Happy Valentine’s Day!
We thought it’d be fun to do today’s blog post a little bit differently.
I asked my team to submit the business tools they love that helps them do their jobs and, in return, will help you do yours.
I have to admit, I’m disappointed no one said me. Come on, people! Where is the butt kissing?
Clearly no one wants to keep their jobs very much. I do have firing power, you know!
Alas.
I suppose I shall present you our Valentine’s Day business tools that do not include me.
Business Tools: Slack
It’s no surprise we love Slack around here.
So much so, we doubled down and built the Spin Sucks community there (if you’re not a member, get your butt over there!).
We use it for business, for engagement, and for camaraderie.
Here is what Dawn Buford has to say about it:
I love Slack because it is the next best thing to walking over to someone’s desk to ask them something.
I can instant message anyone on the team or in the Spin Sucks Community or answer them instantly.
It lets me attach all types of files, images, video, and even giphys!
It makes things fun when there is a whole conversation going on and you can see everyone typing at once to have their say.
This is a tool that keeps you connected when you need to be and one that you can mute or disconnect from when you need to. It will make your job easier and keep communications flowing.
While it doesn’t replace face-to-face communication, it’s a close second.
Business Tools: Voxer
I’m not going to lie. When Voxer was first presented to me, I thought, “Why the heck can’t I just leave someone a voicemail message instead?”
Little did I know, Voxer was going to change my life…and then the lives of the rest of my team.
It’s a walkie talkie app that allows you to leave audio messages without having to call the person and wait for voicemail to pick up.
Now we have groups and use it to update one another—and use it to communicate individually.
Here is what David Jackson had to say about it:
I can use it when I need quick feedback and express my thoughts verbally without having to type it all out. Which can be time-consuming with these fat fingers.
(Not to mention the fact that he has a flip phone so texting is more challenging. OK, that’s not true. He has a very old iPhone. Very old.)
For those of you who are as cynical as me, it’s worth checking out.
I keep saying technology is making us lazier and lazier—and that is certainly the case with Voxer. But it is LOTS easier to Voxer someone versus sending a text or email.
Business Tools: Wunderlist
Every time Laura Petrolino professes her love for Wunderlist, I feel like I have to say, “You’re welcome!”
She never gives me credit for her business tool love, but it is because of me that she’s fallen in love.
Kind of like I take credit for her boyfriend turned fiancé.
But that’s neither here nor there.
Wunderlist is pretty freaking cool.
Here is what she has to say about it:
Wunderlist is the ultimate to-do list for Type-A individuals who love to-do lists (and those people who don’t find that much joy, but know they need one).
I love the functionality and can categorize to dos, quickly and easily add tasks, notes, and subtasks, add dates and repeating tasks, and even add people to tasks that require collaboration.
I use it as my own personal project management system AND it makes the most fulfilling “DING” when you complete a task.
There have been rumblings that is going away in the near future so you may want to check out those rumors before becoming addicted.
But she’s right—it’s a very satisfying task list tool.
Business Tools: Diigo
Diigo is a social bookmarking tool that allows you to save things from around the web into your own personal folders.
(I personally use Pocket, which does the same thing, but I do hear Diigo is comparable, if not better.)
Diigo is Martin Waxman’s favorite. Here is what he has to say about it:
A big part of our jobs as communicators is research. Back in the days of PR 1.0., I was one of those people who cut out tons of articles and bizarre stories that caught my eye, and filed them away for future use.
Trouble was, I had so many folders of clippings, I could never find anything.
Diigo not only lets me save digital content, I can add tags, so they’re easy to discover, and organize them into an outline.
And adding Diigo as a Chrome extension makes it even easier—you’re one click away from saving and retrieval.
You can also follow him there and see what he’s saved, which is a great introduction to the tool.
Business Tools: Life Planner
There are lots of ways you can put pen to paper—bullet journals, Moleskin notebooks, or planners by the gazillions.
Whitney Danhauer swears by the Erin Condren Life Planner.
Here is what she has to say about it:
I knooooooow. I’m so #basic.
I write everything down in it and color code my tasks.
Even in the digital age I prefer pen and paper.
And a psychologist once told me that the physical act of writing something down makes you more likely to remember it while the physical act of swiping or clicking something actually makes you forget about that item.
Who knows if there’s actual scientific proof behind it but it’s stuck with me.
There’s nothing wrong with pen and paper! You should see my desk…
Your Favorite Business Tools
So there you have it. Some of the favorite business tools of some of the Spin Sucks team.
Now it’s your turn.
What are the business tools you love that help you do your job?
And…Happy Valentine’s Day!
