I can’t live without these productivity tools
I always say that I’m a recovering productivity junkie… and it’s actually a lie.
I’m still 100% obsessed with productivity hacks. But I’m trying to find a more sustainable route. Instead of pursuing the toxic productivity that had its hook on me for the past several years — bringing me dangerously close to extreme burnout — I’m on a mission to find ways that help me make the most of my time.
It’s the whole “work smarter, not harder” thing.
I’ve stopped measuring my productivity in hours worked in a week and switched to pursuing the smallest possible ratio of time worked to things getting done.
And one thing that helps me keep my peak productivity going without making me lose my actual mind is my trusty stack of tech.
I’ve been a lifelong tech junkie. (Just ask my grandpa who used to pay be $20 to come over and show him how to hook up his printer to his new mac, or how to get his word docs to save.)
As a savvy tech user, I’ve tried most productivity tools out there, and these are the one that I hold most near and dear. And they make everyone think that I’m superhuman.
Notion
If you’ve even taken a single step into the productivity rabbit hole, you know Notion. It’s a hyper-customizable database and notetaking app, available on web, desktop, and mobile.
I use this as a project manager for everything in my life.
Literally everything.
I’m talking freelance work, blog posting, books to read, apartment hunting, lists of gifts I want to buy friends, my dog’s needs.
Having this one central life database is a game-changer for me. Instead of having all of these random lists, links, and ideas spread across I don’t even know how many digital and physical locations, I have one place to input anything.
This saves me so much time and stress from having to track down all these odds and ends.
I even cut down my habit of keeping 4329042314 tabs up on my phone’s browser and just automatically file these articles I want to read, things I want to buy, restaurant recs, etc. in the appropriate place on my notion.
Perhaps the most helpful way that I use Notion is as my content database. I can easily capture any ideas I have for a written piece, an email, or a video. It makes it really easy to go back and act on any of them when I have the time.
This is also helpful for managing projects. I used it as a hub for all of my moving tasks when I made the move from Atlanta to Los Angeles. But I’m also currently using it as a planning workspace for scaling my content business.
I spent a solid month customizing a super complex template that I got online, and my life has been forever changed since that time 2 years ago.
If you want to do a deep dive into the possibilities of this platform, I’d highly recommend checking out the Better Creating channel on YouTube.
But now that I’ve been in the platform for a few years, I decided to build my own full-life system from scratch. If you’re looking for some inspiration, or you want to buy an affordable, ready-made template, check out my walkthrough below.
Calendly
Thanks to my previous boss for 100% evangelizing me on how great this tool is.
Being a 9–5er, a freelancer, and a real human who socializes, I’m juggling a lot of calendars.
If I need to schedule some time, I don’t want to go back and forth between all of these calendars to find an opening.
With Calendly, I just send out a magical link that can automatically pull all my availability and let someone grab any open slot.
A godsend 🙏
My iPad and digital planner
Every once in a while I switch to a paper planner (and when I do, it’s always Papier), but I always end up gravitating back to my tried and true digital planning roots.
I’ve been a planner person my whole life. Unless I write it down, there’s not a chance that I’d ever get anything done.
But I’ve been specifically digital planning since college, when I first started using my iPad for notetaking. Since I was taking notes in there, I figured I might as well keep my tasks organized in the same place.
And for me, the different was immediately noticeable.
It’s the perfect balance between handwritten and fully digital planning. You have the flexibility of the digital aspect, but the tactical feel of paper planning.
While I organize my big-picture tasks in notion, my iPad planner is my go-to for weekly and daily tasks. I start (almost) every day by looking at my schedule, slotting out tasks, and setting my main goals for the day.
As a big checklist girl, this gives me all of the motivation I need to get things done.
I’ve played around with several planners, and I even made a few when I couldn’t find an exact one that fit my need. But for now, I’m using a Flourish Planner. But I always use them on Goodnotes because it can connect between both my iPads, my computer, and my phone.
I recently got my iPad mini for almost the sole purpose of having a better, more portable version of my planner with my at all times.
The whole Google Suite
I’m a professional Microsoft hater.
I would rather handwrite something with a crayon than use a Microsoft Word doc (but I still have to use it from time to time 😩)
Google is like the Apple of cloud workspace tools.
The fact that everything is easily connected and collaborative makes it so easy to keep track of notes, drafts, reports, and anything else that’s relevant to my work life.
I still have no idea what the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint is, and I don’t care. Google Drive will always have my back.
