What tools do you use to stay productive?
Interview with Paul, a remote product designer who has found his zen
The main tools I use are the Bullet Journal, supported by Google Calendar and the Time Timer. In my search to find a way to take better notes and to-do lists, I discovered the Bullet Journal (BuJo). This brought order and structure to how I captured notes and to-do lists that had previously been random and sometimes chaotic.
It looks like just a regular dotted notebook, but it's actually an analog system that helps track the things I need to do, the things I have done, and schedule them.
The act of physically writing things down is quite mindful and helps me be more intentional about what I need to do.
I also use the BuJo to write my daily gratitude log. When I am in the flow of using the BuJo, I feel in control of things. When I fall out of the flow, I don't feel as in control.
I use Google Calendar to support entries in my notebook and block out time for things that are important to me. At a high level, this breaks down to Personal / Family Time, Laser Focus Time, and Open / Collaborative Work time.
This helps to balance my week and understand when I have time to focus on things. These tools also allow me to know when I can schedule meetings or collaborative work, and when I can be with my family or have some time out.
The Time Timer is a little clock that sits next to my monitor and helps create a sense of urgency for each task.
After that, it's GSuite for communicating and collaborating with colleagues, Figma for design work and Miro for virtual whiteboarding.
I wrote more detail about this approach in "Building Blocks of Time Creating Balance and Structure for Work & Life Under the Same Roof" published on Medium
The COVID-19 pandemic drove Paul to embrace remote work. See how he has adapted his routine to this new normal, and the one tool that keeps him organized.
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Interview with Emma, a freelance marketing consultant
I probably go a bit overboard here. I have a separate notebook for each client, a master to-do list, a few Trello boards, a couple of LucidChart maps, oh, a whiteboard, a sketch pad, and the notes function on my iPhone.
It sort of depends on the type of work I’m doing too. But I’d say it’s my good old to-do list and pen and paper that keeps me most productive.
The act of writing things down is still the best tool to both help with creativity and make that commitment to do something.
Emma is thriving as a freelance marketing consultant—see her tips on managing client demands & making yourself marketable as a freelancer.
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Interview with Audrey, a military wife thriving as a marketing manager
Right now, I'm really digging Todoist to keep all my tasks and deadlines organized. I'm also a huge fan of CoSchedule, a marketer's dream calendar.
Since our entire team at Boldly is remote, using Slack and the Google suite helps keep life easy. Honestly, I'd be lost without those two tools.
But the glory of remote work, in my opinion, is that you don't have to use online tools to keep you productive.
Sometimes the answer to productivity is the old-fashioned one: Get out and take a walk outside when you're feeling tired or distracted and reset.
No human can sit at a desk for eight straight hours completely focused and highly-productive. The more companies can accept and embrace this truth, the happier and more productive their teams will become.
Marrying an active-duty army officer sent Audrey on the search for a remote work position—see how she has established her career while staying on the move.
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Interview with Danielle, an author who found the benefits of coworking
I love Trello, Slack, and Calendly. They help me tremendously with productivity.
Calendly is such a great hands-off scheduler. It stays in my email signature, so if someone wants to meet or schedule a call, I can direct them to the link so they can schedule it according to a time that works best for them. It’s one less back-and-forth thing that needs to be done.
Trello is used for my overall and book publishing to-do list and also for my social media editorial calendar. The use of labels and add-on calendar functionality enable me to see a high-level view of what I have running and scheduled for each social platform. It’s great to have it all in one place with my to-dos.
Slack keeps me connected. I am plugged into a few different workspaces (5), and they keep me well-informed about people, culture, jobs, and professional skills (+ more). It’s like a virtual networking session 24/7, which is huge when you’re remote or independent of traditional co-workers.
Danielle's remote work journey led her to become an author—see how coworking with other remote workers and digital tools have helped her to fulfill her passion.
Read full interview from Interview with Danielle, an author who found the benefits of coworking.
Interview with Tammy, founder and CEO of Workplaceless
Google Drive, Slack, Asana, Evernote, and a standing desk.
Learn how this founder and CEO of a remote work resource and certification program handles the triumphs and trails of location independence.
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Interview with Vernon, a freelance technical writer
As a technical writer, most of my time is spent either testing, researching or writing. As such, the tools that I use support those functions.
Specifically, I am a software technical writer; that's my specialty. So "testing" involves using the software that I'm working with. I use a Windows 10 laptop, but if I'm writing documentation for a Mac app such as Focus, then I'll use a Mac Airbook that I have access to.
I am, however, looking into running a virtual Mac on my Windows laptop, for convenience, using VirtualBox or some other suitable virtualization software. This program will also come in handy should I require testing apps within a Linux environment.
Some applications are online, be it an applet on a website or a full-blown SaaS platform. For these, a good web browser that supports the underlying architecture is necessary. As such, while I usually use Google Chrome, I might have to use another browser such as Windows Explorer or Windows Edge should there be any issues.
Most of my research happens online, so a good web browser is key. As I said before, I like to use Chrome. It's fast, reliable, highly customizable and extendable given the applets and extensions in the Google Web Store. It rarely crashes and most websites support it.
The actual act of writing can be complex. Most of my writing used to be done in Microsoft Word, but I've recently had to look for frugal alternatives. I've been using the OpenOffice suite of programs, specifically OpenOffice Writer.
It's not as polished or feature-rich as Microsoft Word, but it definitely gets the job done. I may return to using Microsoft Word, but so far I'm good with what OpenOffice has to offer.
Now, Writer and Word are great for starting, making notes and preparing drafts, but the final product may require something more specialized. For those clients who require PDF documents, depending on what they're asking for, I could simply render the .pdf file using Word or open the file in Adobe Acrobat.
If the client requires Help Files to be written for their program then I would use RoboHelp. RoboHelp allows me to write software documentation and export it to a number of file formats such as Adobe AIR and Microsoft WinHelp.
For clients who require, or already have structured documentation or require their documentation to be done in an XML or SGML formats then I would use Adobe FrameMaker.
So far in my short career, these last two options have not been requested. They are standards within the industry though, so I know that it's only a matter of time before I acquire clients who will make such requests. Having said that, I'm learning how best to use them.
Apart from these tools, I've had to use other online tools used by the client such as Freshdesk and Confluence for documentation, DropBox and Google Drive for file sharing, JIRA and Trello for task scheduling and teleconferencing apps such as Zoom, Skype and GoToMeeting.
The last set of tools I use are for time tracking. For those clients who pay me on an hourly basis, and so far they are all on Upwork, I use Upwork's Time Tracker app. It records my work session when activated so that my clients can review the work I've done, ensuring them that I am doing what they pay me to and that their money is well spent.
Vernon is a freelance software technical writer that uses lists to organize his hectic freelance schedule—see how he maximizes his time throughout the workday.
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Interview with Deborah, a remote entrepreneur changing perceptions about remote work
- A Roost laptop stand and separate keyboard so I can work comfortably for long periods.
- Noise-canceling headphones so I can listen to music or to my interviews without disturbing coworkers, and so I can block out noise that's distracting me
- When I'm in the analysis stage of a project, I also love to have some magic whiteboard sheets that stick to the wall or window using static and are reusable. I find these useful to jot down my thoughts or ideas as they pop into my head as I'll be percolating away regardless of whether or not I'm actually working at the time. My windows at home always have at least one or two sheets with random thoughts scribbled on them. One of the projects I'm working on at the moment is health-related, and I made some notes about it causing 'relationship issues' on my whiteboard. My boyfriend came round and was trying to decipher my notes, and he thought I'd been writing stuff about him.
Deborah has traveled the world sharing her research about the pros of remote work. See how she is helping companies and clients understand the importance of location independence.
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Interview with Cecilia, a content writer managing her remote career in Dubai
I use many tools to stay productive!
To name a few, I use the StayFocusd extension for Chrome to block distracting websites and Qbserve for Mac track of how I spend my time on the computer. I'm a big fan of the StayFocusd nuclear option to block all sites except those I've whitelisted.
To keep me from getting distracted on my phone, I use App Detox to block distracting apps and Fabulous to create good productivity habits.
Although sometimes, what works best for me is as simple as turning off my phone and the wifi.
Cecilia got her start translating blog posts, and in 2018 she went fully remote. See her tips for managing an international remote work career.
Read full interview from Interview with Cecilia, a content writer managing her remote career in Dubai.
Interview with Pola, a Paris-based content writer
I use Kantree for work management and my monthly content calendar. Buffer and TweetDeck are time savers when it comes to social media.
A job ad in an online group led Pola to find her ideal career as a content writer—see her remote work & job seeking takeaways.
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Interview with Mehmet, a nomadic digital maker and entrepreneur
The most helpful productivity trick I do is, I try to stay in the browser. Using native apps gives too much freedom to the tools being unnecessarily distractive with their notifications. I use Slack, emails even sometimes coding work within the browser versions.
I used the Focus app and also used Stretchly to tame my distractive brain while I work. I believe most of us don’t have the discipline to not respond to a message we receive or lose ourselves in the depths of the internet.
I used to do more rigorous GTD techniques like Pomodoro, or tried half of the to-do apps in their different versions and eventually landed on keeping my to-dos in simple text files (super portable between devices) and without trying anything special.
I try to define my highlight for the day and focus on one single great task to finish, and that’s it.
Mehmet has embraced his remote team leadership style. Hear about his most helpful productivity trick and why he has "quiet" days for his staff.
Read full interview from Interview with Mehmet, a nomadic digital maker and entrepreneur .