Online Tools for Productivity

Hello all,

Today I am going to write a non-technical post. The online tools I use for productivity in my college and work life, which make my life simpler and easier. All the tools I will mention below have free plans or demo versions as well as they have premium, or paid services.

Mailing

      For mailing, my first choice was GMail, which has been developed and  served by Google. It was a huge thing to have 2GB inbox space when GMail first published. I remember around eight years ago when I first heard of it. There was only one way tou subscribe to GMail, which is getting an invitation. Since these days, it became an public service, Inbox space enlargened to 10GBs and still growing.

GMail then had more abilities, and integrated to new services like calendar, docs and etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Outlook.com is the new e-mail service of Microsoft. And I am pretty happy with this account and web mail interface. It is easy to use, has a clear interface, and nice features. Microsoft is going to turnover all hotmail        accounts to outlook until the end of June 2013, says rumors on the web. Also it is nice that nowadays there are lots of options for e-mail addresses you can take. For example your_name.surname@gmail.com may be taken in gmail but it is quite possible to find your_name.surname@outlook.com address available. Also as Microsoft Office Outlook is a well known software, this e-mail addresses seems more professional.

 

Meetings And Collaboration

 

For meeting appointments I use Doodle.com. You create a survey including times, send invitation to attendees, then they check their available time. So you can find a suitable time for all to make an appointment for your meeting or other event.

 

Scriblink is an online whiteboard, where all the attendees can add/drop something to the white board. Attendees can also chat in the chat pane.

 

 

 

 

Google Docs is like an online Office tool with Spreadsheets, Presentations, Word Processor. You can view, edit and share documents via Google Docs. It recognizes and opens all common file extensions we use in daily life.

 

 

 

 

Skype is the software I use most for video-calls. It has chat, voice call and video call abilities, with conference support. It is easy to use and has ability to call phones also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dropbox is a well-known file sharing tool. I also use it for sharing files between our project group and also publishing files through internet for public download.

 

Facebook groups,  we use Facebook Groups for really small project groups for innovative discussions, sharing videos and photos and ideas between our group. As everybody uses facebook on a daily basis nowadays, it is an easy and secure way to update whole group via Facebook. Also you can share documents and files, which is a great plus. And the most useful ability is to make your group hidden and closed.

 

Other Utilities

Evernote.com  It is the most used utility for me, I use it on my Android phone and my iPod to write notes on the way. And use its web interface to check and edit my notes. I have all kinds of information on my evernote like new blog posts, project topics, my home’s utilization bills, etc.

Creately.com  This is the website I use to draw. Drawing ER diagrams, workflows, GANTT charts etc. is very easy with using creately. So it is useful and light-weight.

TeamViewer Remote control is a need in IT environment, using my computer at home form work or from my mobile device is easy with TeamViewer. Some times you need something from your personal computer, or you need a connection without proxy servers, then TeamViewer works for me.

Google Calendar  I am an android user. So I have an integrated phone with my Google account, which leads me to use Google Calendar for my appointments, it is nice to have a synchronized agenda in my pocket all the time.

Hootsuite.com This is a social media center for you. In free plan you can add up to five accounts, and control all accounts through online dashboard. It is nice to have all social media in one screen, control all your virtual presence, develop your personal brand and image.

That’s all, I am using these tools to get my productivity and collaboration boosted. Try them and comment me, or comment the online tools you like most.