Ten absolutely, positively must-have tech tools for saving your sanity

Well hello (aka Great Mind),

I have ten tech tools to the rescue if any of the following are true for you. And I’m betting at least one is.

• Are you tired of spending wayyyy too much time searching for that fabulous thingamajiggy you found online a while back?
• Are you forgetting who owes who an email and you’re dropping the ball on following up?  
• Do you have a to-do list the length of the Great Wall of China but have no clue where it is?  
• Are your to-do lists spread out all over the place and are completely disjointed?
• Have you lost some important paperwork because you can't just find the (insert expletive) thing?  
• Have you found an amazing resource and you wanted to share it with your colleagues but you didn’t because it would just take too much time?
• Does your brain feel overwhelmed and overloaded by having to remember too much stuff?
• Finally has your blood pressure gone up just thinking about all this?

Seriously, don’t worry. I have your back and your brain.

After years of experimenting with a whack of tech tools that are easy, effective, and life-changing (no lie), I’ve come up with a list of ten that are must-haves if you want to decrease stress and overwhelm and amp up your ease, organization, and productivity.

I’ve listed ten types of tools below and given you the specific tool I use for each one.

Caveat: Depending on if youre a Mac or PC user, what type of email platform you use etc., you may need to select another individual tool but you'll have the type of tool to look for regardless.

1. To do / task management tool:

• Problem: your to-dos are scattered all over the place and it takes you longer to find your lists than to actually scratch stuff off them.
• Must-have solution: a to do/task management tool. These keep your to dos easily accessible and shared between devices (eg your smartphone, laptop, tablet).
• The tool I use: Workflowy. Ohhh can you hear the angels singing?! Workflowy keeps all my lists in one place and I can share them with people I choose to. For example, I keep a prioritized list of all the tasks my VA does that he can see so he knows what tasks to do in what order.
• Cost: it’s pricelessly free

2. Project management tool:

• Problem: the projects you have on the go are driving you nuts because everything is disjointed, complicated and overwhelming.
• Must-have solution: a project management tool. Different from a to do tool that manages individual tasks, a project management tool is more robust. And yes that generally means more complicated, but they can do way more stuff than a simple to do list.
• The tool I use: . ClickUp This has truly been a game changer for me. I cannot tell you how sweet it feels to have all my projects under one roof so I can focus on better things than feeling frayed because I don’t easily know what’s going on with said projects..
• Example: I use ClickUp to track all of my client communication and to remind me when I need to get back in touch, where payments are at etc.
• Cost: it has a paid version but I get all I need so far with the free version.

3. Sharing and editing documents:

• Problem: that wonderful piece of writing you did now has to be shared for editing and you’re super confused as to who has the most recent copy of edits.
• Must-have solution: a tool that easily lets you share and edit documents in ways that you want. For example, maybe you want Nivi to be able to edit, but Chuck to only be able to view.  
• The tool I use: Google docs and Google sheets
• Example: I write my blog posts in a Google doc and then my VA, who has access to them, uploads them for scheduling in WordPress. Voila.  Sync and swim.
• Cost: easy, breezy, free

4. Store, find and share content:

• Problem: your clients notes, notes from that fabulous workshop you took last month, notes from doctor’s meetings etc. are scattered to the wind, like the puff of a dandelion head on a windy day.
• Must-have solution: a tool that lets you easily and conveniently store, find and share content.
• The tool I use: Evernote. Evernote has something called OCR (optical character recognition), which means it can search, get this, even your handwriting! Which makes storing, finding and sharing information a breeze. Evernote, because it is such a powerful tool, is not one you’re going to be up and running within 5 minutes. But Steve Dotto’s free, easy Evernote Quick Start will make the learning process easy and fun.
• Example: I hired someone to scan and upload all of my recipes to Evernote so now if I want a vegetarian, main dish, poof, I seek and find recipes instantly.
• Cost: it has a free version. I pay $10 bucks a month so I can use it on more than two devices.

5. Scanning on the go:

• Problem: you need that receipt for lunch you had the other day but your cat stepped on it and it’s muddy now and illegible.
• Must-have solution: an app on your smartphone that lets you scan and upload items to a place of your choice.
• The tool I use: Scannable app. This nifty app is incredible. It gives really high quality scans and lets you send them where you want including email, Evernote, Google Drive, WhatsApp, Messenger etc.
• Example: I’ll scan client meeting notes and send them to Evernote (which remember has OCR so my handwriting is searchable).
• Cost: fabulously free

I know I promised you ten tech tools that you absolutely, postiviley must-have for saving your sanity but let’s face it, all of our sanities are under pressure right now with COVID19. Relax into the five above and know the next five are coming next week.

Until then, do me a favour. Give yourself a mental hug, reach out to your loved ones and stay safe and well. Because we all need that special juju that you have (and can now amp up with said tech tools).

Now go on and learn, laugh and lead.

Learn

• Do a mental audit of the five types of tools I raise above (to do, project management, sharing/editing documents, storing/finding/sharing content, and scanning on the go) see which ones are most pressing for you. Prioritize them from 1-5 with 1 being most pesky and pressing and 5 being least.

Laugh

• Pretty soon you’ll be feeling and acting pretty ninja, like this fellow.

Lead

• Based on your rating above, and starting with the most pressing need for you, pick one type of tool per week for the next few weeks and give them a whirl. Your future self will thank you. Promise.

Work With Me

You’re ready to start taking that beloved subject matter expertise of yours and start teaching it to others. I’m here to help.

Who I work with

I work with big thinking change makers from all sorts of fields.

Example:

• I work with wildly creative digital content strategists who are itching to help others learn their insider secrets.
• I work with storytellers who are brilliant at bridging divides and who are yearning to get their ideas onto a bigger stage.
• I work with folks like you!

My clients are experts but not teachers. They have big plans for teaching engaging workshops that position them as a leader in their field and generate the change they want to see in the world, but they get stuck with where to start and they’re afraid their lack of training skills will get in the way.

What we do together

I help big thinkers how to design and deliver game changing workshops in their beloved area of expertise.  

I offer 1:1, online training workshops designed to help position yourself as a leader in your field and generate the change you want to see in the world. I offer workshops like Workshops that Work; 4 steps to taking that beloved subject matter expertise of yours and starting to teach it to others.

Ready to get started?

Lee-Anne Ragan, President Rock.Paper.Scissors Inc. Changing the way the world works. e: [email protected]