An efficient workplace boils down to productivity, and if you’re coming up short in the efficiency department, then even a small workload can turn into mountain. Luckily, there are plenty of productivity tools for 2014 that can help turn insurmountable daily tasks into an assembly line of ease. With work-readiness in mind, here are six tools that’ll help keep you on task both in and out of the office.
6. Joe’s Goals: Keeping Track of Your Goals
Setting work-related goals is one thing, but actually tracking those goals is another. Besides, if you can’t keep track of your goals, it’s close to impossible to accomplish them. That’s where web-based tools like Joe’s Goals come into play.
Don’t let the goofy name fool you, Joe’s Goals is great for anyone looking to set daily, weekly, and monthly goals. The easy-to-use template allows you to enter “time released” goal reminders, keep track of accomplished goals, and even send goals to friends, family, or coworkers so others are aware of your goals too.
5. Tooledo: Taking the “To-do” Out of To-do Lists
The funny thing about to-do lists is the fact that keeping track of the list is usually a to-do in itself. But with Toodledo, you can take your to-do tasks to a whole new level. The best part is, this tool is both web-based and mobile, making it perfect for on-the-go tasks.
From organization to collaboration, Toodledo is great for both the home and the office. Simply enter your to-do in the task manager, set a time and date, and this productivity tool will keep you on task until the job is done. The collaboration feature makes sharing to-do lists a breeze, which is perfect for an office environment.
4. Your Smartphone: Productivity Apps Galore
Whether your workplace productivity calls for personal organization, time management, or something as specific as an inspiring lunch break countdown timer, there are plenty of apps on the market to meet all of your efficiency needs.
Just as productivity transcends the cubicle, so do the mobile abilities of productivity apps. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re completing last-minute tasks from a home office equipped with a lightning-fast Verizon Internet connection, or if you’re trying to stay on track while working from your cubicle — productivity apps are here to the rescue.
3. Zoho: Calendars for Keeping Track
Gone are the days of kitten-themed wall calendars, which is fine considering the convenience of web-based and mobile calendars have taken the business world by storm. Although Google Calendar is the leader of digital date keeping, web-based calendar tools like Zoho offer up a nice alternative.
The Zoho calendar works much like Google’s calendar tool in that it’s highly customizable. In other words, you can make it is detailed or streamlined as you want, which makes accomplishing work-related, time sensitive tasks a tailored experience. Likewise, you can share tasks with select co-workers or the entire office.
2. FocusBooster: Maximizing Your Ability to Stay Focused
Considering the Internet puts all things entertaining and distracting at your fingertips, desktop distractions can quickly turn your workday into a backlogged nightmare. With FocusBooster, however, you can accomplish important tasks 25 minutes at a time and still have short breaks to look forward to.
FocusBooster uses a time-tracking technique that promotes productivity on a 25-minute work, 5-minute break principle. Here’s what the tool specifically does: It puts a ticking clock on your daily tasks, giving all your work-related assignments a maintainable goal that’s rewarded by a 5-minute, do-anything break.
1. Boomerang: Taking the Work out of Tackling Your Inbox
When your work email is overloaded to the point that organizing your inbox becomes a second job, your productivity ultimately suffers. Fortunately, email efficiency tools like Boomerang are great for taking care of all your inbox procrastination needs.
Designed for Gmail, Boomerang allows users to essentially re-schedule emails for delivery at a later, more convenient time. Likewise, this tool also sends emails back to the top spot in your inbox after they’ve gone unanswered for a certain amount of time. The tool is completely customizable, and it’s the perfect way to cut down on time-wasting inbox traffic jams.
By using the productivity tools above, you’ll boost your office efficiency and stay on track from 9 to 5. What other productivity tools do you use?