Become absurdly productive with these apps

For those of you that know me, I'm absolutely obsessed with productivity and efficiency. Here are the apps that I adore - and could make you a machine.

Google Apps for Work 

Aka business Gmail (the Gmail interface, but @yourdomain.com). Includes Drive, Docs, etc. Having Gmail at work - isn't that amazing?! I can have my files in the cloud wherever I go, collaborate with people easily via Docs, etc. It's unbelievable. And there are so many amazing extensions and integrations to add to it to make it like a full business dashboard.

Streak

A customer relationship management (CRM) inside of Gmail / Google Apps for Work. It is extremely annoying to go to an external CRM system and manually re-enter a bunch of info. Streak also has a bunch of other awesome features, including email tracking (to see if someone opened your email) and an email return feature (e.g. at a later date, if someone didn't respond, etc.). Never miss a follow-up and track all of your deals. Did I mention that the free plan is amazing?

When2Meet.com

I purposely didn't include a picture of the interface because...it's not a looker. But it's an extremely quick way to for everyone in a group to mark down their availability online and then decide on a meeting date. 

Trello

Fantastic free web app (and an accompanying mobile app) that allows you to do lightweight project management and collaboration. Trello is unique because it uses a visual card system called "kanban." Probably the best project management tool for projects that aren't particularly complex.

Wunderlist

The best to-do list app - period. Has fantastic web and mobile apps. Have your tasks synced wherever you go. Still have your to-do list on your iPhone? That's fine, but if all of your other devices aren't from Apple, you won't take your to-do list with you wherever you go. This app goes wherever you go.

Calendly

Hate email scheduling? I used to. There's too much back-and-forth non-sense. By the time you find a good time for you both to meet, someone else already took that spot. The list goes on.

This is a fantastic web app (that works great on tablet/phones too - "responsive") that minimizes all of this. People can have access to your calendar (after you set certain parameters) and pick their preferred time. It also sends people email reminders before the meeting.

RescueTime

Desktop application / chrome extension that runs in the background and tracks what you're doing. It will send you email reports on a weekly basis of your productivity - and continue to track that over time. It also can show you how much time you're wasting on sites like Facebook.

Canned Responses for Gmail

A simple free add-on for Gmail / Google Apps for Work. You can find it in the "Labs" section. Canned responses are simply email templates that you can create. So if you send a lot of the same emails (e.g. a basic "about my company" blurb), you should investigate this. There are probably similar email template systems for other email clients. Also, Streak offers this same functionality (though I prefer Gmail's Canned Responses). Note - canned responses are saved as hidden drafts - so don't just delete all of your drafts!

Evernote

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know what Evernote is. Shocker...it's a great way to save the notes that you take. I find it good for complex notes.

For simple/quick note-taking, I recommend...

Simplenote

*What a name!

Unbelievably easy and quick way to create notes. Feels more lightweight than any other note-taking apps that I've tried. Web + mobile app. Made by the same company that created WordPress.

Toggl

Insanely simple time-tracking. Great web + mobile apps. You can assign time to certain projects, from certain people, etc.

Sunrise Calendar

My favorite calendar app, plain and simple. I live my life off of my calendar and to-do list. Has web app and mobile apps, as well as a Mac desktop app.

Accompli

I personally don't use the app, but I've tried it, and it's amazing. It shows your mail, calendar, contacts, and attachments - all in one mobile interface. Microsoft also just purchased them (for about $100m) to become the new Outlook app.

Charlie

If you do a lot of networking, then you better do your research. Simply sign up for Charlie - it will integrate into your calendar and automatically send you reports of public info on those that you're meeting with - right before your meetings (or in a morning report).

Slack

Last but absolutely not least. This is the collaboration tool that everyone is talking about. I'm dying to use it myself (haven't had the need quite yet). It is essentially a live chat + file-sharing tool (with excellent web, desktop, and mobile apps) that is extremely searchable. It can reduce your email by well over 50% (some people say 80%+). It is also one of the fastest-growing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies ever. They've raised well over $100m.

Have any tools that you love that weren't mentioned? Please comment them below - or let me know how you like this!