Bitsy

It’s easy to find distractions online. So why not even up the balance? Read our tips to get more done, and use these tools to stay productive:

This is a guest post from our friends at the HP Business Answers blog. Check out HP Business Answers on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube for practical business and IT advice.

1. Remember the Milk is a task manager that’ll straighten out your to-do list. Add jobs in seconds, get reminders by email and prioritise clearly, so you know what to do first.
   You could also try: Toodledo.
2. Dropbox is an elegant way to back up your important data and share files with other people. It keeps files up-to-date on all your computers too.
   You could also try: Windows Live Sync.
3. RescueTime tracks exactly what you do, every minute you’re on your computer. If its comprehensive reports don’t help you pinpoint and eliminate distractions, nothing will.
   You could also try: ManicTime.
4. TimeBridge helps you schedule meetings with people who don’t have a shared calendar. Your attendees indicate their preferred times, then TimeBridge finds a good slot for everyone.
   You could also try: Doodle.
5. Evernote lets you keep notes and interesting things you see online. You can enter text, grab images and clip information from websites. Evernote keeps it safe and organised.
   You could also try: toread.
6. Writer is perfect when you have to get something written. It emulates an old-skool green screen text editor, with no modern distractions. For the full effect, hit F11 to go full-screen.
   You could also try: Dark Room.
7. Picnik gives you a fast, easy way to crop, resize and edit photos. It’s ideal if you need to edit a picture before publishing it on your website or blog.
   You could also try: FotoFlexer.
8. Basecamp helps you manage projects and coordinate work with other people. It’s really useful when several people are working on a project from different places.
   You could also try: Huddle.
9. HP Business Answers contains dozens of articles to help you deal with business IT challenges. There’s also an interactive IT advisor and an IT Agony Aunt to answer your questions.

Finally, don’t forget that the equipment you work with can influence your productivity too. Using these tools with the right computer could give you even more of a boost.

Matthew Stibbe is writer-in-chief at Articulate Marketing. He is also an avid blogger, closet geek and HP fanatic.

Tech Tuesday
If you need any help with your computer – your software, hardware or website – join us on Twitter (@BitsyTalk), between 11am and 12pm on Tuesdays, using the hashtag #TechTuesday. Find more advice, and let us know you’ve been helped, right here on our website, in the Tech Tuesday group.