!
Grammarly helps me with the same. In fact, I am not exaggerating at all when I say — Grammarly has my back and can have it for you too.
Right from any misspelled words, missing commas, or other mistakes, Grammarly marks them out for you to help you save time while writing.
Last on my list is Zoom.
You got me, I am kidding we still have few more….but first lets talk about Zoom.
It is a tool that helps me work with clients across the world right from the comfort of my office or workspace. Also, when having local meetings as well, if it is time-consuming to travel in the other part of the city I prefer to save time and discuss it on Zoom. Saving me hours of commute yet getting my task done.
The list you checked above are the backbone of my systems, but the bonus list below is the support system that holds the backbone together.
Instead of having a crazy long list of bookmarks on my chrome, I have got my sanity back thanks to Pocket. An app as the name suggests, offering a space to save as well as organize content from numerous sources to read later. I even use the listen to feature to go with the audio mode when walking or doing my workouts to help me save time.
You should try it out too!
I am sure, by now you must have got an idea, I am an organizational freak. I want everything well organized or else, I cannot get work done…
Hence, I cannot manage a messy chrome either…I use the chrome web extension Toby to organize as well as save my tabs whenever needed!
Apart from being organized, I need to recharge myself too…and hence for the same reason, to take a break from the daily grind as well as reflect back I invest time in a guided meditation.
I have tried many guided meditation apps but this is the one I connected with the most, Insight timer is an app offering both simple meditation and longer sessions for relaxation, focus, and more.
Brain.fm is an app that helps me get in the productivity zone as soon as I turn it on.
It is an interesting app that holds patents on key processes for creating functional music, including technology to elicit strong neural phase-locking — allowing our neurons to engage in various kinds of coordinated activity to remove distraction in sound.
Last but not least…
Xmind a mind-mapping tool that helps me brainstorm funnels, processes, workflow, launch structures, email flows & much much more…
The reason why I use mind mapping is, that I am a visual person…but it might be different for you. I can map out the flows easily when using a visual tool, you might just write the flow down.
Try out what works for you!
Incorporating productivity apps in my daily workflow has helped me not just get organized but also, combat procrastination, laziness, or any other distractions. Try them out and see which ones work best for your needs.
Share the ones that work for you, as well as if you are using any, share them below!
If you want a summary of this post to refer to & get the list to refer, click here!
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