Top Productivity Tools For Tech Leaders

You don’t need any fancy statistics to know that advancements in technology over the past 10-20 years have been huge. Now that we can do things faster and quicker, we ultimately end up with more projects to manage, which means more balls to drop than ever before.

Just because we are in the tech industry doesn’t mean that many of us don’t still revert to good old-fashioned handwritten lists. Don’t get me wrong, they have their place – and it would be devastating if pen to paper ever lost its way in this world. But if handwritten ‘to-do’ lists have always been your thing, then you might want to check out the following tools for productivity.

These top productivity tools are seen globally as the best on the market, the easiest to use, and the most efficient. And if you get easily distracted and need that push to get back on track, these productivity tools will have your back. Big brother watching or productivity tools you can’t live without? You decide.

You’ve got nothing to lose by checking them out – you’ll even make the time back!

Here are our top 10 productivity tools for tech leaders and aspiring CIOs.

DID YOU KNOW? The average employee is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes per day.

Project Management

ASANA – https://asana.com/

Possibly one of the most famous project management productivity tools online for operations, launches, sales and request tracking. Whatever your process, Asana can manage it. There is a free option but the paid version gives you access to timelines and more.

CLICKUP – https://clickup.com/

One of Asana’s rivals is Clickup. ClickUp has more ways of viewing the dashboard than Asana as well as an integrated time tracking option which Asana doesn’t have. Apart from that they are very similar so still a good productivity tool.

TRELLO – https://trello.com/

Trello is great if you are more of a visual person with its colourful personalised boards. Trello uses a system of cards that contain checklists, notes, comments and more. If you don’t like the layout of Clilckup or Asana then Trello might be for you.

Time Recording

TOGGL – https://toggl.com/

With both free and paid plans, toggle is used by 5 million people worldwide, so there is a good chance you may have already heard of it. Toggl does appear to have a great area for team time tracking and you can also use it as a project management tool.

CLOCKIFY – https://clockify.me/

A popular alternative to Toggl, Clockify have similar time recording tools, including a built in pomodoro tool that tells you to take a break after 25 mins, and then alerts you when your break is up. Double whammy productivity tool!

Note-taking

EVERNOTE – https://evernote.com/

As an app that integrates with the desktop version, you can easily take notes on the go and collect and organise all of your notes in one place. Meetings, calls, consultations – no more notepads or lost scraps of paper.  It also acts as a project management system with task setting, so great for an all-in-one solution.

To combat distractions

POCKET – https://getpocket.com/

It’s so easy to get distracted by articles, videos and stories online when you are in the middle of looming deadlines and projects making your productivity take a dive. If you could just save all of those links for later in one easy place to refer back to, you could save yourself a ton of time. That’s where the pocket comes in. Curate your own space filled with everything you can’t wait to learn for later on and get back to work.

TOMATO TIMER – https://tomato-timer.com/

Are you a fan of the Pomodoro technique? Created by Francisco Cirillo, this basic principle is a way of structuring your time to become more productive. Millions of people all over the world use and swear by it.

The idea is that you work in cycles of ON and OFF time. For 25 minutes you get to work on what needs to be done in that moment as opposed to the first thing you lay your eyes on. Then, for 5 minutes, you take a break, have a drink, and walk around to recharge. And then you cycle again.

Pomodoro is Italian for tomato, hence the name ‘Tomato’ Timer.

RESCUE TIME – https://www.rescuetime.com/

It may feel a little bit like Big Brother is watching, but rescue time says they are the only app in the world that can truly measure your focus. Get information on what pulls you away from your work and tell the app when you need to focus and which websites to block to keep you on track. There are even daily coaching alerts telling you when to get ready for meetings. It’s not free, but it’s highly rated.