How productivity tools can help you
If you’re like most busy people, you’re always looking for ways to increase your productivity. If you can find ways to limit distractions in this noisy world and stay focused on a single task at a time, then you will be well on your way to getting more done. Of course this is not as easy as it sounds but, thanks to the amazing technology we have available to us today, there are a plenty of productivity tools out there that can help .
Here are some of my favourite productivity tools to help you limit distractions and stay focused. There are many more and I will add some of the best to this post over time.
Rescue Time
Start with getting 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 the time you spend on your computer and your mobile devices and identifies where you where you are spending (or wasting) a lot of your time.
RescueTime will:
- Alert you when you are spending a certain amount of time on an activity
- Allow you to block distracting websites during your focus time
- Keep track of what you have accomplished throughout the day
- Identify how much time you spend on a variety of activities, such as email, Internet browsing, etc.
You can sign up for a Lite account, which is completely free or use their premium service for added features.
Focus Booster Pomodoro App
https://www.focusboosterapp.com/
The Focus Booster app is based on the Pomodoro Technique, which is a well known 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 take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. The idea is that you stay completely focused on one task during the work period.
There are a lot of apps that can help you execute the Pomodoro Technique, but I like Focus Booster. The app is free for up to 20 sessions per month or you can pay a small yearly fee for unlimited sessions and additional 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 over time.
Focus @ Will
Now here is something completely different but it is scientifically proven to increase focus and productivity. If you love music like I do, then this is going to be great news for you.
Focus@Will uses human neuroscience and music to help you focus, limit distractions, be more 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 two-week trial, so you can see if it works for you.
Conclusion
Try these tools and let me know what you think. And if you love any particular productivity tools you can you post them in the comments below along with a note on how they help you. I would love to collect your suggestions and extend this post with more great productivity tools.
