Tools
Every professional needs their own set of tools for work and life. Think of this page as my digital briefcase or laptop bag. It holds my all my important tools ready at hand.
This list gets updated at least twice a year to make sure only the best stays on here. I hope that you find them useful and give them a try. For books, see Book Notes.
Design • Education • Email • Planning • Podcasts • Productivity • Marketing • Mind and Spirit • Video • Web and WordPress • Writing
Some links may be affiliate links, which are of no additional cost to you and helps support this blog. Products/services are only linked if used personally and/or will add value to readers. Legal
Education
getAbstract
getAbstract finds, rates and summarizes the top business books, articles and video talks into 10-minute abstracts to help people make better decisions in business and in their private lives. They offer 18,000+ text and audio summaries in areas such as leadership, finance, innovation, health and science to their worldwide community that includes millions of readers, including one-third of Fortune 100 companies.
Summary of the Week. Click on the book image to see the highlights of a new business bestseller with access to the 10 Take-Aways, the getAbstract rating, recommendation, and information about the author.
LinkedIn Learning
Choose from hundreds of courses and dozens added each week. Watch bite-sized videos on the go or in-depth courses. Earn certificates to add to your LinkedIn profile. Below are two examples:
- Writing and Proofreading Made Simple by Erin Rickard.
- Maintain your PMI credentials by earning PDUs with LinkedIn Learning’s qualified courses.
Start Learning Today
Mind and Spirit
Headspace
Headspace guided meditations and helpful animations help you learn the essentials of meditation and mindfulness with the free Basics course. If you enjoy it, you can subscribe. Once you do, you’ll have bite-sized minis for when you’re short on time, exercises to add extra mindfulness to your day, and hundreds of meditations on everything from stress to sleep.
Planning
The Finish Calendar
2019 is the 8th year in a row that John Acuff has used this massive wall calendar. Bonuses: the calendar comes with encouraging statements and John will send you 12 check-in moments from Jan 1–June 30 to make sure you get the most out of it.
Discount. Use the promo code here at NeuYear for 10% off storewide.
Finish The Year Strong
Productivity
PhraseExpress
PhraseExpress is the best text-expand software I’ve used. It takes your text abbreviations and expands them into your stored phrases and corrects spelling mistakes in any program—such text editors, email programs, web browsers, applications, etc.—on your computer or mobile. But that’s just scratching the surface; it also includes complex features to create custom file names, time stamps, and even build word documents from existing large text abbreviations.
Save hours with PhraseExpress
Podcasts
Podcast Addict Player
Podcast Addict is the #1 Podcast App on Android with 8+M downloads, 400K reviews, 1 Billion episodes downloaded and an average rating of 4.6/5 Podcast Addict allows you to manage Podcasts, Radio, Audiobooks, Live stream, YouTube, Twitch, SoundCloud channels
The 5 AM Miracle
The core topics include early mornings, healthy habits, personal development, and rockin’ productivity! Jeff Sander’s goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy.
Manager Tools Podcast
There’s a Manager Tools podcast for dealing with every situation
The Tim Ferriss Show
The Tim Ferriss Show is focused on deconstructing world-class performers — is often ranked #1 across all of iTunes (also selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running) and has exceeded 300,000,000 downloads.
Video
Screenflow
Video is the way to reach an audience, and in ScreenFlow, you can create and edit polished looking videos to help showcase your products, company or make onboarding a sinch with clear training videos. Post the videos on your website to attract clients. I’m currently testing this software and am pleasantly surprised.
Learn More
Loom
Try Loom Today
Web and WordPress
Pressable
Design, build, and launch WordPress websites on a managed hosting platform created by Automattic – the same minds that brought you WordPress, WooCommerce, and Jetpack. Same time: let Pressable handle your website, you handle the content.
Discount. Host your WordPress site at Pressable and get 15% off your first 90 days.
WP Engine
WP Engine drives your business forward faster with the first and only WordPress Digital Experience Platform. They offer the WordPress hosting and developer experience on a proven, reliable architecture that delivers unparalleled speed, scalability, and security for your sites. WP Hosting plans include Premium WordPress themes and
WP Engine Speed Tool. The quick and simple tool analyzes how fast your WordPress site loads and get insights you can use to make your site faster today.
Try WP Engine
namecheap
Namecheap has the most in-demand and recognizable domain names at great prices, with new ones added regularly. When it comes to choosing your perfect domain name, they’re with you every step of the way. I’ve bought domains from them since 2014.
Discount. The namecheap promo page a full list of deals and their coupon page has fresh coupon codes here every month. Buy your domain.
Find a domain starting at $0.88
powered by Namecheap
Feast Design Co.
Here’s why my current theme is from Feast Design Co.: They’ve designed some of the best WordPress themes for foodies in the industry, catering to Food and Lifestyle bloggers. Simple and minimalist, their themes focus on the important parts of your blog.
Best practices for design, search engines, and recipes are built right in, so you can skip the research and technical setup and get right to blogging.
Try the themes
Writing
Scrivener
Made by writers for writers, Scrivener is perfect anyone for anyone that want their notes or research near them during a writing session or long-writing project. While it does have a learning curve, it’s full of powerful features that will save you so much time! I used it daily.
You can also use the scratchpad to hold simple ideas until you’re ready to flesh them out. You can start with a free trial; scroll to the bottom of the page and download the appropriate version. If you’re ready to dive in, you can purchase the Mac or Windows desktop and get started.
Design • Education • Email • Planning • Podcasts • Productivity • Marketing • Mind and Spirit • Video • Web and WordPress • Writing
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