Small Business Guide: Tools to Increase Productivity at Work

As a business owner, you have no doubt heard the phrase, "Time is money." Nowhere is that truer than when it comes to being productive. To ensure that you and your employees are getting their tasks and projects done on time to boost sales and promote your company's growth, everyone needs to be using their time wisely.

Of course, saying you are going to be productive and putting that plan into action are two different things. You may spend an entire day putting in a lot of effort at work and feel like you've accomplished nothing. Instead of going home feeling exhausted and guilty for not finishing what you had planned, there are better ways to increase productivity at work.

Current technology not only helps boost your business, but it can also help you maximize your time and use it wisely. Below are some tips and a few of the best tools to increase productivity at work.

1. Automate What You Can

The internet has had a significant impact on how you engage with and talk to customers. If you're like most businesses, then you should have a presence online. It's not enough to have a website. While this is an excellent way for customers to find you and see what you have to offer, you should also have a presence and interact with people on social media. There are many options to choose from, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Hootsuite Composer

To ensure that you are getting the most out of your social media accounts, you need to post on these sites actively. If you're looking for a way to make this task easier, as well as schedule posts in advance, then you should be using Hootsuite Composer. This tool makes it easy to post across many social sites, and you can schedule them hours, days or weeks in advance. This is a great way to ensure that you are offering an exceptional customer experience, as well as maximizing you and your employee's time.

2. Keep Track of Your Assignments and Tasks

One of the essential parts of being productive at work is knowing exactly what needs to be done. Once you have a list of assignments that need to be completed, you then need to prioritize your tasks by creating to-do lists so that you can get the most important done first. When it comes to tools to increase productivity at work, Todoist can help with this endeavor.

Todoist

This task management tool helps you stay organized and keeps track of all your tasks in one place. You can set reminders so that you know exactly what needs to be done and when. You can have these reminders pop up on devices of your choosing. This tool even works when you are offline.

No longer will you have to rely on your memory or where you put the handwritten to-do list you created. With Todoist, you'll have all of your essential tasks on the devices you use most often. Even if you are on the go or in meetings, you'll be reminded of what needs to be done and when it's due. This is a great way to ensure you are using your time effectively and getting the most important jobs done first.

3. Take Notes and Keep Track of Inspiration

Not only is it beneficial to keep a list of the tasks you need to complete, but it can also be incredibly helpful to add notes and brainstorm ideas to get these jobs completed. With Evernote, you'll be able to pull in tasks and lists from a variety of different places and have them in one area. You'll also be able to add notes or other relevant information so that you can be more productive.

Evernote

If you find that inspiration hits you during the evening or when you are on the go, instead of losing that idea, you can add it to your Evernote app. When you are ready to engage with that particular task, your insights and brainstorming will be right there to help you complete this assignment. This tool can also be used to collaborate and communicate with other team members on the same project. It's one of the best tools for keeping everyone on the same page and all the information accessible in one spot.

4. Know Exactly How You Are Spending Your Time

When it comes to being productive, not only do you need to know what projects are high priorities and when they are due, but you also need to understand how you are spending your time. You may believe that you are putting a lot of work and effort into a project, but you might find it's not being completed promptly because you're spending too much time on the wrong tasks. That's when RescueTime can be of assistance.

RescueTime

This time tracking tool can help you understand your daily habits so that you know exactly what you are doing with your time. While many tasks need to be completed throughout the day, including email management and communicating with coworkers, you may be spending more time on these than necessary.

By tracking what you do and how much time you spend on specific jobs, you can rearrange your day so that you are spending more time on essential tasks. This is a great way to improve productivity and get more accomplished.

Freedom

Not only is it essential to know precisely how you are spending your time at work, but you also need to block out distractions. It's so easy to say you are only going to spend a few minutes checking your email or hopping on social media sites to see what's going on. Then, you'll find that hours have passed and you've gotten very little done.

With Freedom, you'll be able to block distractions across a range of devices, including desktop computers, laptops, phones, and other mobile devices. When it comes to increasing revenue and completing tasks, blocking distractions is the best way to be more productive.

1Password

Whether you are accessing your email, social media accounts or computers, it takes time to type in your password. If you're looking for tools to increase productivity at work and ensure that you are using your time wisely, then you need 1Password. This will keep track of all your passwords so that you don't get locked out of sites or spend precious time trying to access the information you need to complete a task.

5. Communicate Clearly and Often

Very few companies, even small businesses, rely on one person to get a task done. More often than not, it's a team effort to promote the product or service, so communicating with coworkers is essential, especially when trying to complete projects on time and ensure they are of high quality. Whether you are in the same office building or spread across the country, being able to communicate with others is imperative, and having the right tools can help with this endeavor.

Chanty

Chanty provides a chat app that ensures teams within all segments of your business can talk to one another. You have the option of engaging others in public or private to get the job done. You can also store messages and other files, links, or tasks on this platform to ensure everyone has what they need to be productive.

6. Work with Professionals

To ensure that your business is being productive and engaging with existing customers and your target audience, you need to have the right tools. One of those is working with a professional who does website marketing. Contact them today to see how they can help promote your business, increase your bottom line, and help improve customer experience by helping you complete your tasks and achieve your goals.