7 Subscriptions to Increase Your Productivity and Organization
Aug 10, 2021
Life isn’t all about being productive and organized. But the better you get at these two, the more free time you can have to do the other things that really matter.
I have often found myself overwhelmed because I suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome. Something new comes along and I get distracted meaning I end up working longer hours but getting less done! If you’re like me then these seven subscriptions can help you keep your sanity.
Combined these work out to around $30 per month and you might be able to get away with more of the free versions!
Clockify
When I left my job to become a full-time entrepreneur, it didn’t take long for my productivity to nosedive. Without the pressure of trying to squeeze in my side hustles, I kept procrastinating and ending up working late nights.
Clockify has been my savior because it exposes my bad habits. The interface is simple; I tell it what I’m working on and start a timer. Working against the clock triggers my competitiveness and stops me from getting distracted.
It has helped me plan my time better too because I know how long it takes me to get things done on average. This means there are fewer days where I set myself unrealistic targets and my mental health is better for it.
Lastpass
I have several hundred passwords for all of the various online accounts I have. No human can ever remember that many passwords and I don’t want to tie them to a particular browser. Forgetting and resetting passwords is a pain that I think we all like to avoid.
No, the solution is not to reuse the same password on multiple sites unless you enjoy being hacked. The key is to make your master password impenetrable to protect all the others and use two-factor authentication.
I upgraded to the “families” version last month so I could share passwords with my new personal assistant. This means I can allow my assistant to see the passwords she needs but not the more intimate ones like my bank accounts!
Skillshare
I have always been a skeptic of online courses. It’s ridiculous because I should invest in myself so I improve faster but I have a mental block.
Skillshare is perfect for people like me and I have used it to learn Adobe Premiere Pro in a day as well as how to create a podcast. It’s a cheap subscription considering there are hundreds of online courses included. I made my own course there too and I love that people can try it for two weeks for free*.
If you want to learn a creative skill fast and cheaply then I don’t think there’s a better place.
I pay £50 annually (I believe it costs $168 annually in the US) — Affiliate
*You could just sign up for all the courses you want, binge them in two weeks then cancel your membership and not pay a dime if you wanted.
Medium
The membership that changed my life.
I started as a reader before eventually deciding to have a go at writing for fun. I was just meant to organize my thoughts. Fast-forward 15 months and I had quit my job to become a full-time creative. The thousands of articles I’ve read have taught me so much and made me grow as a person.
If you aren’t a member what are you waiting for?
It’s only $5 per month or $50 per year for access to thousands of writers and experts in their fields. A no-brainer.
Blinkist
In the good old days, I used to read non-fiction for fun but I can’t do that anymore. The more you read, the more realize how most of the books can be summarized quickly and the rest is filler to justify the price.
I use Blinkist to listen to the short versions of books before deciding whether or not it’s worth paying the money for the full thing. Most of the time it isn’t in my experience and I’m not someone who gets a kick out of boasting about how much I read.
It’s more important to have a few key ideas that you remember and implement in your life rather than reading thousands of pages without remembering anything.
#6 Notion
Notion is where I dump all my notes and long-term thoughts. It takes a huge load off my brain and is set up in a way where I can easily find information when I need it.
For example, it has all my book notes, all my meeting notes, and all the recipes I use regularly. I used to store this information in notebooks but I always ended up losing or forgetting about it. Roam Research is a major competitor so it’s worth checking out both before deciding on what system you want to use.
The great thing about it is unless you want to share your notes with other people, it’s free!
#7 Todoist
From the name, it’s obvious what this subscription does. It’s a to-do list on steroids and allows many options for grouping activities together. I particularly like that I can add any task whenever it comes to my mind to the list and schedules a date for when I plan to do it.
I only look at the list for the day when I’m working which helps me to focus and not worry I’ll forget the million other things floating around my brain.
The difference between the free and paid versions isn’t massive but when it’s so cheap I had no problem paying. It gives me extra options and filters to keep track of my tasks.
These are the actual subscriptions I use after experimenting with many different productivity and learning systems. I think these give you by far the best bang for your buck of the options out there and I hope they are useful for you!
