In this chapter, we will gradually reveal the rich world of digital tools that can help streamline our work, create new opportunities for career growth and work better together in teams. In part one, we’ll take a closer look at tools to increase productivity and better organise work. These tools play a very significant role in the modern work environment and are important for both individuals and entire teams. Many organisations are relying on them more and more, realising that they save them time and costs.
Why are productivity and organisation tools worth using?
✅ More efficient planning, and time organisation
Thanks to tools such as online calendars, planners, time meters or to-do lists, we can better plan our time and thus save it as well.
✅ Improved communication and collaboration
IWith the rise of remote working and the creation of virtual teams, digital tools for remote communication are key. They enable collaboration on projects, fast communication and working on joint documents in parallel.
✅ Optimising work processes
Nowadays, there are a number of tools for work automation, where routine work no longer needs to be done by humans, reducing the administrative burden. There are also so-called workflow tools that help create and manage work processes.
✅ Better project and task management
When working on projects, it is important that everyone involved can access and share the information they need. That’s why there are a number of project management tools that make it easier to plan, track and manage activities.
✅ Access files from anywhere
Thanks to cloud storage, we can access our files from any device. we can create, share, collaborate on files.
👉 Do you know any specific examples of such tools? And which ones do you use? How do they make your job easier?
Let us have a look at specific tools that help us to be more productive and better organise our work and time. This is only a selected list of the most commonly used tools. It’s up to you to try out which ones suit you. We’ve also provided links to online tutorials, help centres and instruction to help you get to grips with the tools.
An overview of tools to increase productivity and organisation:
- Collaborative environments
- Google Workspace: Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, Meet, Calendar, Gmail
- Microsoft Office 365: OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, Planner, Publisher, Yammer, Skype for Business
- Planning and time management tools
- Google Calendar, Outlook (scheduling appointments, deadlines, tasks)
- Toggl, Clockify (tracking time spent on specific tasks)
- Todoist, Microsoft To Do (create to-do lists)
- Evernote, OneNote, Google Keep (note taking tools)
- Project management and teamwork tools
- Asana, Trello, Basecamp (project management and progress visualization using columns and cards)
- Zoom, Google Meet (video conferencing)
- Slack, Microsoft teams (team chats)
- Smartsheet, Monday.com (creating Gantt charts)
- Performance tracking and reporting
- RescueTime, Time Doctor (analytics tools for productivity reporting)
- Tableau, Power BI (reporting tools with the ability to generate project status reports)
- Automation
- Zapier, IFTTT (tools for automating routine processes)
- Airtable, Notion (workflow tools that create and manage processes)
- Mind mapping tools
- Coggle, XMind, MindMeister, Miro, iMindMap, Mindomo
- AI tools
- ai, Fireflies, Avoma (a tool for transcribing spoken text into written text)
- ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Gemini, Claude, Meta AI, Zapier Agent (AI chatbots)
- Grammarly, Wordtune, ProWritingAid (grammar checking and rephrasing tools)
- Midjourney, DALL.E 3, Ideogram (image generation)
📚 Resources:
- Google Workspace Learning Center: https://workspace.google.com/training/
- Microsoft Learn – Office 365: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/
- Asana Guide: https://academy.asana.com/
- Trello Guide: https://trello.com/guide
- Slack Help Center: https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/help
📌 Examples of use:
In a normal work day, we often start the day by checking our email client and calendar for appointments or tasks. If we have any online meetings, we will certainly use one of the remote communication tools. We often work on documents in a shared cloud space so we can share documents with other people or work on them simultaneously. Some people like to check off tasks on paper, others prefer to use an online tool. To know how much time we spend on sub-tasks, we can also use one of the tracking tools. The possibilities are endless 🙂
👉 As you can see, there are many tools, but there is no need to try everything. Choose one or two tools and test them. You’ll need a little patience and above all curiosity. And remember, no tool can replace a human. So it’s up to you to decide how the tool can help you.