Welcome to Episode #3 of SPI TV! Make sure to subscribe (YouTube / iTunes) to stay on top of it every Friday when new episodes go live.
I use a lot of productivity tools to help me push forward in my business. In fact, I use dozens – but in this episode I share (and demonstrate) my top 5 recommended tools that will help you get the most out of the time you put into your work.
Distraction Free Writing
Writing is a very immersive and intense activity, and the worst thing that you can do is give yourself a chance to be distracted while writing your next book, blog post or article. Here’s my preferred solution:
I also spend some time in the video giving you some tips for crafting a blog post that reference Episode 1 of SPI TV, which can be found here:
Calendar Management:
Have you ever tried to schedule something, like a podcast interview or even a simple 30 minute meeting, and the back and forth emails to find a date and time that aligns with both parties seem to never end?
This is very common, and it’s a time-suck! Calendly is the tool that I use to make sure I keep control of my own time, batch processes certain events that are recurring in my business, and keep the correspondence with other parties short and to the point.
Project Management:
Everyone should use a project management tool, and Trello is my top choice. Based on the scrum model, it makes everything from producing blog posts to managing full-scale software projects much easier and more organized.
Super Easy & Shareable Screenshots:
Dropbox is a tool that I love, and for the cloud storage alone it’s worth using for any entrepreneur. It makes sharing files easy, and creates a nice cloud backup for important files that can be accessed from any device at any location.
There’s an awesome trick, however, related to screenshots. With a couple hot keys, you can take a screenshot of anything on your computer which automatically places that screenshot into a dropbox folder, while simultaneously copying a link to your clipboard to that screenshot. It makes it super easy to share important elements of your screen with others, and also save certain items you come across that you want to keep handy for later.
Self Control!
And finally, probably one of the most important tools of all, are ones that can block you from viewing unproductive sites that you seem to frequent. These tools restrict access to your own blacklist of sites, so if you catch yourself visiting Facebook, Twitter or other sites that you know aren’t truly helping you move forward in that task you’re supposed to be head down on right now, you can use this to stop yourself from going down those rabbit holes.
- Self Control (Mac)
- Stop Procrastinating App (PC)
Do you have a favorite tool you like to use to stay productive? Share it in the comment section below!
Thanks again for watching SPI TV! Make sure to subscribe (YouTube / iTunes) as a new episode comes out every Friday. Next week, I’ll give you 9 tips for getting an immediate boost of energy before you get into work-mode…so stay tuned!
