5 Awesome Tools For Focus And Productivity You Need Right Now
5 awesome tools for focus and productivity I can’t live without. Make sure you check them out. I’m sure you’ll love them too.
How many awesome tools for focus and productivity have you already tried?
Me? MANY!!!
All for the sake of being able to get more done without overwhelm.
Staying concentrated is a challenge nowadays.
Our grandparents didn’t have to deal with the amount of data we have at our disposal.
And I’m not talking about “fake news.”
Take a minute to think of all the relevant information you have already come across today.
The means of communication doesn’t matter.
What did you see today on:
- The news?
- Mailbox?
- Newspaper?
- Social media? (yeah, Facebook isn’t only bashing and hating, and you know that too)
Even when it’s useful and relevant information, it’s too much.
And too much of a good thing is still too much.
How can you survive this jungle of facts without losing your soul?
What can you do to stay on track with your goals and objectives?
How not to be distracted by everything going on out there?
Systematize
In Mindful Planning™, systems play a crucial role in your success.
Its 5th step is precisely about it!
Finding the best systems that will support your efficiency efforts.
They don’t have to be the fanciest or the most expensive.
Only one rule applies.
Your system of choice must help you get the results you desire.
I also have my favorite systems.
Depending on the situation, I use one, another or a combination of productivity tools.
Today, I’ll share with you 5 awesome ones I use to stay focused and be productive throughout the day.
How to use these 5 awesome tools for focus and productivity. #coaching #mentorship #MindfulPlanning Click To TweetAwesome tools for focus and productivity I can’t live without
I love testing productivity apps and online tools.
It helps me follow new technologies and approaches. But also, it allows me to suggest the best solutions to my clients and friends.
While I go back and forth with experimentations, there are 5 tools I just can’t get enough.
They are:
Let me explain how I use them to stay focused and how they help me increase productivity.
Erin Condren Life Planners
I like beautiful things, and there’s no better word to describe Erin Condren Life Planners.
They are BEAUTIFUL!
When I’m working, I always have them close to me.
On Sundays, I write down my goals and tasks for the following week on my vertical planner.
Having these lists close to me at all times while I work helps me stay laser-focused.
As I progress, I write down on my hourly planner what I did in the corresponding time slot.
The advantage of that is:
- Knowing how long my tasks REALLY last.
- Becoming mindful of interruptions and distractions.
- Discovering where I can improve my planning.
- Making sure I have a realistic schedule.
I use color codes and stickers to mark things up. Yet, I don’t stress out about them.
If I feel inspired to do some extra decoration and time permits, fine. If not, getting my work done is the only thing that matters at the end of the day.
RescueTime
RescueTime was a finding for me.
In the beginning, when I was trying to figure out the whole solopreneur thing, I lost track of time easily.
For example, I love social media, and it plays a significant role in my business. Unfortunately, if you spend too much time with it, there’s no business anymore.
In my corporate years, I rarely (and I do mean almost never) used social media during working hours. I used to find it very distracting.
But from the moment I found myself working from home, though, it was tempting to:
- Check the latest on Twitter.
- Drop my friends a line on Facebook.
- Do some search on Pinterest.
- Double-click pictures on Instagram.
Nothing bad itself, but time flies when you’re on social media, doesn’t it?
Back then, I installed RescueTime because of its website blocker feature. And I used it a lot!
When distraction stopped being an issue, I started to advantage of its weekly reporting.
It’s a great way to review my productivity regularly.
It’s an eye-opener to see that those “5 minutes” of scrolling your Facebook feed “every now and then” turn into wasted HOURS after a couple of days.
Tide
Recently, I asked other entrepreneurs whether they listened to music for concentration.
I got great feedback, and one of them pointed me to a productivity app I hadn’t heard of before.
It was Tide.
Tide is based on the Pomodoro Technique.
For 25 minutes (or any other interval you choose), it plays nature sounds, among others, that help you stay focused.
Once the interval ends, a 5-minute break begins.
You can extend this break if you want to.
If you prefer your own soundtrack but likes the idea of having your focus intervals and breaks defined beforehand, no problem.
You can listen to Spotify, for instance, and turn off the background sound from Tide. In this case, you only get the “alarm” from the intervals.
It also has a user-friendly report and works with Health for iOs.
And don’t worry Android users, it’s also available for you.
Tide is a free app.
CoSchedule
You may be wondering what CoSchedule has to do with focus.
To me? Everything!
Since I can plan pretty much my entire social media content through it, CoSchedule saves me a lot of distraction.
Imagine having to access Facebook every single time you wanted to schedule content?
Maybe you aren’t a fan of the tool, and therefore, you just sign out as soon as you can.
Me, however, like most humans, love checking out what others are sharing.
Whether it’s my friends, favorite pages and groups, I find it hard not to fall into the trap of spending more time with my news feed than I should.
The same goes for Twitter and Pinterest.
But because I use CoSchedule’s calendar, that’s all I have in front of me.
I can concentrate exclusively on my work and nothing else.
Note that social interactions have their own block in my daily schedule.
Be more productive and focused with these 5 awesome tools. #coaching #mentorship #MindfulPlanning Click To TweetEvernote
In general terms, I say that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for focus and productivity.
Evernote, however, is an exception to the rule.
My favorite features when it comes to focusing work are:
- Evernote online
- Evernote Web Clipper Simplified Article
In my opinion, Evernote online is the most pleasing writing tool out there.
Open Evernote on your browser of choice and create a new note.
You’ll get a minimalist screen without any distracting options.
I simply love it!
The Simplified Article Clip mode from Web Clipper allows you to read your favorite online articles without:
- adds
- images
- distractions
It eliminates anything that could divert your attention away from the content.
It’s perfect when doing researches.
Focus to increase productivity
For personal or professional goals, these awesome tools for focus and productivity are excellent.
Some offer free or have freemium versions.
But all in all, they’re all worth the investment.
Once you realize how much time, energy, and sometimes, money, you waste by not concentrating on what truly matters; you’ll understand what I mean.
Time that is not Intentionally spent, is wasted.
If you have never tried these systems, I highly recommend that you check them out.
You won’t regret it!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. However, when you order through my link, it helps me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you, in advance for your support!
