6 Digital Tools That Save My Sanity

A few days ago, a friend of mine was really struggling with her inbox. She was sharing on FaceBook that she was losing her sanity on a Friday evening trying to log off but still facing 600+ emails in her inbox. Half the crowd was asking her to step gently away from the computer (not bad advice!), and the other half began sharing their best tools and tips.

This is the truth: as connections and communications are key to modern Social Era work, any one of us can easily get overwhelmed. The inbox has become the monster that we fear, and yet we feed.

I thought I might share six tools that save my sanity ... in case in can help you in doing your work. (Feel free to add your best sanity saving tools, we'd all benefit from sharing.)

Feedly. I know of people who have thousands of emails in their inbox. How exhausting. But it wasn’t that long ago, I was in the same boat. My web and productivity expert, Todd Lohenry, helped with this by going through my inbox, and spotting that a bunch of my inbox were things I wanted to read – RSS feeds of thinkers, or categories of topics I research. Todd taught me a while ago that the only things that should be in my email inbox are the two R’s: revenue-related or relationships. He convinced me to move all my “nice to get / want to read” content into Feedly. I now use it to feed my brain, when my brain has space to be fed. Feedly is free. But it shouldn’t be.

Dropbox. If you don’t use Box or Dropbox, you’re missing out! When I was doing the last book launch and subsequent global speaking tour, I was inundated with requests. But, instead of having an action item to do later (or, having to hire an admin to help me keep up), I could send anyone what he or she needed, with a few clicks from my mobile device (and with minimal data utilization). It means I have everything with me at all times, independent of what device I am carrying or where I am in the world. I’ve largely gotten away with the free version (up to now 2 GB is free on Dropbox, 5GB on Box) but I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to delete older files and I’m going to need to buy the bigger space which will cost me about $120/year. But, if you travel a lot, this is worth it.

Scanner Pro. All the “futurists” who said one day we would have a paperless office clearly got it wrong. I super-seriously hate paperwork. Doesn't everybody!? I can't seem to make it disappear, so ... I’ve settled to make it as painless and fast as possible. Scanner pro is a document scanner app you can use with your iPad or iPhone, to easily get signed documents or expense details to folks. I can make a file of receipts from a table in my hotel room, and PDF it off with a cover note. Even before I’m back from a trip, my speakers’ bureau can be handling the billing for an engagement. It costs $4.99/one time buy.

Fitbit. You might have noticed that I’ve gotten into this thing called walkntalks. I track mileage every day on a little device called a Fitbit. Having a device gives relentless feedback for how much activity is happening, or not. (I like it better than the Up band from Jawbone because it is invisible by hiding it in a pocket, or – ahem, underneath clothing. This me not wear a cheap piece of plastic as an “fashion accessory”.) It captures an amazing array of information on activity – from how many steps you take each day, intensity of activity, flights of stairs, calories burned, and even sleep volume. (I’ve not yet tried the sleep thing cause I’m super afraid of the knowing that data.) The newest Fitbit now synchronizes to your iOS or Android device, so then it signals if a goal is achieved, close, or overachieved. And the social element of being connected to others lets me have some ambient noise. And I’ve been known to pace a hotel room or hall to get to my minimum 10,000 steps a day. Cost is $100.

The Delete Button. This is going to sound cold, but it is not possible to answer every email, and actually in many cases, it’s counterproductive. With 200 unsolicited emails a day, even at a few minutes to respond means I'm letting a faceless and anonymous crowd dictate my day. Someone I adore has been trying to get me to get an admin to do this correspondence for me. But the delete button is cheaper, mostly. I don’t apologize, feel bad, or guilty for not getting back to everyone. And neither should you. I wish someone had helped me find the courage years ago to live the life that I’m called to live, not to live the life others impose or expect of me. Deleting isn't about being crass, or mean, or callous... it is recognizing that none of us can't do anyone else any good if you don't have time/space to think, imagine, prioritize, etc. There is a list serve (called The Li.st) that I love to be apart of, but I can return from a full day of other meetings to find 50 emails. So my promise to myself is I can stay on the Li.st and engage on some days, if I also accept that other days I need to just “delete without looking”. This delete permission lets me be present for those projects I’m already committed to. (I also trust that if it really is important and actually calls me to use my gifts, another opportunity will present itself. This gives a certain piece of mind.) Cost is priceless.

And, finally, my most recent find that I can't get enough of ... Boomerang. Boomerang is a Gmail plug-in (works for both Firefox and Chrome) that lets you manage your inbox. When I don’t want to seem like a workaholic-insomniac, I schedule emails to go out at a more “normal” hour. When I want to make sure I follow-up to an email, I can tag it to return to me in x period if I don’t get a response. When I know I am overwhelmed right now but could be interested in that idea/person/meeting, I Boomerang it to show up in my inbox later. You can pick exact date or a time like 4 hours from now or 2 weeks from now. Cost is free for up to 10 messages outstanding at any point.

Between using Feedly, having the delete decision, buying into the email charter that reminds me to keep things short, and Boomerang, I can get mostly keep my sanity by keeping my inbox empty. Fitbit is key because, research proves, physical health is key to mental health. And Dropbox lets me take care of many small things fast with ease from anywhere. Okay, those are my 6 tools -- what are yours?

Photo: Tim Robberts/The Image Bank/Getty Images