Use these Tools to 10x Your Productivity
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I started life as a solopreneur this last September. I can hardly say I have my feet under me.
I have a philosophy background. I never went to business school.
This means I’ve had to learn a ton this past year just to keep my head above water.
Luckily, I also know how to code and have studied in depth how computers function.
This technical knowledge has allowed me to simplify every area other than sales and legal in my solopreneur life.
Admin, content creation, marketing, website maintenance, and communications are all optimized according to who I am and are able to scale rapidly when the time comes.
I keep things maximally efficient through my personalized workflows and automation.
I create specific functions and programs to further optimize whenever a new branch to the business is added.
None of these things had to be built from the ground up because there are so many programs out there which make things a lot easier.
To optimize your business or job you need to know which programs to use and a little bit about how computers work to learn them rapidly.
To become a computer wiz in 1 week check out my previous article.
To know which programs to use, here is a list of my favorite tools which I use daily.
*I’m neither a sponsor nor affiliate of any of these, just sharing what I find useful.
Workflow/Program Creation
Notion
Notion is my life backend. I have everything on there.
For this reason, I’ll spend a bit more time discussing it.
I use it to organize and manage all of my knowledge. I use it to remember so that I don’t have to.
What is it?
Notion is an all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, task management, database management, and collaboration tools into a single platform.
You can create pages, databases, and integrate various types of content such as text, images, tables, kanban boards, calendars, etc.
It also synchronizes across devices and integrates with just about every app you could think of.
Notion excels in workflow and program creation due to its versatility and customizability.
You can create workflows specific to you and how you think by linking databases, creating templates, and using powerful organizational tools to manage projects from inception to completion.
Its collaborative features enable team members to work together in real-time, share updates, and track progress efficiently.
Whether managing a complex project, developing a program, or organizing personal tasks, Notion’s flexible structure allows for adaptation to various workflows, enhancing productivity and ensuring streamlined program creation.
Perhaps most importantly, Notion is scaleable. You can design your knowledge apparatus however you’d like and make it so that it scales infinitely.
How I use it
Everyone is different. Personally, I love the ease of use that is Apple Notes. The problem is that Apple Notes is not customizable and is limited when it comes to organizing.
For this reason, I wanted to create a Notion workspace which allows me to add notes easily which are then sorted rapidly and without much additional effort.
I can add notes, thoughts, quotes, blog ideas, video ideas, etc. at the blink of an eye. Whenever I add something it is sorted automatically where I need it to go.
To add a note, all I do is tap the widget on my phone and type what I desire into it.
That’s it. The preset forms I have baked in to my Notion do the rest of the sorting work.
If I want to sort further I can add tags.
I could go on but if you’re interested, I offer it for free on my Notion creator page.
Things 3
Things 3 is a task management app for IOS devices.
I use it for its simplicity.
Whenever I have a task which needs doing, I throw it on there.
I have a widget on my phone and laptop which shows me the tasks which are most pressing.
I can add and remove my tasks through the widget itself, so I rarely enter the app itself.
It helps me stay on top of my most pressing tasks in the most simple way possible.
Automation
Zapier
Zapier is principally an automation tool.
Through what it calls “Zaps” you can automate certain tasks.
I use Zapier to simplify workflows for myself and clients.
For example, whenever something is purchased through stripe, you could be notified on Slack. You could even create a zap which responds to a purchase with an automated email.
What I enjoy using is automating my Notion with Microsoft OneNote so that whenever I create a new Notion or Microsoft note, they get sent to each other.
This allows me to have a backup of every note. Additionally, it allows me to take notes offline and have them pushed to Notion which notoriously only functions online.
Something else you could do is use Zapier make Notion your home base for literally everything in your business. You could create Zaps from Stripe, Slack, Shopify, Quickbooks, you name it. Data from every program you use will then automatically populate a Notion page that you set up. This would save you time having to switch between every different program.
I have yet to do this personally, but have always been intrigued by the idea. If you give this a shot and like it, lmk!
Read-it-Later
Instapaper
Instapaper allows you to download any article from the internet or through email.
I often stumble upon articles which I want to read yet lack the time to do so.
This allows me to save them for later.
I can also organize my articles how I’d like.
The interface of articles is clean in Instapaper.
Sometimes when I have the time to read an article I download it to Instapaper just so I don’t have to be bothered by irritating ads or an annoying web design.
You can also use highlight your articles and AI was recently incorporated to give summaries and highlights.
If we are all saving time, we can all spend more time connecting with ourselves and others.
So, if you try any of these out and find them useful, pass them on!
These programs have saved tons of my time.
I hope they do the same for you.
