Tech that Can Change Your Work Life in 2016
Datapath is always innovating since we're in the world of tech and we start by doing it ourselves.
We love to test and tinker and try new things. We’re constantly pushing the envelope and rethinking the unimaginable. Our focus is not solely on innovation, but also practicality and productivity.
We realize that technology isn’t the answer to all things and that sometimes just making a phone call is more effective than a quick text. However, we have run across a handful of tools that can reshape how you work and live in 2016 and beyond.
#1 Slack
This past year we evaluated a couple internal communication tools to reduce our volume of email. We tried HipChat, Google Talk and a handful of others. We settled on Slack, and although it was slow going with internal adoption (everyone struggles to let go of just using email for everything) - we've now become official converts.
This past week we had 3,307 messages on Slack, which means that many less emails. When we kicked off Slack, I remember receiving 25 internal emails just while I was sitting in a single meeting - and they were all about a company potluck. Don't’ get me wrong, I love pulled pork and ambrosia salad as much as the next guy, but I don’t need 5p emails about it.
Now after using Slack as our internal communication tool, my internal email has reduced drastically (90%+) allowing me to focus on important external emails (from customers, vendors, etc.).
#2 Outlook for IOS
I converted from the native mail app on my iPhone to Microsoft's mail app, Outlook. Microsoft purchased an upcoming mobile mail app development company prior to their launch, and I'm glad they did.
This app was a bit bumpy in the beginning, but I would never go back. This app saves me so much time through a number of slick features, for starters:
- All legitimate email is put in a tab called "Focused," while all other mass email is put under a tab called "Other." At first I thought this would not work well, but it's rare that I have any email get missed categorized. This is a huge time saver, I've receive an averaged of 50-60 mass emails a day
- Easily view your calendars, contacts and files from a number of syncing applications
- Swipe left to schedule a reminder
- (My favorite) "Send Availability" feature while sending an email. This allows you to click on areas of your schedule that are open for a meeting and once you're done selecting them, it puts your available slots in a nice table to send right within your email
#3 Wearables
Now before you stop reading, I know what you’re thinking. You would really love to slap someone who is wearing a pair of Google glasses, and I couldn't agree more.
You can't go anywhere without noticing someone sporting a fitness bracelet trying to reach their 10,000th step for the day. These activity trackers have taken hold of the times and allow personal users the ability to quantify, capture and analyze their own fitness data.
Let’s face it, during the work day (and often everywhere else) we're obsessed with checking our phones. I started using smart watches a couple years ago (starting with the Pebble) and found myself checking my phone much less often - allowing me to focus in the moment for meetings or just hanging out with my team.
This past year I did convert to an iWatch and have found it to be even better than the other watches I've tried. I often had connections issues with other smart watches, however, the iWatch has been seamless – and I appreciate the alerts from email, slack, etc. that allow me to think less frequently about my phone when I'm at the office.
Here's a couple more for fun:
Cat Paint
Possibly the best investment you'll make all year, this app allows you to impose cats into any photo. This is especially critical for those meetings that go longer than they should.
Boomerang
This app makes some of coolest and often awkward GIF like videos. It takes bursts of photos and turns them into a short video.
Nudifier
This is one of my favorites, this app allows you to take a photo and blur portions out (similar to those blur spots on TV when someone loses their pants).
2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-outlook/id951937596?mt=8
3 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/catpaint/id339462921?mt=8
4 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boomerang-from-instagram/id1041596399?mt=8