爱思英语编者按：工作效率这是个职员不喜欢听但却天天都要听上N遍的词。外籍专家都用什么管理工具来提升工作效率呢？
What is Your Favorite Productivity Tool?
Today, the Lifehack Expert team has shared their favorite productivity tools that increased their efficiency and made their life better. Look through their recommendations, try them out and comment with your experience and recommendations below.
KIRSTIN ODONOVAN
Rescue Time.
This amazing tool tracks your activity on the computer and sends you a summary of how you have spent your time with the hours you did the past week. This is an excellent tool to identify your time thieves and improve your productivity because you are able to see where you are spending too much time and where you need to cut down. It also gives you a percentage of how productive you are. When we want to be more productive, the first step is improving the areas you are not so productive and this tool does all the hard work for you. A weekly summary is sent directly to your email.
PIOTR NABIELEC
FreeMind.
At work, it stores all my tasks in graphical and hierarchical form projects with nested tasks, tasks delegated to others and allows prioritizing and summarizing very easily. Drag and drop, multiple colors, links and icons make things visual and quick to navigate through.
With just one look I have a great summary of what I am doing, why I am doing it, what is critical and urgent, what is the best thing to do going forward, all delegated tasks and how much I already accomplished this week.
Ive been using it for years and it has proven its value!
VICTORIA CRAWCOUR
Wunderlist.
Its an online to do list that comes in both deskTOP and mobile versions, meaning I can access my lists at work, at home and on the go. As well as being much more efficient than paper lists that I more often than not misplace, you can invite other team members , assign tasks to them, include due dates on your tasks to stay on target, add subtasks and even important notes. You also receive notifications when each task is ticked off, meaning you never lose track of a projects progress! I dont know how Id cope without it; it could organise even the most scatter-brained among us!
KAVETHA SUNDARAMOORTHY
10 minute rule.
Its super simple. Every morning, I set aside just 10 minutes to start an activity. Lets say I want to write a book, I will set a timer for just 10 minutes and focus intensely on writing until it rings.
This technique is especially helpful for things you find hard or overwhelming to start. Like getting in shape. Just run in place for 10 minutes every morning until timer goes off.
The two benefits:
One, you only have to do it for 10 minutes, so your mind is less likely to make up distractions and excuses.
Two, if you do this without a break every day for a few weeks, JUST 10 minutes a day, you have established a new pathway in your brain. Now its a habit, something your brain will help you do without thinking or debating
TRENT HAND
EMClient.
I use it to organize both of my email accounts in one section, keep track of all my calendars, and generally function better at getting back to people. Its like Outlook, but free.
ANDY SMALL
OneNote.
I use oneNote in my professional and personal life to keep myself organised. It comes with the Office suite of tools but its often overshadowed by other productivity apps. While it has no OS X app it does have a web interface you can use in OS X.
ROBBIE WILLIFORD
Buffer.
It is my favorite tool for my social media productivity. I use it to post on my social media outlets in a smart way. I can maximize my reach and really hack into my social media potential in a simple and effective way.
MELODY M. AUSTIN
HootSuite.
It really is the best for social media productivity. I can watch popular TOPics in the industry and plan post days in advance. Its great when I have projects for managing client profiles and my own profiles as well.
JOSH MEDESKI
Doit.im.
It is a lesser known GTD app. I use it to empty my brain, sort my projects, and set reminders for the furutre. It syncs across all of my devices, and the Doit.im team is constantly making the product better!
ANN SMARTY
Firefox pinned tabes feature.
I save any task as a pinned tab and I wont remove it until its done.
ROB TOLEDO
Trello.
Its by far my favorite way to stay organized on projects for both time management as well as outlining the project as a whole. Its free to use and is definitely worth a shot. You can share boards with friends, coworkers, clients and bosses. Definitely changed the way I organize my days.
AARON MORTON
Get it done.
I have started using Get it done task app, a task management software that allows me to easily see what i need to do for each project.
I find myself more creative when I have multiple projects running simultaneously. In order to make this work I have to Be very organised. This app helps me do that.
BOJAN DJORDJEVIC
Byword.
It would definitively be Byword. As a writer I spend most of my productive time in the writing app. The less time I spend in a task manager thinking, and the more time I spend in the writing app working, the more productive I am.
Byword is helping me move away from all the distractions that could potentially distract me, and keeps me in the writing mode.
Your favorite productivity tool should be the one that delivers you the most results. Pick one that lets you complete your primary task in the least possible amount of time.
HANNAH BR人工智能ME
Things.
Things by Cultured Code for Mac and iOS has changed the way I manage my life. It uses David Allens Getting Things Done system to manage task lists, projects and areas of responsibility. I can schedule tasks, differentiate between work-related and personal to dos, and assign different tags to tasks to provide context, such as errands and offline. Its a great way of getting everything out of my head and into the cloud, leaving me with the mental space to focus on more exciting things!
J应用商店优化N HAVNER
Feedly.
I can minimize the time it takes to sift through useless news and get the stuff that matters to me most all in one spot. Its easy to see all my favorite new content daily without wasting time browsing through hundreds of articles.
ROB BOIRUN
Bible+.
Im not a preachy type person and dont want to tells others what they should do. But for me, I just started with a few preset reading plans on Proverbs and this has really made my focus on things much clearer and with purpose. Its really set my daily planning with a meaning that I have not found before using my own agenda.
MARIA BRILAKI
SelfControl
My latest no more distractions discovery: The SelfControl app for my Mac. once I enable it I can no longer access websites renowned for their distraction effectlike Facebook. SelfControl actually allows you to choose which websites you want to block, so anything can go in the list from Gmail to CNN.
I usually set it for 2 hours at a time. SelfControl has a countdown timer that is visible on my screen.
The benefit? Less Distractions + Increased Productivity. I avoid mindless browsing that just happens out of habit.
The benefit? Focus. Seeing the timer countdown makes me feel in work mode. For the next 2 hours, IM WORKING!
MIKE BUNDRANT
BusyCal.
I am a Mac user and was not satisfied with the calendar app that comes standard, so I began my search. I am an NLP trainer and life coach, so it is critical for me to keep appointments clear and straight as well as manage multiple other projects involved with marketing my business.
BusyCal is a paid app, but well worth it. I color code my projects and deadlines right in the app. It syncs wherever I want to sync it. BusyCal also allows easy tracking of tasks, all in a simple, intuitive interface.
After trying a dozen or more apps, including interfaces that allow the client to choose their own dates for appointments, I have opted for the easy and simplicity of BusyCal to keep my appointments and tasks organized.
OHAD FRANKFURT
Any.Do
Without a doubt, the BEST to-do list app out there, but for me its more than that. this app is my personal assistent, and helps me be more productive in my daily tasks, and because of its slick interface and fantastic user experience, it makes the process of geting things done fun.
ROBBIE WILLIFORD
Lift.
My favorite tool is Lift, which is a habit-tracking app that allows me to have a daily checklist of things that I need to accomplish. It allows me to push myself in order to form the habits that are going to make me a better person. It holds me accountable every single day and honestly, I like that.
ZOE B
STING.
I use the STING method to increase my productivity. Research has shown that interruptions waste 28% of a persons day and this simple method allows you to minimise interruptions by improving your ability to focus on one task at a time.
The STING method entails the following steps:
Select one task
Time yourself
Ignore everything else
No breaks
Give yourself a reward
