Productivity Tools to Reach Your Goals
In today’s crazy schedules and trying to keep everything straight, it’s easy to think, “If I only had more time, I could…” (fill in the blank) but we all get the same amount of time each day, week, year. Since we can’t get more time, we need to start looking for ways to increase our productivity if we want to get more done in a day.
The first two ways I would recommend would be to see if you can find a way to:
* Limit distractions in this distraction-filled world
* Stay focused on a single task at a time
If you can limit the distractions and work on one task at a time, you are on your way to getting more done, but it’s not always easy to get there. Well, thanks to the amazing technology we have available to us today, there are a plenty of tools out there that can help .
Here are 3 of our favorite productivity tools to help you limit distractions and stay focused.
#1: Rescue Time
Let’s get the distractions out of the way first because even while technology brings us so many great productivity tools, it also brings us tremendous distractions. RescueTime helps you track your time on your computer and your mobile devices and identifies where you where you’re spending (ahem…often wasting) a lot of your time.
RescueTime will:
- Alert you when you’re spending a certain amount of time on an activity
- Allow you to block distracting websites during focus time
- Keep track of what you accomplished throughout the day
- Identify how much time you spend on a variety of activities, including email, meetings, etc.
- You can sign up for a Lite account, which is completely free or their premium service for added features.
#2: Focus Booster Pomodoro App
The Focus Booster app is based on the Pomodoro Technique, which is a long-standing productivity technique that uses a timer for focused work periods, usually 25 minutes, followed by a break of 3-5 minutes. After you complete 4 work periods, you get a break of 15-30 minutes. The idea is you stay completely focused on the task during the work period.
There are a lot of apps that can help you execute the Pomodoro Technique, but you can check out Focus Booster. The app is free for up to 20 sessions per month or you can pay a reasonable yearly fee for unlimited sessions and extra features.
The app keeps a time sheet for you and produces a report that allows you to track your productivity and identify ways to become even more productive.
#3: Focus @ Will
Now here’s something very different, but scientifically proven to increase focus and productivity. And if you love music, this is going to be great news for you.
Focus@Will uses human neuroscience and music to help you focus, limit distractions, get productive and retain more information. All you do is answer a few questions and the software will determine the right music to put your brain in a flow state that makes you super productive.
There is a free 2 week trial, so you can see if it works for you.
Try these tools and let us know what you think. And hey, if you’ve got a productivity tool you love, can you post it in the comments below? We’d love to gather up your answers and make part 2 for this article with more great productivity tools.
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