2017 Update: I've created a "living document" version of these hacks so you can share your pro-tips, too. Head on over here to see the latest!
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Three years ago, I wrote a blog post on being hyper-efficient on a computer -- or to put it another way, being so good on a computer that you play it like a virtuoso on a musical instrument. So much has changed in my daily workflow that I realized it was time for me to update that post.
The first order of business is that you can't improve what you can't measure. So if you're serious about being able to use a computer with the speed and zeal of Dash outrunning a flying saucer, first you need to find out how fast (or slow) you are today. Go over and take my GeekSpeed challenge. See if you can break the 1 minute mark.
If you can't, then here are some of the things to focus on to make the 8+ hours per day you spend in front of your computer much, much more productive:
- CloudApp: This is, by far, my #1 productivity & efficiency tool. I wrote a special blog about how massive the efficiency gains are that it provides. I use it literally 50x daily. It's also a bit hard to explain exactly what it does until you start using it. But suffice it to say that it only took me 2 seconds to take this screenshot, upload it to a cloud-based location, create a URL of it to share with you, and copy that URL into my clipboard for easy pasting: http://drod.io/image/1N0b1I1v2l0X. Imagine being able to share anything on your screen with anyone (over email, over chat, etc.) in a spit second. For example, here's the screenshot I took & uploaded so quickly:
- TextExpander: I still use this multiple times daily. If you find yourself re-typing the same text multiple times per day, then you need this utility.
- Alfred: Oh Alfred, how I love thee. Alfred has replaced Quicksilver. Zoom around on your computer, quickly opening applications, Finder windows, and much more with this utility just by pressing CTRL+spacebar. Here's the result of me pressing that key combo + typing "pho..." to open the Photoshop app:
- iShowU HD: This HD update to iShowU lets me quickly take screencasts of my desktop screen and it compresses them to a very usable size for email.
- SaneLater: I recently talked about how I use this to reduce my email clutter. While we're on the topic of email overload, I've recently become a huge convert of the Inbox Zero philosophy. You have to be good with Gmail shortcut keys to really take advantage of it (but then, you should be anyway if you want to be playing a computer like an instrument). I've also really been enjoying AwayFind, which was first suggested to me by @Percevalve and which texts me when emails come in from people I have on a watch list.
- Rapportive: I've also written copiously about how much I love Rapportive, as well as Boomerang and other tools that make email much more efficient. I also recently discovered Gmail POP3 Checker by Daniel Slaughter (donate to him! I did) which lets me check other Gmail inboxes at intervals as short as 3 minutes -- great if you're having other Gmail inboxes flow into one master inbox (like I do).
- HelloSign: I recently learned about this new service from the great guys over at HelloFax, which lets me sign documents right in Gmail. They've thought of lots of great little tweaks, like making your sig transparent (so you don't have to), and opening Word .doc documents as PDFs, then letting you sign the PDF right in the Gmail interface, and then re-attaching it with the original file name plus a "-signed" suffix. Here's a screenshot of it in action:
- Dropbox: This one's become pretty mainstream. If you're not using it yet, check it out. And especially check out the ability to turn any document stored on dropbox into a public link.
- Cinch, Witch, Hiss and XtraFinder: More indispensable Mac utilities. How are they not standard on a Mac... and how do you live without them?! I wouldn't be able to.
- iCopy: How many things can you copy & paste on your Mac at once? One. How many can I copy & paste? 600. That's right, I have a copy & paste history that's 600 items long. This is another tool I use 50x per day.
Honorable Mentions: Here are som other tools I love: PDF Pen, a way better pdf manipulation tool, Highrise and Basecamp by 37 Signals, Pivotal Tracker for life project management, 1Password for password management, WhatSize for freeing space up on a computer, JoinMe for screen sharing & support, and Carbon Copy Cloner to make exact clones of your hard drive, which are bootable. Even if you back up using TimeMachine or similar, I'd still highly recommend cloning your drive once a month as a failsafe (and then use something like CrashPlan for cloud-based backups).
Whew! Hope that helps. What do you use to enable you to play your computer like an instrument? I'd love to know in the comments below.
HelloSign looks great! DocuSign is another good alternative that a lot of bigger companies use, but the UI isn't nearly as good.
IFTTT is pretty good, but Zapier is incredible for doing anything related to business. You do have to pay for it to get the most functionality (fast updates, more 'zaps', etc), but the free version works pretty well also. I use it mainly to sync all of the different apps I use together, and it's been a lifesaver on more than one occasion.
My best lifesavers have always been apps that take potential distractions away. I use iA Writer to do all my writing on iOS or my Macbook and a combination of Self Control and RescueTime to keep myself on track and focused.
Also if you're trying to learn something, I highly recommend using spaced-repetition flashcards. Anki (ankisrs.net) is a good cross-platform solution.
Oh yeah, and also #GiveMeSETT
Hey Daniel,
As I was saying on IM earlier, I bet you know all of these already ;)
http://blog.bufferapp.com/keyboard-shortcuts-ultimate-list?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bufferapp+%28Updates+and+tips+from+Buffer%29
--Carmen.
I also highly recommend EverContact to automatically update your address book based on people's sig lines (it used to be called WriteThatName).
Julia over at Hackpad just asked me:
"Can I ask what software you use to create these videos? They're quite impressive!"
Yep! I use iShowU to take them. (There's also an HD version of iShowU but I like this one better; it's simpler to use). Then, I just upload the videos to Vimeo.
In fact, here's a video showing how I make these videos. The video also describes how I use Skitch and CloudApp to do quick edits. Enjoy!
Hackpad is a new tool that I'm absolutely loving. Here's a blog post I wrote about it: http://go.DanielOdio.com/hackpad
Seconding Cinch, Xtrafinder, Alfred, and Textexpander
Four apps to add to the list here:
Vitamin R, a very powerful task and time tracking tool. Helps me focus and eliminate distractions, log my progress on projects, and provide audio and visual cues to stay on task. Great for those days where you need someone looking over your shoulder.
http://www.publicspace.net/Vitamin-R/
JiTouch, create trackpad gestures and assign them functions. I currently use it for basic things like tab switching and text selection, but it can do more advanced things like run applescripts as well.
http://www.jitouch.com/
Clipmenu, another clipboard manager. I prefer it because it is relatively simple, can be called up with a kb shortcut, and shows previews of copied images in the queue.
http://www.clipmenu.com/
Flexiglass, similar to Cinch is a more powerful resizing tool. It can snap windows to certain parts of the screen (top left quarter, bottom half, etc) and sets kb shortcuts for each "layout".
http://nulana.com/flexiglass/
I've had lots of people asking me about TextExpander recently. Here's an example of how I use it effectively:
I recently attended a tech retreat, and I want to email some of the people I met there. TextExpander pops in block of text based on trigger words you type. Since I'll be sending a very similar email to a bunch of people individually, it's a great opportunity for me to use TextExpander.
The first thing I do is compose the email I'm going to use as a template. For example, here's what it looks like:
Next, I fire up TextExpander and cut the email up into two pieces. The first is a subject line:
And I do the same for the body:
Now I'm ready to rock & roll. I can send a bunch of emails quickly by typing my two short codes -- one into the subj line of the email, and the next into the body, like this:
I enter the name "Jeremy" and hit "enter" and I get this:
I do the same thing for the body by typing ".mpb"
Bam, easy peasy to send a bunch of emails out with relevant text. This is a great tool for anyone who has to send out substantially-similar emails to people on a regular basis.
CloudApp, here I come! I've used a lot of the apps recommended on this page and I must agree, all of them improve efficiency tremendously.
I've only used Echosign and Docusign (no HelloSign) but both have helped expedite getting legal docs signed off and saved my butt a few times as a sales rep. Nothing worse than having a PO sit out there and not faxed back because there is no scanner available!
Here's a great pro-tip on how to use TextExpander-like shortcuts on an iPhone: http://danielodio.com/community/is-there-a-textexpander-for-iphone
Read Next
Playing a Computer like an Instrument
On DROdioMost everyone uses a computer. But a few of us, well, we play a computer like an instrument.
If you're on a computer for 10+ hours per day, this blog is for you.
By "instrument" I mean we know the in's & out's of the device. We know how to eek out maximum performance from it. We're the people who others just look at in wonder when our keys fly across the keyboard.
If you've ever found it excruciatingly painful watching others use a computer because of how slow the person is, then you know what I'm talking about.
These are just my tips, but really, I'm writing this because I want to know about your tips. I want to know what saves you time and makes you more productive. So please post comments below.
Some Useful and Interesting Updates
On TynanReaders
First of all, I'm finally over 1000 readers on Feedburner. That's in addition to the 500-700 readers that just check the site every day.
The "missing area" is when I stopped using Feedburner for around a year. I didn't really have a complete grasp on how RSS worked back then. The second tiny gap was when I made some changes to the site (linking words in my bio and putting summaries on the front page). I forgot to put the Feedburner stuff back on for a few days, but notice how after that the slope increased? Pretty cool.