Best Gadget: Improve Your Productivity with these 3 Gadgets
Did you see George Clooney in the film Up In The Air? In the movie, George Clooney portrays a character, Ryan Bingham, who professionally is a great success and uber-organized — he has his workflow down to an exact science, and he knows a good gadget when he sees one!
Well, I’m not as organized as the Bingham character, but I did find the film inspiring. Like Bingham, I’ve learned that particular tools and gadgets can help you to create better and faster workflow.
Everyone needs a little help every now and then, to find solutions for getting more done during a busy day. These are gadgets that I have found for getting organized!
Here are 3 tools — with photos of each — to help you perform optimally throughout the day!
Gadget #1: Smartphone Stand
This little tip is the most affordable of the three, coming in at under five dollars! Stop fumbling for your smartphone — it’s so unnecessary! Just prop the little guy upright next to your workstation so that you can always see it at-a-glance. This little trick alone, will save you oodles of time and angst!
Gadget #2 The Portable Mini-Office
Next, I have found it helpful to have something like a “portable office” that I can roll with me from home, to work, to the cafe, to the airport, to… wherever. I use a stackable system from Tumi. The top half is a smaller day pack that slides right up and off, so that I can grab my wallet, sunglasses, keys, smartphone, etc. The bottom half is for my papers, clipboards, and laptop.
Gadget #3: The Standing Desk
This is a pretty large gadget, and not exactly portable — but, oh, the wonders it will work in your life!
If you work on your computer all day like I do, it’s helpful to have an adjustable desk, so that you can periodically stand, and sit, throughout the day while you work. Mine happens to be robotic (I know, I work at a pretty hip company), but you don’t need fancy or expensive equipment, just have more than one place to work during your day.
Important: if you decide to recline with a laptop, use one of those laptop desks they sell at office supply stores. Don’t just set the laptop directly on your lap where your vital organs can get zapped with EMFs! Maybe it’s not harmful, but the thought of it I find irksome. Don’t use a pillow, either, because it will cover the vents your laptop uses to breathe and it will then overheat.
Here’s a photo of my desk and, when possible, the way I like my desk to look when I arrive on Monday morning! Notice the Rain stand for my laptop, and the cordless keyboard and mouse — it’s all ergonomic.
Update!
Instead of a separate iPhone stand, I obtained a new cover that also has its own pop-out stand. That’s right, the stand is built right into the cover! How cool is that!? Check out the 10-second video:
What tricks for improving workflow have you found that help you get stuff done better, faster, and more enjoyably?
Get into “The Productivity Zone” by @danenow http://bit.ly/jH10UT
— Peggy Fitzpatrick (@PegFitzpatrick) May 11, 2011
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David Findley
My new favorite productivity tool (and, perhaps, my favorite ever birthday present from my beloved spouse) is my super-duper, top-of-the-line iPad!
Dane Findley
Here are the contents of my Day Pack, by the way.
Can you guess most items?
Which one are you least sure about?
Joel Nass
I recently got a LaCie usb flash drive stylized like a key. The flash drive isn’t exactly cutting edge technology but they can be handy and I really like the design of this one.
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11405
jurgen wolff
My favorite: a plastic envelope containing a little pad of Post-It notes, small scissors, Scotch tape, a couple of pens, some extra business cards, paper clips, small stapler with extra staples–instant office!
Dane Findley
I like your “instant office,” Jurgen. Thanks for sharing this tip. I also like your expression “targeted thinking” from your site. I find the notion of having more focus and clarity… very appealing!
Arthur Schenck
This isn’t a productivity tip so much as a warning: If you use a laptop on a bed or on your lap, you need to put a hard, flat surface under it. Many (even most) laptops are cooled through the bottom, so if you put it on a pillow or your bed, it could overheat and that’s not good!
I use an inexpensive product from Logitech (a “Lapdesk” they call it). It has a non-slip surface (to keep the laptop in place) and a slide-out mouse pad. It’s light enough and small enough to put in my laptop bag.
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/notebook-products/cooling-pads/devices/6073
There are plenty of others from other companies, some with all sorts of added features, but they all do the same thing: Keep the laptop and user cool. It’s great thing to have!
Dane Findley
thanks for the tip, Arthur. You’ve potentially saved me and my viewers thousands of dollars!
Jill
I love my lap desk from Ikea – very lightweight and inexpensive – I use it every time I take my laptop onto the couch.
Dane Findley
Jill, I agree! Now that I use a lapdesk, it’s hard to imagine ever having not used one! Better still, now my Macbook Pro no longer becomes too hot to touch, because my lapdesk prevents the vents from being blocked.
Sean Cameron
I don’t have a lapdesk but I use a large old textbook as one for my netbook.
Shahram Khorsand
Great blog Dane!
Interesting enough, at our new office in Stockholm, all the desks are with motors to lift up and down. Everyone is recommended to stand up and work from time to time.
There is a special mat that you can stand on, to prevent from getting tired feet at the end of the day.
Well done,
Shahram
Dane Findley
Shahram, it sounds like you work for a good company! I’m guessing that they have high retention of their staff. The trick to having a low turnover of talent, is to pay attention to quality-of-life details like that.