Mashable's new video series, Behind the Launch, follows Vungle on its startup journey toward a June launch. Each week on Mashable, the Vungle team offers tips and lessons learned from its own startup experience. This week, the Vungle team hustle its way through networking and deals, and to be a true hustler, you can't waste time. Check out co-founder Jack's advice on how to hack your productivity with great gadgets and tools. Want more? Tune into Behind the Launch every Monday and Wednesday.
Startups are hard work; I can often find myself working until 2 or 3 a.m several nights in a row, then getting up to come in at 10 a.m. and start all over again. I'm quite a night owl and get a lot of my work done late at night, so getting up early can be tough. Unfortunately, the last Behind the Launch episode documented a day that I wasn't able to be contacted at 8 a.m.. On top of my long days, I'm ADHD, so it can be hard to keep it together. Fortunately, there are a number of gadgets and tools that I (and potentially you) employ to organize work routines more effectively. Here are my top recommendations. What is your favorite tool to use for productivity? Let us know in the comments.
I've found Lark to be a great wake-up alarm. It's silent, and it wakes you through a vibrating wrist device. It works well even for deep sleepers (I can attest to that).
At the other end of the spectrum (opposite Lark) is the Sonic Boom alarm clock. It is as loud as a pneumatic drill and includes a vibrating extension pad that goes under your pillow, physically shaking it. If you sleep through this, then you should definitely go to see a doctor.
You can think of either a combination of the Sonic Boom and Lark, or one or the other depending on your personal taste. I actually find the Lark device more effective.
iDoneThis is an essential tool to help keep track of my employees in multiple locations (we also have an office in London). Each team member enters what tasks he completed at the end of each day, so there's transparency and accountability across the company.
Also, I can quickly glance to see how everyone is progressing and if I can offer anyone additional support with any of the tasks that they're working on.
Pocket (formerly called ReadItLater) and its associated Chrome extension are essential for helping me stay focused and on track with the task that I'm currently working on. If I find something interesting that I'd like to read, but not at that present time, you can click a button to save it for later reading.
It also integrates with Google Reader, so I can carry on doing my work, and catch up on my essential reading at a later time that's more convenient for me.
If you don't have Rapportive installed on your Gmail account, go and get it now! This is an indispensable tool for gaining more insight into the people you communicate with via email.
If I receive an email from someone, I can just mouse over their email address and in the right sidebar, I can see their social media profiles on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter accounts.
Another absolutely essential tool, LastPass remembers all of your passwords and logins and helps you generate extra-secure passwords.
With so many logins across the web, this is a tool that I can't live without.
Why on earth Google hasn't bought Boomerang for Gmail, I do not know.
This important tool lets you "boomerang" emails based on different criteria. For example, when I'm sending an email, I can tell the app, "If no one responds to this email within two days, bring it back to the top of my inbox." I can then follow up with that person so the thread doesn't just drop off and get lost in my inbox.
RightInbox is a great solution for scheduling emails to be sent at a later time (a feature that Boomerang also offers) and also allows you to be notified when someone reads an email that you sent.
So if you don't get a response from someone, you can chase him knowing that he has read your email -- no more excuses!
I've found Lark to be a great wake-up alarm. It's silent, and it wakes you through a vibrating wrist device. It works well even for deep sleepers (I can attest to that).
At the other end of the spectrum (opposite Lark) is the Sonic Boom alarm clock. It is as loud as a pneumatic drill and includes a vibrating extension pad that goes under your pillow, physically shaking it. If you sleep through this, then you should definitely go to see a doctor.
You can think of either a combination of the Sonic Boom and Lark, or one or the other depending on your personal taste. I actually find the Lark device more effective.
iDoneThis is an essential tool to help keep track of my employees in multiple locations (we also have an office in London). Each team member enters what tasks he completed at the end of each day, so there's transparency and accountability across the company.
Also, I can quickly glance to see how everyone is progressing and if I can offer anyone additional support with any of the tasks that they're working on.
Pocket (formerly called ReadItLater) and its associated Chrome extension are essential for helping me stay focused and on track with the task that I'm currently working on. If I find something interesting that I'd like to read, but not at that present time, you can click a button to save it for later reading.
It also integrates with Google Reader, so I can carry on doing my work, and catch up on my essential reading at a later time that's more convenient for me.
If you don't have Rapportive installed on your Gmail account, go and get it now! This is an indispensable tool for gaining more insight into the people you communicate with via email.
If I receive an email from someone, I can just mouse over their email address and in the right sidebar, I can see their social media profiles on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter accounts.
Another absolutely essential tool, LastPass remembers all of your passwords and logins and helps you generate extra-secure passwords.
With so many logins across the web, this is a tool that I can't live without.
Why on earth Google hasn't bought Boomerang for Gmail, I do not know.
This important tool lets you "boomerang" emails based on different criteria. For example, when I'm sending an email, I can tell the app, "If no one responds to this email within two days, bring it back to the top of my inbox." I can then follow up with that person so the thread doesn't just drop off and get lost in my inbox.
RightInbox is a great solution for scheduling emails to be sent at a later time (a feature that Boomerang also offers) and also allows you to be notified when someone reads an email that you sent.
So if you don't get a response from someone, you can chase him knowing that he has read your email -- no more excuses!
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario