Are you one that works too many hours? They probably don’t pay you by the hour, do they? More about results than time, right? Certainly, all three are a yes answer for me. And I like to find ways to reduce time on simple, mundane organizational tasks. So my most useful organization tools add a great deal to making my work life easier.
I love to read, learn, and try new things. Like new apps for my smartphone and iPad. Often, I’ll see something that I want to try, save, and connect with other new apps I am using. Ideas that come from previously unconnected planes of thought.
The truth is that ideas need ecosystems to support them and that doesn’t happen overnight. To make an idea viable in the real world it needs to continually connect outward, gaining adherents, and widening its original context.
That takes more than an initial epiphany. It takes the will to make the idea subservient to its purpose. What we have to learn to accept is that what makes an idea powerful is its ability to solve problems.
In much the same way, we revere Einstein’s relativity, Pauling’s vaccine, and Jobs iPhone because of their impact on the world.
As G.H. Hardy once put it, “For any serious purpose, intelligence is a very minor gift.” The same can be said about ideas. They do not and cannot stand alone, but need the actions of people to bring them to life.
There are many apps for workers looking to improve organizations like me that can be a big help in this regard. And less wasted time? Yes, very good for that also.
Ponder for a moment … the iPad, Cloud computing, and Apps. A few years ago, they barely existed. Now they’re an integral part of our lives.
That swift journey from nonexistent to indispensable seems to happen a lot these days. But it gives us unlimited access to improve our learning and utility for things like through apps and idea connection.
This makes you think: What favorite organizational tools were you not using two years ago that today you can’t imagine living without today?
Here are my favorite organizational tools:
This is one of those apps on this list that you may already know about. It lets you save blog posts and articles to read when you’re offline. Very valuable for those of us that like to read a lot online.
I’m able to keep track of all the articles that get sent my way. In this post-Google Reader world, it’s my primary way of keeping up with things. Another feature that is very valuable is the fact that you can set the font size because it strips out the content’s original formatting.
This is because the “pocket-sized” versions of articles are usually stripped of extraneous eye candy, collapse multi-page articles to a single page, and are more readable than the originals. The only drawback is that you cannot search within a pocket article, and printing is disabled.
MeMail
This app does one thing well—you can send yourself an email in two taps, for quick reminders or ideas you don’t want to forget. A very useful task handler for me.
Yesware
This email extension allows you to see whenever someone opens an email you sent. It also shows you their location and whether they viewed your email on mobile or desktop.
Beyond that, Yesware allows you to store email templates and schedule emails to be sent at a later time.”
Rapportive
Rapportive allows you to see the social media profiles of recipients. The most utility I get out of it is to test different possible email address variations of a person I’d like to cold email.”
Tripit
This tool keeps all of my travel plans and documents in one place, and easily accessible via laptop, phone, or tablet. I travel 180 days per year, and couldn’t survive without TripIt. I’d be wandering around trying to figure out what hotel I booked.
SproutSocial
It can be a challenge to respond to social media mentions and requests in a timely fashion, particularly when they’re spread across five or more social channels.
Sprout has helped me consolidate all of my social into one place and better manage community engagement.
Harvest
Harvest is a time-tracking tool that’s been a lifesaver and helps me understand whether I am scoping my client projects appropriately and staying profitable with my time.
Organization tools: Trello
A slightly more visual rendering of your to-dos, this app allows you to create boards for different projects and separate shareable lists within them. Each task goes on a separate card. I’ve tried tons of task apps, and Trello is by far my favorite.
I love how easy it is to customize, color code, and rearrange things. Perfect for the organizer that I like to be. It’s also really easy to make collaborative boards and store information — like files, notes, or images — within a task.
Evernote
Easily the best note-taking app on the app store. Hands down my favorite. Evernote will not only store out the notes you tap onto the onscreen keyboard but also the notes you record with your voice.
You can even store photos and synchronize your notes with your Mac or Windows-based PC. You can also geotag notes to make them location-based.
Evernote is an organizational tool that you can use as a storing place for short notes, or as a place to collect all your thoughts—links, photos, notes, checklists—for larger projects. An app that is super versatile.
You can take notes, create to-do lists, record voice reminders, and save your ideas and URLs to websites you visit. Access to Evernote is available on almost any device, and you search through your notes by keyword.
Stacks, Notebooks, Notes, and Tags, are how you keep track of everything in Evernote. It’s a great app for eliminating clutter and staying organized while working on multiple projects or working with several clients. Amazing.
The bottom line
Not all who wander are lost. We must successfully integrate our function with other business functions to create entire trend experiences that serve the customer all the way through their experiences throughout the business.
We can do better. Much better. But first, we need to stop seeing ourselves as crafters of clever brand messages and become creators of useful trend spotting.
