These are some of our favorite tools for business productivity, in no particular order:
We first started using X1 years ago when it was called Yahoo Desktop Search and found it to be an invaluable tool for quickly and easily finding (and therefore getting more value from) our old digital content. X1 provides an extremely powerful way to find information on your desktop, whether it is buried in emails, email attachments, files on your desktop or now in your social media accounts. To quote Susan Feldman, VP for Search & Discovery at Technologies IDC, “X1’s design eliminates the wasted time of clicking through search results, opening and closing one document after another. Pulling together documents, attachments, and email in one easy-to-use interface cuts down on time spent looking so that workers can start doing.”
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Unlimited cloud-based backup of your email, documents, photos and music for just $5/month. External hard drives don’t give you any real protection from fire or theft of both your computer and a backup hard drive.
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Handwritten Thank You Notes, plus a USPS stamp
In the age of email and attachments, SMS & MMS, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, SnapChat, LinkedIn, eCards and phone calls, there’s still nothing that shows genuine appreciation more than an old fashioned, handwritten thank you note delivered via snail mail! If you want to get fancy, you can find and customize your stationary on Zazzle.
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Rapportive is a Social CRM tool that shows you everything about your contacts right inside your Gmail inbox. (It’s the Gmail equivalent of the Outlook Social Connector.)
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Doodle is an easy and effective way to poll people located in multiple organizations and find the best date/time for a meeting.
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Blogtrottr delivers updates from all of your favorite news, feeds, and blogs directly to your email inbox, giving you the flexibility to stay updated whilst on the go.
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This is one of a new group of cloud-based services that have sprung up to solve the long-standing problem of needing to email huge files to other people. Be sure to consider security issues before sending sensitive information and check into the paid version of the software.
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We’re the first to admit that we’re “kicking it old school” by recommending OneNote (which is a part of the Microsoft Office suite of tools) over a newer cloud-based service like Evernote. Eight years after it was introduced, OneNote continues to help people looking to organize and manage diverse sets of unstructured text, photos, video and links through a set of flexible digital notecards.
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Water Joe is caffeinated water, with 1 small bottle containing the same charge as an 8 oz cup of coffee.
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More than 6 years after we first started using this tool, its ability to facilitate and accelerate the all-important process of professional networking is still truly amazing. If you aren’t using this tool, there is a very good chance that you should be. And if you are using this tool, there is a very good chance that you could be getting much more value out of it.
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Power strip with 15’ extension cord
If you are a mobile worker, a power strip with an extra-long cord is an invaluable tool. No longer do you have to find a seat right next to a power outlet at Starbucks or the airport, or share a limited number of outlets with other people also looking to charge multiple tablets, laptops and phones.
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Many knowledge workers and road warriors suffer from various back pains. This prescription drug can be something of a wonder drug for relieving symptoms or getting a good night’s sleep. (Of course, you should only take this after meeting with your doctor and obtaining a prescription!)
