Cool Tools for Productivity

In my series on “Cool Tools” I kicked things off with Cool Tools for Humanitarians. Therein I noted that I'd be sharing various “Cool Tools” on different themes that I have stumbled upon or that I curate or have written. This post will be on Productivity. Next up will be areas such as Writing and Publishing, Startups, Checklists, and maybe some surprises. And as noted before, the title is a tip-o-the-hat to one of my favorite superheroes?Kevin Kelly?and my homage to his inspirational?Cool Tools.

The Gurus

David Allen is who I consider one of the gurus of productivity and the well know author of the newly updated bestselling?Getting Things Done, which introduces and describes his list-driven efficiency system known as “GTD.” This is a great starter tool.

A much wilder and crazy guy is another fellow whose work and content I feel are a gift to the world, drum-roll please… Tim Ferriss. Tim is the author of the best selling trinity “The Four Hour… Work Week, …Body and …Chef” books. His podcasts and The Random Show co-hostings, and now TV show “The Tim Ferriss Experiment” are all as entertaining as they are informative, and dare I say, many provide an additional and equal dose of inspiration.?Big, big fan. If reading, listening to, or watching Tim doesn't aid your productivity, bring a smile to your face and make you way more interesting at cocktail parties, then you have bigger issues than being unproductive my friend. Everything he does is a cool tool.

I also am a new fan of Shane Snow, an amazing successful entrepreneur and journalist, way too young to be good at either, but there you go. His book “Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success,” was my introduction to him; and while the book isn’t per se on productivity he delves into very engaging and helpful analyses of the lives of people and companies that do incredible things better and faster than everyone. Their “secret?” Yup, Smartcuts!

You may have a favorite as well and if so, please do share in the Comments below.

Combo Pack

I frequently post a great deal on productivity in LinkedIn already. But, there is somewhat of a shelf-life to such posts as they eventually get squeezed out into the ether as new content comes in. Also, they are not organized by any category in LinkedIn. So, Pinterest to the rescue! I curate a number of Boards on various topics, but one (no surprise) is on Productivity.

So, all of my LinkedIn Productivity Tools posts (>140 and counting) are archived and organized on my Pinterest Board on Productivity Tools.?And they are all there for you to use and put to work! (I also curate a growing library of resources in DropBox. Feel free to email me for details on that one.)

I put a lot of what I have learned and tested in a book called Meaningful Productivity.

It’s a no fluff, no nonsense guidebook on getting what’s important and meaningful to you in your daily life and goals.

Goals, Productivity and Motivation

I'm also big on Life/Bucket/Goals Lists. I practice what I preach and I’ve had a pretty good run on having had an experience filled and fulfilled life thus far. For me that productivity tool is having a life list. Here’s mine:

You’ll see that I have things I want to do as well as things I’ve done. I actually find that to be super helpful when I'm feeling overwhelmed or not very motivated.?The nostalgia I feel in reviewing what I have been able to do before can give me just the boost in confidence or discipline that I need to get something done that’s currently important to me.

Similarly, I find it helpful and motivating to not just put my goals onto paper, but in some instances to cluster related ones and add a deadline. Here’s what I came up with for my goal of seeing all 50 states, visiting 100 countries, and going to 125 World Heritage Sites by the time I hit sixty.?

Your Turn

What are some of your favorite Cool Tools for being more productive, achieving your goals, or gaining more satisfaction in your life? Please share your thoughts, experiences, and any tips in the comments section, and thanks for collaborating!

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