Five Productivity Tools To Try Right Now

As you weed through e-mail and documents and try to get yourself organized, you need a few tools that can help you improve productivity. Being able to do more, improve focus and get organized is the name of the game for getting ahead whether you're an entrepreneur, a midlevel manager at an SMB or just starting out at a multi-national company. Here are five apps and software that can help you do more in less time.

Company: InsideView



SalesView combines information from different online sources to give a comprehensive view of a prospective customer. The tool can be used independently by one person, or by sales teams, and the company offers a free version, so individual sales professionals can use the program without needing their companies to roll out an entire program for everyone. Sales intelligence that is mined from social media and traditional editorial sources is delivered natively within CRMs and mobile devices.



A recent Aberdeen study found that professionals using the product had 27 percent better overall performance and 32 percent more achieved their quotas than those who did not use Salesview.

Product: The Mavenlink service



Feeling scattered? Don't spend valuable time searching for paperwork. Mavenlink can help get you organized by providing a comprehensive look at your business activites from start to finish. Mavenlink's technology is delivered entirely over the Web and does not require any software installation. Consultants and small businesses can keep up-to-date on client communications, project notifications, due dates, and deliverables on the Mavenlink dashboard. Users get a single view of client-facing activities. In addition, resumes can become more robust via Mavenlink's profile offering, as it incorporates a user's work samples, project histories, live references, and a feedback system. Mavenlink has a free program, as well as two other plans costing $19 and $39 monthly.

Product: Syncing.net Professional and Home editions.





Syncing.net is an information exchange software that lets you use the Windows OS and Outlook e-mail as a collaboration platform. Applications and data can be shared in order to work on project activities ranging from simple document sharing to real team collaboration with Outlook. Syncing.net stores data right on users' computers, so there's no need to connect to a corporate network to access or update information. Syncing.net automatically sends changes in a Sync Folder or Outlook Group to the team members' computers when they are connected to the Internet. That eliminates attaching, detaching, uploading, or downloading files. The Professional edition is $119 and connects up to 25 PCs. The Home edition connects three computers.

Product: Anoto penDocuments Pro



Tired of transcribing pen and paper notes onto your computer so you can share them wth co-workers or clients? The Anoto penDocuments Pro lets users capture handwritten documents and upload them to any work environment or document management system. Anoto penDocuments Pro, available through channel partners, can be integrated with work environments including Oracle, SAP, Documentum and SharePoint. Users print from any Windows application using the Anoto penDocuments printer driver. A unique pattern of microdots is added to the document as it is printed. And you cab add your thoughts to the document with the Anoto digital pen. The aforementioned dot pattern enables the digital pen to register and store handwriting in its memory. After the pen is docked in its USB cradle, the recorded handwriting is downloaded and matched with the image of the original document " instantly creating an exact copy of the handwritten document in PDF format. If your whole project team is using Anoto penDocuments Pro, each user can mark up the printout with his or her own digital pen, and that handwriting will instantly be transmitted to the PC where the document was originally printed.

Product: Timebridge



One of the toughest parts about running a meeting is coordinating the participants' schedules. Timebridge helps the meeting planner find the best time to meet with a single e-mail to the various participants in various ways, via Outlook, iCal, Google Calendar, or the iPhone. TimeBridge is a Web-based application that coordinates calendars and confirms the best time automatically. The meeting initiator proposes up to five convenient times. Attendees then receive an invite via e-mail, letting them indicate their meeting time preferences. The app then juggles everyone's schedules and selects the best time to meet. The Basic version is free, but the company offers three others from which to choose, with the most expensive topping out at $14 a month. Business Plus offers a flash-based Web conferencing service (pictured) that lets attendees join the meeting, share screens or documents, scribble on virtual white boards, and use video chat.

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