I’ve been into living a productive life in 2015. I discovered tools that gave great advantage in getting things done. Without these tools I knew last year will have a lesser success rate.
Below are 7 Productivity Tools That Worked for me in 2015.
Google Calendar is by far a must have for every blogger. I use GCal to plan my contents in advance whether it would be for my beauty and lifestyle blog IzzaGlino, this blog or my YouTube Channel. I love how I can easily create an event which represents what blog post will be up on what date. I can drag if ever I miss the publishing date and I can easily edit if I change my mind on the post titles. I can also color code for easy references.
This has been a great tool for me in terms of my blog writing. I use this to draft my posts and to collect blog post ideas. I have it on my phone which helps me create blog posts on the go. I am not used to creating contents straight to the Blogger New Post web so Evernote literally made my 2015 a better one for its simple digital note-taking system. I can create notebooks, tags and simple layouts on how I want the blog posts to look like.
Got obsessed over the idea of the Bullet Journal early 2015 and since then I got stocked finding the perfect set up for me. Bullet Journal is an amazing tool for people who love lists like me and those who want to efficiently use their time. If you want more information about Bullet Journaling and a peak on how I set up my bullet journal this year click HERE.
This saves me tons of time on my research process. It has everything I need from post ideas, journal prompts, what to do, places to visit etc. Pinterest is a lovely place to try something new, to learn something else and to realize something missing in your life. Whenever I have an idea in my mind I go straight to Pinterest to find other supporting articles and it will give a much concrete blog post.
One thing I realized is that if I want to get things done I have to set my mind and my heart to it. Focus. And nothing made me more focused than adding a timer whenever I do a task. Whether it be a task at work or a task on my blog I use a timer as a measure of productivity. I mostly set it to 20 minutes with 10 minute break. I notice that I get more things done whenever I have a timer on each task.
I hope adding books in the list of productivity tools is fine. For 2015 I was able to collect few productivity books that truly helped me along the way. I got Getting Things Done by David Allen, a phenomenal book about how to handle tasks smartly. I also got Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff that showed me a better way of focus. I also had Motivation book for short term and long term projects. Organize Your Life is a complete book filled with organization tips from personal life, finances, home, setting up a party and more.
I’ve been a big fan of Spotify in 2015 and used it to be motivated in finishing a task. I go over my current favorite songs and I’ll be sure to enjoy doing what I do which yields to more things done. READ: My November Playlist
I realized how simple pen and paper could work amplify my productivity. At times when I need to jot down my idea, my things to do or my schedule I’ll simply grab a pen and paper and I’m done. I feel way better once I released all of my thoughts through writing.
The above tools will still be part of my 2016 but I’ll sure have better way using them. I am also looking forward for new tools I’ll discover this year that can help me achieve a successful year.
Can you share any productivity tool that worked for you too?