Here at Pimp Your Work, I often feature tools which I’ve tried. While I advocate those tools, downloading and collecting them isn’t the goal here. The goal is to find tools that complement your working style, so that you can use them productively and integrate them flawlessly into your day. The truth is that not all of the featured tools stayed in my hard drive long, some had more lasting power than others.
Which of the featured tools do I actually use?
MindManager. I love this mind mapping program so much that I wrote a love letter to it. The interface is intuitive, it’s simple to use, and has all the features I need.
Invisibility Cloak. This Firefox plug-in prevents you from visiting time-wasting sites until a given time in the day.
ReadItLater. For those blog posts and websites I can’t read on the spot, I use ReadItLater. But I haven’t gotten to using the online version yet, which would help a lot since I frequently switch between the laptop and a desktop.
PushPin. I find that this handy little app is indispensable. When I’m using the Windows calculator or copy-pasting text from one program window to another, having PushPin around allows me to add an “Always on Top” option for nearly any window.
Piky Basket. I often use Piky Basket to move mp3s from my hard drive to my mp3 player, since my music files are contained in several, separate folders. It took me a while to get used to the menu, though.
Rescue Time. Lets me know where my personal time goes, Rescue Time runs silently int he background. Helped me curb that Spider Solitaire addiction.
Rocket Dock. I’ve totally done away with the Windows task bar and use Rocket Dock instead. It’s easier to hide and is less cluttered, so I get more screen real estate.
Tools I previously used:
Taskbar Shuffle. I depended a lot on this program when I still used the Windows task bar. Although it’s still installed, I don’t use it anymore since I use Rocket Dock.
Dark Room. While Dark Room is a great program, I’ve replaced it with Google Docs, since I tend to switch personal and it’s a hassle saving Dark Room files and transferring them from computer to computer.
What tools do you have in your productivity tool box? How important are they in your work process?
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