'Net Features : productivity

The Web Professional's Productivity Toolbox

Administrator — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:21:00 GMT

More often than not, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to complete all of the tasks on your to-do list. Attempting to allot the appropriate amount of time to accomplishing something, and for the countless distractions that you’ll likely face while you work on it, can sometimes feel daunting and futile. That’s why so many of us turn to productivity tools to help us ease the burden and utilize our time more constructively.

And now, just as the Internet giveth, it also taketh away, as yesterday, Google announced that it was going to be doing away with its Google Reader Web feed aggregator. The company cites a declining user base as the reason for the discontinuation, but many Web workers (and media professionals – go figure) that keep up with their Reader feeds all day, every day were incensed. Naturally, they took their outrage to Twitter, but so far, it hasn’t done much to alter Google’s decision.

The death of Google Reader, and the subsequent outcry, shows just how much Web professionals depend upon their productivity tools to accomplish their various daily tasks. Reader addicts will (and probably already have) find a new RSS aggregator, such as Fever or NewsBlur, but there are plenty of other useful tools that they can utilize to increase productivity. Let’s dig into The Web Professional’s Productivity Toolbox to see if we can find what you may need.

Feedly

Feedly is easily the most popular, and best, alternative to Google Reader. This free RSS feed aggregator runs on both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers and as a mobile application for both iOS and Android devices. Users can save posts, create categories to organize their various feeds and even choose from six different layout options to pick the look that best suits them.

Pomodroido

Even the most successful professionals can get distracted when working on tasks throughout the day, however, Pomodroido aims to change that. This free Android app helps users manage their time better by breaking down work periods into 25-minute intervals, which can be adjusted by the user if desired. Workers take a break after each work period, so that they can start the next interval refreshed and without distractions. Moreover, the app includes a ranking system, which rewards users based on the work that they complete.

Chrome Developer Tools

Web developers that prefer Google’s Chrome browser (and let’s be honest, that’s probably most of them) can use Chrome Developer Tools to gain access to the browser’s internals and their Web applications. The suite is largely based on WebKit Web Inspector from the WebKit open source project, and includes an Elements panel and tools for resources, networks, scripts, timelines, profiles and audits, as well as a fully featured, user-friendly console.

IFTTT

This handy automation tool, which stands for “if this, then that,” allows users to create their own tasks (recipes) by connecting two channels together. Once each channel has been activated, users create recipes by selecting one channel to signal a trigger that results in an action in a different channel. In other words, If This happens in one channel, Then That happens in the connected channel. For example, you can create a recipe to update your Twitter profile picture when your Facebook picture is changed. This recipe helps Web workers maintain consistent branding across platforms with little effort. Users can connect with 59 different channels through the platform, including Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, HootSuite, Gmail and weather.

LiquidPlanner

This online project management software helps businesses streamline their workflows by providing scheduling, collaboration, time tracking, analytics and reporting features. Since it has a particular focus on adding a social element to project management, the platform also includes comment streams for every task and project and the ability to attach notes, documents or images to a task, as well as email integrations that allow users to receive notifications about project updates in their inboxes. Plus, a partnership with Box adds cloud functionality to the solution to make sharing and collaborating on documents easier; the Box integration even provides some advanced document management features, such as desktop syncing, document versioning and access controls for project collateral.

InboundWriter

Anyone who produces content for the ’Net will want to leverage this platform; because it helps writers optimize their articles for better audience engagement. InboundWriter does this by identifying popular topics for your audience, offering keyword data that helps writers create articles that will be easier to find in the search results and suggesting article structure ideas for better readability. In fact, the platform is sort of like an online writing coach that uses real-time search and social data to help writers produce better content.

Dropbox

Don’t let Dropbox’s popularity among Web professionals and everyone else fool you, this is a serious tool that has earned all of the acclaim it receives. While many of its alternatives require a Web browser interface, Dropbox can run natively on almost any PC (even those using Linux), as well as mobile devices that run on either Android or iOS. It will also automatically sync your files with all of your local devices, so you can access them from pretty much anywhere, even if you don’t have an Internet connection.

Sprout Social

Most businesses have a presence on multiple social sites, which can make posting numerous pieces of content daily on each network very time consuming. This is where social media management platforms like Sprout Social come in handy. Not only can this platform be leveraged to schedule publishing times of status updates throughout the day on a variety of social networks, but it also provides analytics and monitoring tools that provide insights to help users better optimize their posting strategies. Furthermore, Sprout Social offers a mobile app, which allows businesses to manage and monitor their social accounts while on the go.

Coolendar

This planning software helps users combine the important dates on their calendar with everyday tasks that need to be completed, which makes it easier to keep up with commitments. Coolendar is available on the Web and on mobile devices so that no matter where you are, you can keep track of your day. The platform provides a simple list of planning entries, offers alerts that find people regardless of where they are (email, messenger, Web, desktop, mobile, Twitter), allows users to leverage tags to stay organized and makes it simple to create group plans.

Yammer

As one of the most popular internal communication tools on the Web, Yammer is an enterprise social network that allows users with valid company email addresses to participate in private company conversations. The Yammer platform allows users to segment employees by creating specific groups (such as sales, marketing or IT), as well as makes it easy for employees to collaborate, whether they are in or out of the office, via the Yammer mobile application for Android, iOS, Blackberry and Windows Phone devices. Allison Howen is an Associate Editor at Website Magazine, writing primarily about e-commerce and social media.

About the Authors

Michael Garrity is an Associate Editor at Website Magazine, focusing primarily on search, design and development and affiliate marketing.

Allison Hown is an Associate Editor at Website Magazine, focusing primarily on Ecommerce and Social Media.

Measuring and Managing Productivity in the Age of Knowledge

Administrator — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Productivity, and the act of measuring it, is extremely important to companies of all types and sizes. As technology has changed both the definition of “work” and where that work is carried out, however, we lack a clear and current definition of productivity. Adding to the confusion is that after four years of cost-cutting, excess fat has been trimmed to the bone and employees are being asked to do more than ever before.

As a nation, America has prided itself in leading the way to continually increase measures of productivity versus other competitive industrial nations. But the shift away from manufacturing toward services and knowledge workers makes it more difficult to both define and measure productivity. Creating X number of widgets per hour now gives way to the number of lines of code, the number of claims reviewed and the creation of data spreadsheets.

Thus, most enterprises lack the ability to definitively say how productive their knowledge workers are at any given time. Managing productivity is left to safeguards on preventing employees from wasting work time, such as website blocking software. But recent studies show that the proliferation of smartphones means that an employee bent on wasting time will simply go around attempts to block his or her access to sites on the Internet by using their personal smartphones. A 2011 study by Cisco found that 56 percent of college students who responded to the survey said they would either not accept a job offer from a company that blocked access to social media in the workplace, or would join and attempt to sidestep the company policies.

HR departments worried about time wasted on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter face a real dilemma. According to a Kelly Services survey in June of 2012, 30 percent globally believe it is acceptable to use social media for personal use while at work. Even worse, 43 percent agree that it impacts adversely on productivity. However, some employees also claim that social media can help improve their work through collaboration, research and real-time data. Blocking access, thus, seems like a heavy-handed solution to a problem that requires more finesse.

Add to that the growth of remote workers and reliance on independent contractors, who may work offsite, and the fears of a human resource team are compounded. Company employees who work from home at least one day a month hit 22.8 million in mid-2011, according to IDC. Fueling the fears of HR are studies like that from Citrix in June of 2012, which found that out of those working from home, 43 percent watch TV or a movie, 20 percent play video games, 24 percent admit to having a drink and 26 percent say they take naps.

With all these elements accounted for, here are four ways companies can begin to create a formal and sustainable strategy around productivity for knowledge workers.

Know What to Measure

Without measurement, there is no ability to identify areas that need improvement. But first it is important to define what is exactly being measured. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach that treats each department the same. After all, a sales team may not need to be measured on productivity when their ability to hit sales goals will clearly say whether or not they are doing their job. Again, these recommendations apply to knowledge workers who spend much of their jobs using computers.

Productivity also has different meanings to different companies. For some it may be as simple as the absence of wasting work time, thus, ensuring that an employee’s focus is on their duties. For others it may be their keystrokes per minute. Others might be how often an employee is using certain applications such as spreadsheets, ERP applications or design software. There are productivity measurement tools that can help track each user’s time with an application, keystrokes, websites visited or inactive time. Whichever tool you deploy, make sure to align your criteria for measurement with the data that is actually being gathered.

Set Clear Milestones

Armed with the knowledge of what you are measuring, equally important is setting clear milestones as targets for each relevant employee. Only by defining what is expected of them can they then work toward achieving productivity goals. With a benchmark established, higher targets can be set for part-time remote workers. For example, what percentage of time they were Active versus Inactive? Companies can even offer an incentive, which allows workers another day of remote work, should they achieve the higher target. Through this leapfrogging method of measuring, setting a milestone then measuring again, a higher Active time can be achieved.

This is a win-win situation. The company benefits from a highly motivated and productive employee. The employee gains by being allowed to work from home, which can save them commuting costs and time. In other words, rather than using tools as a “stick” to dissuade bad behavior, also use it as a “carrot” to incentivize desirable behavior.

Provide Transparency

No one likes the feeling of being monitored and measured. Pre-empt employee complaints by clearly laying out why measurement is being implemented, what is going to be measured, and what benefits (if any) will be offered should certain milestones be reached. In fact, empowering employees to access the measurement tool themselves provides a powerful way to self-monitor and self-correct as needed. Also important is communicating what privacy options an employee has. While most workers realize that anything done on a computer on behalf of their employer means their right to privacy is limited, it still behooves the employer to provide measures of privacy where appropriate.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

With the above simple steps, a company now has in place a powerful self-sustaining cycle. What is being measured is defined and communicated. Goals are set. Employees are empowered. Productivity and morale are, thus, increased. Remember to remain flexible and make adjustments as needed. Seek feedback from employees and actively work to integrate their suggestions into the process. Measuring and improving productivity of knowledge workers can be achieved with the inherent flexibility needed for companies of the future.

About the Author: Edward M. Kwang is President of MySammy, a productivity measurement solution. MySammy is a cloud-based software solution that enables employers and managers to graphically view detailed information on how an employee’s time is spent on a computer. The solution provides quantifiable time accountability measurement and collects only the data needed for effective management evaluation of “productive time” and avoids depriving users of their privacy. For more information about the company check out www.mysammy.com.

How to Weather the Dog Days of Summer

Allison Howen — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:30:00 GMT

Twenty-six percent of employers think that workers are less productive in the summer, according to a CareerBuilder survey.

A few reasons attributed to the loss in productivity include nicer weather, vacation-fever and kids being out of school.

But despite the less productive summers, 30 percent of employers think that workers are more productive since the recession began. According to employers, reasons for increased productivity include fear of job loss and downsized staffs.

A possible reason for the summertime decrease in productivity could have to do with the actual workload. Seventy-seven percent of employees said they were burned out at their jobs, while 43 percent said they were stressed out.

But when it comes down to it, summertime is no time to slack. This is a time when businesses can be focusing on big projects.

Here are a few projects to focus on: checking how your host is performing by load testing, accessing your advertising campaign’s effectiveness, retooling social profiles, conducting user experience surveys or training employees how to do new tasks like managing content production.

Speedy Email Response Essential

Administrator — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:05:00 GMT

Business professionals have only 30 minutes to respond to business emails if they're not to disappoint, according to a survey from Vodafone. This means you need to be able to send and respond to email, fully synchronized in real-time, even when you are out of the office. According to the survey:

One in ten businesses expects a 30 minute turnaround on business email, and one in three businesses expect a response to email within two hours.
Office of National Statistics data shows that slow response to email is generating losses up to GBP 7,345 billion per year
Three in ten workers suffer stress when encountering a very full inbox upon returning from meetings
42% of all workers now say they need to be able to access and respond to emails when away from office during work hours

I decided to take a look at how long it takes me to respond to the email I receive; on average not too bad at all - just under an hour. Xobni, which I referenced last week regarding email productivity has a handy little feature which gives you the median time it takes to respond to certain individuals and an average.

Get Productive: Email? Meet Networking.

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:10:00 GMT

While most Web professionals spent their holiday relaxing, there were those that engaged in a little work to get a head start on next week's road to success. If you're one of those "rise early, work late, strike oil" folks like me then spend an hour or two with two solutions to help you get productive.

Read Get Productive: Email? Meet Networking.

This article appeared in Website Magazine's Web Success Weekly Newsletter.

Productivity Scripts for Web Pro's - Greasemonkey

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:45:00 GMT

Greasemonkey is a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows users to install a script that makes modifications to the way Web pages look and act. The advantage for Web users of all levels is that an additional layer of functionality can be added - from price comparison within Amazon web pages to completely stripping Facebook of its advertising - scary, huh? GreaseMonkey however isn't just for a run-of-the-mill Web user, it adds a much improved experience for Web professionals too.

Let's take a look at some of the most helpful Greasemonkey scripts and see what they can do for your productivity and success!