For today's entrepreneurs, speed and productivity are absolute musts. There are a wide variety of business opportunities out there, and every minute and hour wasted is equivalent to lost profit. There's simply no room for any distractions, doubts and dalliances — if you have a business idea, a plan in place, and the necessary drive to see that idea through to the end, you need to act now.
Thankfully, technology has also evolved and provided us with a trove of tools to get us moving, manage our workload and help us stay on course. But here comes a major problem: with so many productivity tools out there, which ones truly block all the unnecessary noise and allow us to accomplish things in the shortest amount of time? Entrepreneur.com.ph has already published articles on the four productivity techniques you can implement, the six online tools you can use for business, and the money apps that give you the lowdown on your earnings and expenses. This time around, we give you 25 more productivity tools (divided into five categories) that will maximize your workday, work across many desktop and mobile platforms, and won't burn a hole in your wallet.
Read Part 2 of this list here.
Writing and Note-Taking
Writers, researchers and bloggers understand how tough it can be to actually sit down and write when there are so many things going on throughout their workday. And when they finally face their desktop computer or laptop, more distractions come their way, giving them little time to concentrate and meet deadlines. Enter three tools that help shut everything out and allow you to write: Write or Die, Write Space, and PlainText. We also have two note-taking tools for you: Evernote and Tomboy Notes.
Write or Die
Write or Die doesn't actually mete out a death penalty whenever you fail to finish an article, report, or blog entry. However, it gives out punishments that could actually be worse than a missed deadline and an angry editor or supervisor. When you stop typing and exceed the grace period that you yourself have set (or fall below your word and time goal), an “unpleasant sound” will blare through your speakers. Worse, the words you've already typed will be erased if you don't get back to work! Grace periods can be set to three levels (Forgiving, Strict or Evil), and there are also three modes for Consequences (Gentle, Normal and the hilariously named Kamikaze Mode).
Platforms:
- Desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux via Adobe AIR)
-Mobile (Apple iPad only)
Export text to:
-Dropbox
-E-mail
- Google Docs
- Clipboard
Price:
-Desktop version: US$10.00
-Mobile: US$9.99 through the Apple App Store
Write Space
Not fond of using a word processor when writing? Get down to the very basics with Write Space, a no-frills Google Chrome App that you can also use when offline. Simply type away, and you'll get a word, line and character count at the bottom of your browser. And you don't have to worry about losing your document; Write Space has a “persistent auto-save” function that kicks in every time you press a key. Backgrounds can also be changed to white, blue and black; and since you're using a browser-based tool, it will be compatible with all available operating systems (as long as you use Chrome, of course). Here's the downside: Write Space can't export your documents yet; for now, you'll have to do with the good ol' copy-and-paste routine.
Platform: Google Chrome
Price: Free
PlainText
Aside from providing us with hours of entertainment, tablets can also serve as an additional workhorse, particularly for entrepreneurs who spend more time outside the office than in it. Apple iPad users can use the basic mobile text editor PlainText to compose documents, and organize them into different folders. Dropbox users can also export their data to their accounts.
Platform: Apple iOS
Export to: Dropbox
Price: Free; ad removal for $1.99
Evernote
Evernote has many features and can be used for a variety of work-related tasks. For this article, we're concentrating on its note-taking function for both its desktop and mobile apps. If you're on location and need to document events or sort out your thoughts, you can easily type out notes with your mobile device or create audio and voice notes, put them into different Notebooks, and quickly share them with your contacts. For desktop users, Evernote comes in handy when doing research or when in the middle of collaborative projects.
Platforms:
-Desktop (Windows, Mac)
-Browsers (Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox)
-Browser Bookmarklet
-Mobile (Apple iOS, Google Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, WebOS)
Price: Free
Tomboy Notes
If you're more inclined to use open-source software for your notes, consider Tomboy Notes. It works on all operating systems and doesn't take up too much space in your hard drive. You can also organize each note into Notebooks, format your notes, and synchronize them in your local folder, or with services like Dropbox or Ubuntu One. Those who use both Ubuntu One and Google Android can also view their data on Tomboy Notes with Tomdroid, but for now, Tomdroid doesn't allow you to edit your notes through your mobile device.
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Price: Free
Time Tracking, Time Management and Invoicing
Entrepreneurs' workdays are usually filled with meetings, deliverables, and other concerns. But do you know exactly how much time you spend on a single task? Knowing where you spend most of your time will certainly improve the way you set your daily schedules, as well as give you more accurate task estimates per project. Many time tracking services also provide invoicing functions, with each item on the invoice gathered from previous billable time and task inputs. Freckle, Toggl, Paymo, Klok and Harvest are just five of the time management and invoicing services that make entrepreneurs and freelancers work much faster and have a better sense of what they do day in and day out.
Freckle
Geared specifically for freelancers and small firms, Freckle aims to take away the dreariness and monotony of time tracking with its easy-to-use features, bright colors, and detailed reports on projects and tasks. It also makes invoicing a cinch! Freckle provides a 30-day free trial, and gives three types of paid plans that come with SSL security. We do have one small gripe: Freckle still doesn't have any mobile apps.
Platform: Desktop only; no mobile app as of now, but Pigment (for Apple iPhone only; €4.99 on the App Store) is a good substitute.
Plans:
-Free
-Freelancer/Soloist
-Small Team
-Medium Team
-Large Team
Price and terms:
-Freelancer/Soloist: US12/month for one user account
-Small Team: US$24/month for five user accounts
-Medium Team: US$48/month for 15 user accounts
-Large Team: US$98/month for 50 user accounts
Toggl
Toggl is another service that gives you everything you need. With two plan types (Free and Pro), compatibility with other productivity and project management tools (e.g., Basecamp and FreshBooks), in-depth data analysis, time budgeting, collaboration features, easy billing and access for desktop and mobile users, it's not surprising that Toggl has already garnered more than 200,000 users.
Platform:
-Desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux)
-Mobile (Apple iOS, Google Android)
Plans:
-Free
-Pro
Price and terms:
-Pro: Starting at US$5/month for one user account
Paymo
Paymo, which targets both freelancers and businesses of all sizes, is a familiar name in the time tracking and invoicing field. As for statistics, Paymo users in 105 countries have recorded more than 355,000 projects, which accounts for around 10.6 million tracked hours and over US$100 million in profits. Impressive! The service offers three usage plans and includes project management, client portal and financial tracking features alongside its time tracking and invoicing functions.
Platforms:
-Desktop (Windows and Mac)
-Browser (Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome add-ons)
-Mobile (Apple iOS, Google Android)
Plans:
-Free
-Basic
-Premium
Price and terms:
-Basic: US$9.95/month for two users
-Premium: US$14.85/month for three users; US$4.95/month per additional user
Klok
Unlike the other time tracking and invoicing services in this section, Klok isn't web-based. Instead, Windows and Mac users can install Klok on their computers and take it from there. The full version, which goes for $15.99, includes visuals for clients, projects and tasks; compatibility with other services like Harvest and Paymo; data export and import of meeting schedules; reports; automated data backups; and priority support. Add-ons include the Klokwork Team Connector and Klokwork Team Console.
Platforms:
-Desktop (Windows, Mac and Linux via Adobe AIR)
-Mobile (Google Android)
Plans:
-Free
-Pro
Price: US$15.99 for one user license for Pro/Full version, with discounts available depending on number of user packs bought
Harvest
A quick peek at Harvest's list of corporate customers yielded some big names in numerous fields: Kiva, global advertising agencies TBWA and BBDO, Stanford University, Live Nation and General Mills. What does Harvest offer its individual and enterprise users? Apart from time tracking and invoicing, the web-based service also provides top-notch security; integration with Google Apps, Basecamp, QuickBooks and Zendesk; detailed visual reports; and even project estimates and expenses.
Platforms:
-Desktop (All operating systems via browser access)
-Mobile (Apple iPhone, Google Android)
Plans:
-Solo
-Basic
-Business
Price and terms:
-Solo: US$12/month for one user
-Basic: US$40/month for five users
-Business: US$90/month for 10 users
-Additional users per plan: US$10/month
To-Do Lists
Checklists or to-do lists are invaluable for entrepreneurs; these lists, which change from day to day, will greatly help sort out projects and deliverables, as well as aid in scheduling and estimates. For most people, nothing beats pen and paper, but if you're more productive using to-do lists that can be accessed through multiple devices, you won't go wrong with these five services.
Google Tasks
This free task list service, which comes integrated with GMail, Google Calendar and iGoogle, offers a stress-free way of adding, editing and organizing your tasks. And as can be expected, it also has a native app for Android users.
Astrid
Astrid, another free to-do list service, has other goodies apart from its core feature. It also allows users to share their checklists, integrate it with their Google Tasks lists, add tasks via e-mail, set priority levels per task, and serves up statistics on the number of active and inactive tasks. Astrid also gives out amusing words of encouragement through its individual task reminders! You can sign up online with your Facebook or Google account, too.
Platform:
-Desktop (All operating systems via browser access)
-Mobile (Apple iPhone, Google Android)
Plans:
-Standard
-Premium (per-month or annual payment basis) (upcoming plan option)
Price and terms:
-Premium (monthly payment): US$3.99/month
-Premium (annual payment): US$35.88/year (or US$2.99/month)
Remember the Milk
Milk isn't the only thing you'd remember to pick up with this particular to-do list service, and making basic lists is not the only trick it has on its sleeve. You can also organize each task through tags; add locations to tasks; get task reminders through e-mail, SMS and even instant messaging; share tasks with other people; and set repeating tasks. Other perks: setting tasks with Siri's help, and integration with third-party services.
Platform:
-Desktop (All operating systems via browser access)
-Mobile (Apple iOS, Google Android, BlackBerry, mobile browser)
-Add-ons: Microsoft Outlook and Twitter integration
Plans:
-Free
-Pro
Pricing and terms:
-Pro: US$25/year for one user
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