What makes an organizational tool great?
It’s time to talk about the best organizational tools. Because who doesn’t love the thought of color-coded spreadsheets and neatly organized to-do lists? Well, hold on to your hats because this is about to get exciting. The truth is, as much as we dread adding another item to our already overflowing list, using an organizational tool can make our lives easier.
By streamlining our internal and external communications, improving productivity, and ensuring everything has its proper place, these tools can help us tackle our daily tasks with more efficiency and less stress. So, let’s dive in and explore why being organized can be a game-changer, shall we?
Outmark’s list of the best organizational tools
Basecamp
Basecamp is the magical software that makes project management a breeze with its comprehensive and user-friendly design. At Outmark®, we love how easy the platform makes communication for our team and clients. In fact, we’ve been using Basecamp since its inception. Basecamp has put a lot of energy into building a workspace that helps reduce interruptions and enables deeper, more asynchronous work.
We love having all the communications for our work in one place, with Slack-like chat in “Campfires” that are searchable within each active project. There’s even a fun feature called “Boosts” that lets you respond to comments with 16 characters and a large selection of emojis. You gotta keep it fun, right?
You can ditch the headache-inducing “where-did-I-put-that?” chaos of a scattered multi-app approach to project management with Basecamp’s all-in-one, organized method. Already feel less stressed? We do.
Google Workspace
Where do we start with Google Workspace? Let’s see; there’s Google Drive for storing all your files, Google Docs for writing, Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Google Meet for video calls, Google Slides for presentations…and the list goes on and on. But don’t fret, it’s not like you’ll ever have to worry about remembering all those different applications. Google’s tools are seamlessly integrated.
Another benefit of Google Workspace is how it allows members of your team and clients to work async in documents, which cuts down on meeting times and improves internal communication in remote or hybrid working environments. Do we love the versatility? Why, yes. Yes, we do.
Calendly
Tired of playing phone tag with your prospects, clients, and recruits? Calendly is a favorite on our list of organizational tools to grow your business.
With its scheduling automation, you can sit back and relax while your contacts book high-value meetings. Simply add your availability to your website or shoot them an email or text with your Calendly link. It’s like having a personal assistant that never sleeps.
The best part? Now people that want to get on your calendar can eliminate the back-and-forth with emails and phone calls and just book that time on the spot. See how we’ve integrated Calendly on our contact page by clicking here.
Salesforce
Known as the customer company, Salesforce is a cloud-based software developed to connect businesses to their consumers. The goal of Salesforce is to allow companies to find more customers, deliver a top-notch user experience, and help close more sales.
With the Customer 360 app and Salesforce’s comprehensive product suite, your business can connect the dots of the buyer journey between sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, and your IT peeps. Why is this so valuable? Because it gives everyone involved in the process a shared view of how all these moving parts work together.
Nothing is more frustrating than putting work into a strategy to find that another part of the team is on a different wavelength. This structure gives your team more strategic resources for planning, improves internal communication, and, ultimately, streamlines your business.
Evernote
Tired of feeling like your brain is a buffering computer with 30 tabs open? Fear not, our friends, because Evernote can help get you sorted out. As much as everyone loves using sticky notes, Evernote can transform how you take notes or plan projects. With its impressive note-taking feature, you can write down all those random thoughts and ideas that pop into your head (because, let’s be honest, we all have them).
With Evernote, you’ll never have to frantically search for that one important note from three months ago because Evernote’s powerful search and keyword tags will take you there. And, of course, Evernote automatically saves your notes online and syncs to all your devices. Cue the angel choir singing.
Airtable
Meet Airtable. If you love a good spreadsheet, this is like a spreadsheet on steroids.
This dynamic platform is the ultimate way to connect info that brings people together. With Airtable, teams can easily access shared data and collaborate on building their own custom apps, creating a more streamlined and efficient workflow. From project management to inventory tracking, Airtable has a wide range of features to suit any team’s needs. There’s also a free version that includes a large variety of their features, so it’s worth exploring.
At Outmark, we love using Airtable to organize weekly Scrum workloads. We use the customizable filter settings to view our schedules and check our capacity on the daily.
Making the best organizational tools work for you
We’ve reached the end of our journey through the wonderful world of organizational tools. But before we close the book on this topic, let’s recap a few things.
First and foremost, we know every business is unique, with its own needs and requirements. That means finding the right tools that fit your specific circumstances is essential. While we’ve provided a handy list of our favorites, remember that countless other tools are waiting to be explored.
The key to success is to keep an open mind and remain flexible. Finding the right tool can be a game-changer, so don’t be afraid to experiment, trial software, and conduct small group pilots. Whether you’re a solopreneur or a Fortune 500 company, there’s an option that’s right for you. Now, go forth and get organized.
