How to spend you time wisely to select the tools you need

Nowadays, there are so many new tools available or coming available. You probably find yourself signing up for these tools online only to abandon them a few weeks later as the tool did not give you what you wanted.

How to spend your time wisely to select the tools you need. Nowadays, there are so many new tools available or coming available, and you probably find yourself signing up for these tools online only to abandon them a few weeks later as the tool did not give you what you wanted.

If you answered yes, you should get rid of the tools that are not working for you in favour of the ones that are – and then start using them. For the Tools that work, you should take the time to learn about advanced features, stay on top of new releases, and see if they integrate with other tools you use (like your email, accounting software, or browsers). The main focus of your time and effort is not trying the latest thing, use the tools that meet your needs and then learn how to use them better.

How do you choose the Right Tools for Your Need?

To get started, you should list your basic needs and then create a “buckets” list of tools (project management tools, networking tools, communication tools, document sharing). Then list how you would use the tools in your job every day. How would it integrate into your current workflow? How would it make your job easier to do? What need or gap is it filling?

Tools are constantly evolving, integrating with other tools to make sharing content more accessible. When you are looking for a tool, keep in mind that tool integrations will save you time, so next time you are switching between tools, ask yourself – is there an easier way to do this?

A list of common tools

Below is a list of tools that are commonly used, there as so many tools available, but this is just a starting point for you to create the toolset you need.

Social Media Management

	Tool	Description
		Browser Extensions
	Chrome	thousands of tools in multiple categories to embed in your browser
	Firefox	thousands of tools in multiple categories to embed in your browser
		Chat & Messaging
	Gchat	video, voice and text chat
	Skype	video, voice and text chat
		Civic Engagement
	See Click Fix	report neighbourhood issues
		Collaboration & File Sharing
	Google Docs	hosted document collaboration
	Dropbox	shared file storage
	Etherpad	hosted document collaboration
	Hackpad	hosted document collaboration
	Yousendit	large file delivery
		Content Delivery
	Flipboard	personalized magazine, iPad only
		Digital work management tool
	Wrike	Track and coordinate project
		Crowd Funding
	Kickstarter	social project funding
	Indiegogo	social project funding
	wefunder	startup investment
		Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
	Salesforce	cloud-based sales, service, a marketing platform
	Volunteer Salesforce	manage volunteers and volunteer events in Salesforce
	Salsa	CRM, communications, event, list management
	Streak	CRM in Gmail
		Data, Analytics & Visualization
	Google Analytics	website analytics
	Reportive	data exploration & analysis
	Ushahidi	information collection, visualization and interactive mapping
	Tableau	publically accessible and shared data visualizations
	Headwaters Economics	public data source, independent non-partisan research
		Digital Rights Management
	Creative Commons	copyright licenses
		eCommerce
	Square	the mobile credit card reader
		Email
	Mailchimp	email list manager
		Image Manipulation & Sharing
	Skitch	annotate, edit screenshots & images
	Instagram	mobile photo filter & social network
	Pinterest	online pinboard, social network
	Canva	graphic design software in the cloud
		Presentation Design
	Haiku Deck	presentation generation
	Prezi	cloud-based presentation software
		Project Management
	Smartsheet	project management software
		Social Media Management
	Hootsuite	social media dashboard
	Radian6	social media listening, monitoring & engagement
		Task Managers
	Asana	shared task lists for teams
	Evernote	mobile, tablet & desktop note taker
	Pivotal Tracker	agile PM tool for software development
	Things	task manager
		Website CMS
	WordPress	open source, community-driven
	Drupal	open source, community-driven
		Website Development
	Twitter Bootstrap	front-end toolkit for rapidly developing web applications.
	GitHub	version control for collaborative software development
		Website Testing
	Optimizely	A/B testing
		Wireframing
	Balsamiq	hosted, collaborative wireframing
	Cacoo	hosted, collaborative diagram drawing