In my last post I talked about my methods used to increase productivity in creating this photo blog. The post included a 5 step approach in becoming more efficient and ways to simplify your blogging workflow. The method was a straightforward approach and centered around my trusty moleskine notebook.
But, there are many others resources currently available for kick butt productivity and getting things done. Check out our list to awesome resources to put your productivity into high gear!
OFFICE TOOLS
Mozy Remote Backup is an online file storage platform that enables users to share access and store important files online anytime, anywhere. Users can access or share their files from any computer or mobile device (no software required), so any files stored on the service can be retrieved or shared anywhere. Mozy currently has over 1.5 million registered users. Great for sharing photos and presentations, and for the person on the go. Sign up for free trial and take this cool application for a test drive.
Send, receive and manage your fax communications through the Internet, and compatible with Outlook and other email accounts. I recently started a new business and the need to send and receive faxes hit me the first day. eFax has a 30 day free trial, which I took full advantage of, and has solutions for businesses of all sizes. Faxes seem like an old school way of doing business, however, there are so many people who still use them on a daily basis you need a this service in place. I like the ability to handle a fax just like email using eFax. The service has a 30 day free trial.
TECH TIPS
Lifehacker is an award-winning, daily blog that features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently. Lifehacker launched in January 2005, and now ranks as one of the top-linked blogs on the internet. Simply the best in their market space. A must-have RSS feed.
Keep your finger on the pulse of everything tech related with Engadget. Founded in 2004, Engadget is updated multiple times a day with articles on gadgets and consumer electronics.
MOTIVATION / INSPIRATION
This site will help you make conscious decisions in your personal development and courageously follow through on them. This means having the maturity to take 100% responsibility for your health, your career, your finances, your relationships, your emotions, your habits, and your spiritual beliefs. Steve is insanely productive, having “graduated from college with a double major in three semesters (but no summer school). He wrote about it in the article “Do It Now“ as well as ”10 Tips for College Students.” If you like his writings, be sure to pick up Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious of Personal Growth.
Seth Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. He is the author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world, and has a perspective on business that is uniquely “Seth”. Entertaining and informative best describe his books and site. If you are involved in sales in any way, you’ve got to read his works.
If you like his blog and overall message, here are a few books I really enjoyed; Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When To Quit (and When to Stick), and Unleashing the Ideavirus.
PHOTO EDITING
Don’t let a tight budget prevent you from having a photo editing program. Gimp 2.6 is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages. Did I mention it was FREE?
Create, learn, get ideas, store and share your work, all on Photoshop.com. No, it’s not a full blown version of Adobe Photoshop CS4, but for the price, FREE, it’s pretty nice.
GET ORGANIZED
Ta-da List is the web’s easiest to-do list tool. Make lists for yourself or share them with others. It couldn’t be simpler. Completely FREE!
Free Rich Text Editor is an extremely easy to use FREE javascript based HTML WYSIWYG editor for your website, it can easily be implemented into any existing content management system or other web application with no knowledge required in programming or javascript. Only 3 lines of code required to set up the editor.
Very well thought out list of programs to aid people’s productivity! Thank you for taking the time to create such a great article! I struggle with procrastination every day at work so these programs will be a new way to increase my ability to stay on task. Can’t thank you enough.