Get Rid of Your Apps and Tools for Maximum Productivity

By: Aliza Sherman

Have you wondered what the best productivity applications are or what electronic task list is better or if Google calendar outweighs Outlook? I am asked those questions frequently and the answer may surprise you but here it goes... it doesn't matter. Gadgets, calendars, and all those expensive applications are merely tools to help you organize your day and are only effective if you are already productive and manage your time and resources well. However, if you have a hard time prioritizing effectively, have an enormous amount of things to do, or struggle to manage your time, those resources are more of a distraction than they are a cure. If you are looking for a permanent remedy to your busyness, a permanent shift in thinking that lasts a lifetime, please get rid of all those productivity tools because they're not working! You need to simplify your life, not complicate it with more things to manage and learn. Here are 3 tips you can apply now to simplify your life and become more productive:

1. If not used everyday, get rid of it.
   If you have a smart phone, how many productivity applications and calendar enhancement apps do you have? And out of those, how many do you use daily? Take a moment right now and delete all those apps that are taking up space and not helping you. Same applies to calendars and other electronic gadgets you may have purchased with the intention of being productive. If you are not using it, get rid of it. By clearing that clutter out of life, you can allow yourself to find a simpler way.
2. Designate one place for note taking.
   You may currently have a legal pad, sticky, Evernote, a bookmarking site, your smart phones note app and others to take notes as you find something interesting or think of something new. Taking the note is the first step but when it's time to retrieve it, things get complicated. Train yourself to only use one location for note taking. Keeping it all your notes in one place makes it a lot easier to find what you are looking for.
3. Try writing, instead of typing.
   I find that writing with a pen and paper allows for more creativity than writing on the computer. If you are accustomed to typing, start by writing your daily to-dos on paper and see how that feels. The idea is to engage the brain at a higher level, which some studies prove this happens when you hand write, versus type.

Now, more than ever going back to basics to enhance productivity is extremely effective and practical.

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