You can be much more productive. Here’s how.

I wrote a post a few days ago about 2 productivity hacks that I’ve been using that have transformed my work life. I got a great response to that post with a number of people asking me what other tools I’ve found that help make my world more productive. Micah, who works with me at Foundry, put together a list of the tools we’ve been using (or at least experimented with) that I wanted to share. Let me know if you have ones of your own you think I should add to the list.

• TextExpander – store frequently types phrases/notes across all devices
• Wunderlist– To Do list on all your devices – supports team collaboration
• Trello – collaborative task list for Teams, works well with Agile/Lean methodologies
• Asana – To-do list that allows for super granular level of detail for todo lists and team collaboration
• Voxer – Walkie talkie/messaging app for instant communication with your closest contacts you want to be more responsive to than email
• Zapier OR IFTTT – connect the tools you use to each other based on triggers/recipes and actions (Ex. Save pocket starred items to Evernote folder)
• Copyclip or Paste – Keep all of your copied/clipboard items in one place so you don’t lose anything
• Charlie App or Accompany* – Easily get a briefing on who you are meeting
• FullContact – a unified address book across accounts, devices and organizations (now supports teams)
• Notability App – Take notes on your ipad and have them sent and OCR to Evernote
• Yoink – Simplify Drag and Drop by using Yoink to move files around your fullscreen apps
• Call please – web/app call list of people to connect with (helps avoid scheduling set times for meetings that don’t need to be scheduled..)
• LastPass or dashlane – Never forget a password or deal with login troubles again!
• F.lux – save your eyes from the eerie blue glow of screens (especially at night)
• Toggl – A simple online timer with a powerful timesheet calculator, great full review about Toggl here (see RescueTime to block notifications/programs for work blocks)
• Magnet or spectacle – Mac app to move and resize windows with ease (built into windows)
• Headspace – Although it seems counter-intuitive to use a smart device for meditating, this app will help put you in the right frame of mind
• Blinkist – Book summaries, 1,500+ best-selling nonfiction books, transformed into powerful shorts you can read or listen to in 15 minutes
• Goodreads – Lets users track and rate books and network with other readers
• Pocket – Allows you to easily save webpages for later reading (syncs across devices as well, which is a real bonus)

Chrome/Gmail Extension:

• Full contact or rapporative to see public info on people
• MatterMark – Get info on companies (web & mobile app too)
• Grammarly – Writing-enhancement tool with proofreading capabilities to check for a writer’s adherence to more than 250 grammar rules

CRM

• Streak  – Spreadsheet in your inbox, mail merge, email Templates, snooze mail, send later, team collaboration and more.
• MixMax – Awesome for scheduling meetings by sending a live table, avoid the back and forth and double bookings! Also does templates, mail merge and tracks opens, clicks and downloads
• SalesForceIQ – Sales focused CRM

Websites:

• Conspire (recently acquired by FullContact) – see how you are connected to the people you want to reach through your network
• Internet Archive Wayback Machine – See what websites used to look like at a specific point in time
• Power Googling Infograph – Sample search queries to tap into the power of Google Search

Specific Startup tools

• Usepodium.com for pitch feedback
• Docusign OR HelloSign – stop sending PDF’s to sign – streamline the whole process and know when docs are opened, signed, etc.
• Docsend – track, control, send, and present sales materials with real-time document analytics.

Assistant Services

• youcanbook.me or calendly – scheduling made easy, great for sales people, demos or office hours
• Clara ($$)- AI for scheduling (I use Clara for scheduling the majority of my meetings)
• Magic ($) -For simple tasks (schedule oil change, pick up flowers, order food, etc.)
• Pana ($) – Personal travel concierge, book flights by msging Pana where you want to go and when

$ – costs money

* – beta