Weekly Round-Up #75: Find The Right Productivity App, 33 Books You Need To Read and Are You Really Busy?
In this week’s round-up we ask the question: Are you really busy? You may think you are, but are you? Also there’s a great list of 67 productivity apps (that you can filter so don’t panic) and 33 books you need to read before you’re 30 (or 40, or whenever really!)
Hello! I hope you’ve basked in some lovely summer weather this week. Here in the U.K parts of the country have finally be bathed in sunshine and as the mercury has been rising, so have people’s spirits.
I don’t know if you have noticed this – and maybe us Brits may more attention due to our obsession with the weather – but when the sun comes out, people seem to be a lot happier and generally agreeable. It could also be that I notice it more due to working in retail so I’m exposed to a lot of people.
Do you find that the sun lifts your spirits and makes you a bit more motivated to work? Or do you dread heading to a hot office to sit amongst sweaty co-workers for 8 hours a day?
Anyway, on to this week’s round-up. This week I’ve got a great post to help you find the right productivity app for you, have another look at bullet journalling and prioritising tasks.
67 To-Do List Apps: the Complete Guide – Improve-HQ.com
This article by Christiaan Riemens allows you to filter various types of productivity apps – Agendas, Checklists, GTD etc. based on Phone type and whether you want to pay! Christiaan has collected a huge list of productivity apps so you don’t have to go wading through the apps stores to find the right one for your needs. Keep an eye out as Christiaan will be writing a guest post for you lucky guys soon as well!
We’re obsessed with Bullet Journals, the newest and prettiest organization fad – Hello Giggles
When I see some of the bullet journal examples in this post it makes be feel really inadequate! I really struggle with paper-based design, nothing ever comes out the way I see it in my head – I mean, just check out my Badly Drawn Cartoons! I still like the concept of Bullet Journalling though so I guess I’ll keep trying to improve my style.
Opting Out of Email. For Well and Good – Derek Handley on Linked In
Derek makes some interesting points in this essay, but I wonder whether you can completely escape email. Email is so-far entrenched in the workplace that it would be difficult to function without it.
4 Simple Ways to Boost Remote Team Productivity and Camaraderie – Team Gantt
Working from home can be a lonely job – I know, I’ve been there! Despite the fact that you can get more done thanks to fewer interruptions (and the ability to play loud motivating music) being a home-worker can become depressing thanks to the lack of human interaction (and no, emails don’t always count!) This article from TeamGantt gives you small 4 ways to help remote teams work better together – and feel better about themselves.
How to Prioritize Tasks and Do Only The Work That Matters – Business2Community
This post covers a variety of methods for getting your most important tasks done. It covers items based on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits (specifically Habit 4 – Put First Things First) to Eating That Frog – which has sat on my bookshelf unread for far too long. Even if you’re familiar with some techniques it may be worth taking a look to see if there’s something else you can add to your productivity repertoire.
You’re Too Busy? No, You’re Not. Here’s Why – Entrepreneur
Are you busy? No, I mean are you really busy? Too often we say we’re busy when all we’re doing is mismanaging what tasks we should be concentrating on. Everyone has things to do, and some people seem to cope better than others – even if their workload is greater. This article doesn’t offer any concrete solutions (I think the “How to Prioritize Tasks and Do Only The Work That Matters” article above will help) but it does provide some different scenarios for you to look at which may make you realise you’re being busy rather than actually being busy!
11 Ways To Master Time Management & Accomplish More Each Day – Bustle
If you read the previous article and thought “Oh gosh, I am that horrible ‘busy’ person” the check out this great list of 11 ways to master time management which provides some great actionable techniques for you to manage your time more effectively.
Late sleepers are tired of being discriminated against. And science has their back – Vox
It’s a shame there isn’t an easy test you can take to see what your genetic sleep pattern is. I would (on the face of it at least) appear to be someone with delayed sleep phase – I rarely go to bed before 2am – even if I’ve been up since eight the previous morning. I certainly seem to hit my productive stride at about 9pm and am quite happy to go through to the early hours of the morning. Ask me to do anything challenging before 2pm though and you’ll find me a lot slower and not as productive. After reading this article it’s nice to know that I’m not some sort of freak or lazy layabout stuck in a family of early risers.
33 business books every professional should read before turning 30 – Business Insider
I’m putting this here as a bookmark for me – as well as it being a great resource for you! So, I may be the “wrong” side of 30 but there are still plenty of things I can learn and there are some interesting titles on this comprehensive list such as “Give and Take” which I’ll be getting (as soon as I’ve read the other 20 books on my ‘to read’ shelf!).
Have a great weekend
As always, if you have a post, app or something else to share that you think my other readers will enjoy please contact me.
As we’re getting towards the summer where we’re starting to think of holidays, we know all to well that it may not be possible for you to escape from work 100%. If this is the case make sure you check out this week’s guest post by Mark Ellis: 6 tips for remaining productive on a working holiday.
See you next week!
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