By Lauren Schufman, Project Manager
So much time and so little to do! Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank You. – Willy Wonka, reminding us of how each and every Monday feels.
It’s easy to get bogged down by the seemingly never-ending list of things to do at work. From telephone conferences to in-person meetings, it seems like there is always something that you’re dropping the ball on. Instead of feeling like you’ll never catch up, consider investing in some of these items to help you keep work as efficient as possible:
A Bluetooth headset ($15+)
If you’ve never tried using a Bluetooth headset or a pair of headphones during your typical hour-long phone conference, you don’t know what you’re missing. Having both hands free when you’re trying to take notes is a must. Want to pull up a reference on your computer? Forget the hunt-and-peck search and navigate your computer like usual. You aren’t tied to your desk, either — if you want to stand up and stretch during your phone call, you can!
A notebook ($10+)
How many times have you wanted to jot down a name or a number and you didn’t have a piece of paper? It’s frustrating to feel like you’ve got a million things jumbled together in your brain and no place to put them. Notebooks come cheap, last long, and ensure you don’t drop the ball on any of your responsibilities. If you’re more of a computer tech, you can always install a note-taking app on your phone.
How do you take useful notes?
Classic journaling and note-taking are time consuming — we know that as a busy professional, you don’t have a lot of that to spare. Consider adapting to rapid logging by Bullet Journal – a combination of short-form notation and bullet point journaling. It’s fun, easy to learn, and will save you a ton of time when it comes to crafting your to-do lists.
Be consistent
However you chose to take your notes, make sure to write things down as soon as possible and in the same place so you can refer to them later with ease.
LastPass (free)
LastPass, a free application for storing your passwords, helps you log on to the sites that you need to, when you need to – no more password resets taking up your valuable time. Even better, LastPass allows you to access your password vault and share your login information securely with others.
Boomerang ($5/month)
With Boomerang, you can A). Schedule an email to be sent out at a later time, and B) Remind yourself if you don’t hear back about an email. Messages will no longer fall through the cracks and you’ll be on top of following up with people. Boomerang helps your inbox stay at a minimum number of emails when you schedule them to return to your inbox at a certain time — you’ll only have to look at them when you need to.
By implementing small changes into your work-life, you can revolutionize your productivity. Most of these recommendations involved technology – you never know what’s right around the corner, so be sure to stay informed on what productivity apps are coming out. Above all, it’s important to remember that work and technology go hand-in-hand: Embrace it, and it could work wonders.
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With a recent B.S. from The University of St. Thomas, Lauren M. Schufman has found her true passions lie in connecting tangible scientific data with the intangible complexities of the human spirit. Her studies have sharply shaped her scientific reasoning and creative problem solving, while her work experiences honed a wide array of skills including social media management, nonprofit administrative work, graphic design, event planning, and marketing.
Lauren loves a good challenge, whether it be playing roller derby or trying out a new recipe. She can almost always be found with a cup of coffee and her rescue beagle, Nova.