Top 5 Productivity Tools for busy Startup Founders to stay Focused

Startup founders may feel more pressure to be flexible and work anywhere, anytime. This translates into ‘work anywhere at all times. The modern tech worker seems to believe that productivity is the new age stage in achieving enlightenment. In all this pursuit, Ray Dalio’s advice that you “can have almost anything you want but not everything you want” is important.

What is productivity in this case? What is the point of being productive?

Why is it that startup founders are always searching for productivity tools

Focus is the most important thing a startup founder must-have.

Steve Jobs stated, “People believe that focus means saying yes” to what you have to be focused on. It’s not. This means that you will not accept any of the other great ideas. Pick carefully. “I’m proud of all the things that we haven’t done, as well as what we have done.”

Founders feel overwhelmed by everything. They are tech-people and often look for a solution in the next technology tool.

But, this can lead to more platforms and tools that distract them from the things that matter. When founders decide to add another tool to their company, they spread the SaaS fatigue onto their employees.
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Is your startup team suffering from SaaS Fatigue?

According to studies, companies used an average of 16 apps in 2017. Companies with over 2,000 employees use an average of 163 apps. We rely on digital tools like never before in the era of remote working.

However, founders need to be aware that the next implementation of a team productivity tool might be yet another time-consuming process that is feared by their team members and decrease their business’ productivity.

This tech buzzword is broken down and we share five tools that have been proven to be more than distracting.

This list is for founders who feel overwhelmed by all the different tools available to them, but need to remain focused.

These tools will help you get the focus that you are looking for, rather than listing another marketing automation or project management software.

These are the main features of every productivity tool in this list:

• Setup in 10 minutes or less
• Habit-building tools that people use without being forced
• It doesn’t take extra effort or time to manage.
• This makes your job as a founder easier over the long-term
• There is no need to log in or remember passwords every time you use a new platform.

1. Superhuman helps you to focus on the essentials

Problem: You have a lot of messages in your inbox, including important conversations and cold emails. You’ll be overwhelmed by all the messages in your inbox at once and find it difficult to concentrate on important tasks.

Solution: Superhuman’s email app allows you to keep track of important emails and filter out noise. It helps you stay focused, on top of your daily tasks, manage deliverables and respond to important conversations.

Superhuman is a trusted tool for startup founders in Silicon Valley and Singapore to manage their growing inboxes. AI Triage, which uses machine learning to identify and highlight the most important messages in your business, is one of the premium features of Superhuman’s email app.

The other features help goal-oriented founders keep track of important milestones and follow-up reminders. The user-friendly interface is also great and works ‘blazingly quickly’

There is no free plan or free version of the software. Superhuman’s monthly paid plans, which cost US$30/month, can be expensive for small businesses.

It does not support email from Google Services like Gmail or G Suite. Many Superhuman alternatives have been developed over the years, with additional features.
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2. RewardNation’s public recognition tool keeps remote teams engaged

Problem The Great Receipt of 2021 points out that employees leave work because they don’t feel valued and are therefore less motivated.

Employees work best when they feel valued for their contributions. However, existing employee recognition programs or engagement activities do not meet the needs of employees.

Solution: RewardsNation uses micro-recognition to motivate remote employees and keep them productive.

To show appreciation for each other’s work, team members can send one another instant messages of appreciation. These messages can also be published on a company-wide channel such as Slack/Teams. This allows the entire team to celebrate small victories, increase collaboration and engage in one place.

RewardNation builds a culture of recognition within your company. Your employees will engage on the platform regularly without you or your cofounder having to manage them. It’s free for all.
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3. Otter.ai allows you to take effective notes during meetings

Problem: After attending so many meetings, you lose track of the important points and ideas that were discussed in each one. This can lead to you losing many opportunities for business growth. You could have the right productivity software or tools to recall important details from important conversations if you had them.

Solution: Otter.ai, a cloud-based platform, allows you to record all business conversations and manage your projects from one place. Start the recording before your video call and Otter.ai generates a voice record and transcript from your meeting.

Note important details to make sure you can add new projects to your project management tool. You won’t waste time taking notes or missing important tasks.

Otter.ai, a great productivity tool, is ideal for startup team members, small business owners, and remote team members. It can also be used to perform tasks such as consolidating marketing efforts among different team members in different time zones.

This time management tool is free to use. You can also purchase a premium or custom pricing for additional management features.

Unroll. I can help you declutter your inbox

Problem: Your inbox is cluttered with spam, newsletters, and other messages that you don’t want to receive. Every business today wants your email. Even if your to-do list keeps growing, you will get their latest blog posts and updates.

Solution Use unroll. me to view all companies you have subscribed to, and to unsubscribe instantly. We are sorry that you have been putting off cleaning out your inbox. It’s time-consuming, it takes too much effort, and there are always more important deadlines, to-do lists, and projects.

Unroll. me software requires only a one-time effort to enjoy the lifetime bliss of a spam-free mailbox. You will never be spammed again by the same domain, which is why they have a high success ratio.

You can now focus on important projects and increase productivity with a clear inbox. This tool is great for small businesses and project managers, as well as startups. It allows them to work remotely while increasing productivity and focusing on the right tasks and tools.
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Loom allows you to record and share videos.

Problem: It is possible to have many meetings by email. You could also communicate via video or only one meeting. Avoiding unnecessary meetings can make it difficult to focus on your business’ growth.

Solution: Loom allows you to record and share video messages from your computer, screen, or both. Loom is faster than sending an email or attending a live meeting.

Onboarding new employees, explaining the use of new software and tools, reviewing team boards for project management tools, all these tasks can be done with Loom. Loom can help you quickly and communicate your message.

Loom’s free plan lets you record your screen, voice, and face and create an instantly shareable video that you or your team can view directly. You can also save it to Google Drive for your business. Instead of creating multiple team boards in your project management software, you can reduce back-and-forth typing to get your message across.

You can also save and email your recordings directly to Google Docs, or other project management tools like Asana or Notion.