The Internet is full of distractions that can lead us to lower our performance and productivity at work. However, it also brings us great possibilities, as well as a lot of tools that will help us achieve the opposite. Do you want to know how to increase your productivity at work thanks to the Internet? Here are some good proposals!
How to improve productivity at work?
There are many tricks and ideas that we can implement to increase productivity at work, such as:
- Focus to focus on goals
- Set real deadlines and meet them
- establish a routine
- measure progress
- Visualize the positive results to motivate yourself
- Use resources and templates to avoid repeating the same job several times (our free marketing resources and automatic marketing generators will be very useful for this)
- Be organized so as not to waste time searching
- Don’t procrastinate
- Work in team
- Learn to delegate and trust
- Celebrate the results
I recommend you read other posts that I have written on the subject of productivity at work: 8 ways to improve your productivity as a consultant, Automatic generators for marketing, the tools that will multiply your productivity and 10 strategies to work as a team and multiply productivity.
How to increase productivity at work thanks to the Internet?
The Internet is full of possibilities to make your day to day much more profitable. Agendas, task managers, mobile apps, team communication systems, reminders, WordPress plugins, email managers, Chrome extensions… the possibilities are endless!
However, there is no need to go crazy. Well, in the end, among so many tools, the opposite may happen to us, and instead of being more productive we collapse among all the possibilities. Therefore, before reading the next point where I tell you about my favorite applications, tools and features, I invite you to ask yourself a very important initial question: in which task do I need to improve my productivity?
It is likely that some of the tools that I use will be of great help to increase productivity at work, but each person is different and has particular needs depending on their abilities, type of work, clients, etc. For this reason, I encourage you that if you discover any other option that is truly useful for you, comment on this post telling us: What productivity tools do you use and what are they especially useful for?
Top 10: Apps and tools to improve productivity at work
And now yes, I am going to tell you about my mobile applications and tools to improve productivity at work that I use the most. It is important that you know that I work as a marketing consultant specializing in digital content issues, and also managing some ADC issues as a tutor, the forum and the blog. For all this, some of the digital productivity tools that I use are:
Google Drive
Without a doubt, for me, it is one of the most useful tools that exists, both in its desktop version and in a mobile application. It allows me to create a ton of documents and projects, or upload videos and images to share with my team and clients. Furthermore, I can create all this information and see it both from my computer and from my mobile, so I can go to it at any time.
My last great discovery is the possibility of writing from the mobile and from anywhere with voice functionality, without having to type. Something very useful in terms of creativity, since most of the times that good ideas come to my mind, I am usually away from a computer, and this allows me to sketch ideas and even write posts while traveling.
If you don’t know this tool yet, although I doubt it, you can access it here: google.com/intl/es_ALL/drive/
Google Keep
Although I have to admit that I am very fond of agendas and lists in my “things to do” notebook (yes, deep down I am very analog), I also sometimes use Google Keep because it has the option of, in addition to making lists and take notes by drawing pictures, save things that I see on the net, from the mobile or the computer (with a great Chrome extension).
Back in the day I used Pocket, Instapaper or Evernote, but since I got to know Google Keep I prefer it.
slack
It is a tool to improve productivity, ideal if you work as a team. At the Convert+ consultancy, we use it a lot to manage different projects, and it is really useful when we are a team of people who work in different parts of the world and at different times. Thus, we have a chat where we can discuss topics by project, or write directly to each other. Also, since it has a mobile app version, I can adapt to the schedules of my other colleagues, and answer urgent things without being glued to the computer.
In my opinion, I would add a task manager and the possibility of video conferencing, and then we would have a 100% complete tool for team project management.
More information on the website slack.com
Feedly
Something important in order not to go crazy when it comes to informing ourselves is to have the sources of information that we want to have as a reference well selected. For that, I love Feedly, a tool that allows you to put the websites and blogs from which you want to follow their news and shows you each new update. And best of all, when you have a work peak or go on vacation and want to disconnect, you just have to hit “read all” when you return, and that’s it!
Smush Image Compression and Optimization
If you have a blog or website and you update it often, it is important that you upload compressed and web-optimized images. You can do this job with Photoshop, but there is a plugin that makes it much easier for you because automatically when you upload the image to WordPress it is compressed and optimized without you having to do anything else. Sounds good right? Since I have been using it, I have reduced my time per post as an editor a little more, that is, my productivity at work is much better.
For more information you can consult the following link: wordpress.org/plugins/wp-smushit/
Editorial Assistant by Sovrn
When you have a new content project and you have to take over on a blog, this WordPress plugin can save your life. Related posts on your blog and related images, both your own and those of others on the network, will allow you to improve SEO and optimize your time. I have used it on several occasions and it is really useful to save time when writing.
Learn more at wordpress.org/plugins/zemanta/
Buffer
This tool allows me to increase my productivity at work in that my social networks as a consultant are more or less up to date without having to invest too much time. What it allows me is that as I read some interesting topics on the net, I can share it on my social networks and comment on it quickly. Anything I want to post is added to a post queue so that it doesn’t all go out at once, and instead posts at a good few hours for my followers.
I recommend you take a look at the website buffer.com if you are one of those who dedicate a specific moment of the day to catch up on news, and the rest of the time you like to focus 100% on your work. Since I met her I fell in love because she allows me to focus on my day to day, instead of being aware of social networks, which take up a lot of time!
Mac OS Sticky Notes
Sometimes the simplest and simplest is the most effective. I’ve always been a big fan of paper sticky notes (and still am), but with Mac OS’s Sticky Notes system I manage to have them on my computer screen so they don’t get lost. Thus, many times I use it to put tasks or quick little reminders that I want to save so I don’t forget.
Google Calendar
Another basic and really simple tool with which to have a well-organized calendar. Although I also have my agenda to organize daily tasks, Google Calendar allows me to have the part of “important events” such as meetings, doctors, trips, etc. well organized.
Excel
Although I have tried a lot of task management and productivity tools, in the end I have settled on the simplest. The tool to improve productivity at work myhours.com is not bad either. But right now, I get by better with a simple excel where I write down the hours spent per day and the tasks performed. Thus, it is very easy for me to identify tasks that are more tedious, days and times in which I am more productive, tasks that I perform more quickly at certain times of the day, etc. But above all, it helps me to organize myself better and not set unrealizable goals.
I hope these ideas and tools to increase productivity at work will be of great help to you. Remember that I will be delighted if you tell me what your tricks are to be more productive and what applications, extensions, plugins or websites you use to improve your performance on a daily basis. As you may have seen, I always end up using the simplest systems because they are easier and more practical for me, but today you can find very sophisticated tools for this purpose.