Everyone loves productivity tools, and you know the day is going to be rough when your to-do list has more items than the parts list for Elon Musk’s reusable space shuttle.
We’ve all felt it: the slow, crushing sensation of being overwhelmed. Despite wanting to focus on the most important aspects of our day (developing new ideas, engaging with customers, and planning and executing growth strategies), there are always tasks that end up miring us in busywork.
For general productivity, I like to use a modified version of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” model to manage my tasks. Once I’ve completed what can be done in less than two minutes, I delegate the task, archive it, or assign it for a follow-up at the proper time.
This system alone saves me a hell of a lot of time each week, but I’m always on the lookout for tools I can use to supercharge my productivity on tasks that still require my attention.
These three productivity tools save me a few hours each week, giving me more time to relax, go for a run, and catch up with friends:
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EchoSign
Scanning paperwork is a total waste of time. What’s more annoying than receiving a contract as a PDF, printing it, signing it, and scanning it just so you can send it back to the person as a PDF and throw away the paper copy? Nothing.
EchoSign can help you eliminate a ton of useless paperwork and all the steps in the process of sending documents electronically. Its e-signature capabilities make it easy to send everything from NDAs to proposals to contract renewals and have them signed and returned to you in minutes.
You can create reusable templates and administer them centrally so all your employees are using the correct forms. All the signature fields are assigned to the appropriate party, too, so you don’t need to worry about any confusion about who signs where. You can even integrate EchoSign with Salesforce to truly streamline your customer on-boarding.
EchoSign is a true no-brainer that can save everyone time and frustration.
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ZenCash
Unpaid invoices are the bane of any business’s existence. Collecting from customers who owe you money is critical to keeping your business solvent, but most companies don’t have the time or resources to constantly track and follow up with customers about unpaid invoices.
ZenCash acts as a virtual accounts receivable team that combines both cloud and offline productivity tools to collect outstanding invoices and prevent non-payment in the future. It syncs with your current invoice application, and then ZenCash staff members place phone calls and send reminders to customers on your behalf to get their invoices taken care of.
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TriNet
TriNet is the perfect tool for small to medium-sized businesses looking to eliminate tons of HR busywork. As a business owner, I need to be able to see the numbers, but I don’t always have the bandwidth to handle things like payroll and employee benefits myself.
TriNet’s HR services are tailored by industry to meet your needs. It assumes responsibility for risk and compliance and stores your HR data in the cloud.
Like most entrepreneurs, I love what I do, but I’d rather spend my time building relationships with customers and sinking my teeth into new projects than laboring through hours of administrative tasks.
Each of these productivity tools saves me about five hours per week, which is huge when you consider that’s another half day of work (or free time) I wouldn’t have without them! So if you find yourself stretched thin and just want to unload some of your busy-work, check out these productivity tools to simplify your life.
On behalf of Endless Entertainment, a huge thank you to Zach Ferres for providing us with a killer guest blog and these internet gems of productivity tools. In case you were unaware, Zach is the CEO at Ciplex, a “full-service interactive agency that helps clients succeed online by creating award-winning digital solutions for online marketing, e-commerce and content management systems, and social network platforms” and knows a heck of a lot more than just productivity. If you are in need or interested in any of the services listed above, stop by their Ciplex website or Twitter!
