10 Best Tech Tools to Become a Productive Worker

We live in an age where everything moves fast. With so many tasks and engagements around, it often becomes extremely difficult to keep track of all the meetings and deadlines. As a result, most workers quickly become overwhelmed, thinking that there is never enough time.

But in this fast-paced world, there is no place for excuses. Since AI technologies entered the market, many organizations have started focusing on how to get more work done from a minimal number of employees. So, failing to miss deadlines repeatedly for a few times can seriously end your career.

You can see lots of mediocre and low-productive employees are laid off. However, there are now many tech tools around that can remarkably help you stay productive over time and bring out your best effort. In this article, we'll introduce you to some of the best tech tools to become a productive worker.

Let's get started!

Mandatory Features of a Tech Tool to Make You Productive

When selecting a tool, there are several key features you must carefully consider to check if they are available. Otherwise, it will just be a waste of time and money. Below we have listed the mandatory features you must check in your shortlisted tools.

Overview Dashboard

An overview dashboard is where all relevant information can be seen. It displays a snapshot of all your tasks, deadlines, team progress, and key performance indicators (KPI) in one place. If you're involved in multiple projects, the overview dashboard can help check all your statuses at a glance.

Time Tracker

A time tracker allows you to see how much time you are spending on various projects, tasks, or assignments you are involved in. This allows you to stay focused, stop wasting time, and complete the assigned projects in due time.

Also read: 15+ Effective Time Management Strategies and Techniques

Gantt Chart

A Gantt Chart is a diagram of a project's lifecycle. It breaks down the tasks and dependent tasks, including deadlines for each. It's extremely helpful for large projects. Because you can easily view the whole project flow, identify bottlenecks, and fix them in advance.

Kanban Board

Kanban Board has relevance to the Gantt Chart. It has a visual dashboard that categorizes tasks in columns (To Do, In Progress, and Done). As a result, you can instantly check which sub-tasks have already been completed, which are ongoing, and which should be finished soon.

Task Calendar

This feature can help you plan and schedule your tasks according to deadlines, priorities, and availability. Once you are planned and organized, you prevent the panic of last-minute stress.

Manage Team Members

If you are a team leader or manager, one of your KPIs should be how well you can manage your subordinates. So, the tech tool should have the ability to add new members into it so you can track their statuses and work progress.

Share and Save Files & Document

When managing a team, you may often want to share valuable resources with the team members. You'll surely look for a secure channel to do this. As a result, look for a productivity tool that allows you to upload, share, and save files & documents.

Advanced Reports with Insights

Advanced reports with insights are usually displayed statistically using easily understandable graphs, pie charts, bar charts, etc., so you can quickly make data-driven decisions.

Milestone Tracking

Indeed, you can't eat an entire elephant at once but bite by bite. Similarly, big projects often seem overwhelming. This is why the idea of milestones originates. It allows you to break down huge projects into smaller and more manageable tasks assigned with time.

Integration with Useful Tools

To simplify and automate tasks, your productivity tool must have integration with popular tools. Some of those tools could be Slack, email, CRM library, communication system, social media, etc.

Best Tech Tools to Become a Productive Worker

It's really challenging to get all the features mentioned above in a single tool. Moreover, a tool where you get all these features is also expected to cost a lot. However, in the following part of this section, we'll introduce you to the best tech tools to become a productive worker, listing their key features so you can choose the right one for yourself.

1. WP Project Manager

WP Project Manager is a prominent project manager tool based on WordPress. You'll get most of the above features and many additional ones in this tool. You need to install it on WordPress to begin using the plugin. It allows you to create tasks, assign them to team members, set deadlines, and track progress.

With its user-friendly interface, you can manage these tasks in an organized way, share files, and enable time tracking. You can even break down tasks into smaller parts and distribute them to the team members, setting deadlines. WP Project Manager is an ideal tool both for individuals and teams.

Key features of WP Project Manager:

• Create and add limitless tasks, projects, and teams
• Track time via log-in, stop, pause, and custom entry
• Gantt chart & Kanban board
• Interactive task calendar
• Manage team members' roles
• Set patterns and parameters for recurring tasks
• Allows to see project files in one place
• Personal dashboard for all users
• Priority management
• In project discussion
• Advanced reporting with insights
• Milestone tracking
• Frontend compatible
• Integration with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, Slack, Github, and more

The plugin has many more features and functionalities. It has a free and premium version. Check them by clicking the buttons attached below.

2. Slack

Slack is a popular messaging and collaboration application for teams. It is a centralized messaging and file-sharing tool that allows collaboration in real time. Due to its user-friendly interface and organized structure, even beginners can efficiently communicate and collaborate using this tool.

One of the greatest features of Slack is that it makes your workflows much simpler through channels, direct messages, and integrations with other tools. Channels allow you to divide conversations into projects, departments, or topics so no one gets lost and can get all the necessary information.

Moreover, Slack has integrations with Google Drive, Trello, and Zoom. As a result, you can share files, join meetings, and manage tasks without having to switch between different platforms.

Key features of Slack:

• Create channels for project-based and organized communication
• Send messages in private conversions
• Share files and documents
• Integration with numerous helpful tools
• Make video and voice calls
• Set customizable notification preferences
• Show emoji reactions status updates
• Supports Mobile and Desktop apps
• Easy to search message history
• Create message threads for organized communication

3. ClickUp

ClickUp is a well-known and feature-rich project management tool that can help you organize workflows and keep track of the project. It comes with many useful features for task management, like customizable task lists, project boards, timelines, and more.

With them, you can easily monitor the progress, prioritize the important tasks, and assign them to different works from one single place. As a result, you don't have to depend on multiple tools. It also has integration with other popular apps like Slack, Google Drive, Zoom, and many others.

ClickUp is ideal for small teams because of its flexibility. Time tracking, goal setting, and progress reports make it even easier for teams to stay on schedule and in line.

Key features of ClickUp:

• Customizable task lists and project boards
• Display tasks in a list, board, Gantt, or calendar
• Set priorities by task dependencies and milestones
• Share files and document
• Allows real-time collaboration and commenting
• Enable automation for repetitive tasks
• Comes with reporting and analytics tools
• Has both Mobile and Desktop apps
• Easy to set notifications and reminders
• Design customizable workflows and statuses
• Integration with many popular and helpful tools

4. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a one-stop communication and collaboration tool for teams. It allows you to chat, join video conferences, and share files among the team members. As a result, you schedule calls, meetings, and tasks from one single place without jumping into multiple tools/platforms.

Thus, it saves time in information gathering and better planning with calendars & to-do lists. Besides integrations with multiple tools, project control, and chat in real-time, you achieve more in less time.

Key features of Microsoft Teams:

• Chat and direct messages
• Easy to manage teams and organize channels
• Share files and documents in real time
• Allows to share screens during meetings
• Configure customizable notifications
• Integration with many third-party tools
• Add virtual backgrounds for video calls
• Mobile and Desktop support
• Security and compliances
• Organize tasks with to-do lists

5. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a dedicated time-tracking application. With this, you can track how much time you and your team members are spending throughout the workday. It comes with an easy-to-use interface where you can check the current status of your running projects in real time.

You can categorize the timesheets by projects and tasks. So, whether you work on a client's, internal, or personal project, the app ensures that you are utilizing every single minute. Its comprehensive reports and analytics enable you to instantly view if any project or part of a project is unnecessarily consuming additional time.

Thus, you can uncover inefficiencies so you can develop yourself or guide the team members to be productive. Besides, you can also check which of your employees are comparatively more productive.

Key features of Toggl Track:

• Easy to use time tracking with start/stop timers
• Includes real-time tracking and monitoring
• Customizable tags for time tracking
• Provides daily and weekly time summaries
• Dashboard for overviews and analysis
• Easy to manage multiple workspaces
• Allows to export reports in various formats (CSV, PDF)
• Billable hour tracking
• Support for Desktop and Mobile devices

6. Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a free but popular calendar widely used to properly manage schedules for your activities. With this, you can visually showcase your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules and share them with the team members. It enables your team to get prepared before the beginning of any critical events.

The best thing about Google Calendar is that you can send reminders and alerts for upcoming dates. It prevents workers from missing deadlines or appointments. Google Calendar has integration with countless tools and applications around.

As this is completely free to use, you must use Google Calendar in your daily professional life to be more focused and organized.

Key features of Google Calendar:

• Show events by daily, weekly, and monthly views
• Differentiate events by color coding
• Set customizable notifications and reminders
• Share calendars with team members
• Define time zones for global teams
• Integrations with countless tools and applications
• Support for Desktop and Mobile
• Allows to search event history

7. Google Workspace

Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) is a suite of cloud productivity solutions for simplifying tasks and collaborating. It includes many popular applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Meet. Hope you are already familiar with many of them.

One of the greatest abilities of Google Workspace is that it simplifies the process for team members to share and open documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in real time. Integration with Google Meet and Google Chat enables the team members to begin video meetings whenever any emergency arises.

As this is cloud-based, workers can join from anywhere and on any device. So, even if you are on a tour, you can check your team documents if you have at least a smartphone and internet connection.

Key features of Google Workspace:

• Gmail support for professional email communication
• Easy to share and store files in Google Drive
• Google Docs enables quick documentation
• Google Spreadsheet for maintaining financial calculation
• Integrates Google Calendar for event scheduling
• Custom domain support for business email
• Integrates countless third-party tools
• Support for Mobile and Desktops
• Advanced search option across all tools

8. Zoom

Zoom is a well-known video conferencing tool that has become a powerful alternative for remote working and virtual collaboration. It enables employees to interact with video and audio calls in good quality, which can also be used for meetings, webinars, and training anytime.

Zoom is simple to use and accessible across multiple devices. It allows you to share the screen during the real-time live conference, present your PPT files & documentation, and join multiple people to begin meetings. So, physical distance is no longer an issue.

Today, you'll find the Zoom app both on mobile and desktop. So, even if you are on a tour, you can instantly join any urgent meeting if you have only an internet connection.

Key features of Zoom:

• Run high-quality audio and video conferences
• Set virtual background during the meeting
• Record meeting in the cloud storage
• Host webinars for large audiences
• Integrate calendar for scheduling meetings
• Integration with many third-party tools
• Waiting room feature
• Allows to share files during meetings
• Let participants raise their hands during the meeting
• Includes multi-device supports

9. Grammarly

Writing is an essential part of almost every job today. Without a strong command over the grammatical aspect and sentence making, it's impossible for anyone to avoid grammatical errors, even if you are very careful. Grammarly could be a viable savior in this case.

Grammarly is your go-to writing assistant. It can remarkably help you streamline communication and create error-free writing. It instantly checks grammar, spelling, and punctuation to help you curate error-free writing. Thus, it can save you from making any blunder.

It can improve your efficiency by automating editing and rectifying written errors. It's easy to integrate across various platforms, including browsers, email clients, and word processors.

Key features of Grammarly:

• Detects tone and writes according to contexts
• Check plagiarism for authenticity
• Suggests for more clarity and conciseness
• Compatible with various platforms
• Provides real-time feedback while typing
• Can revise your sales and promotional copies
• Corrects your punctuation errors
• Suggests synonyms

10. ChatGPT

We are currently living in a world that is highly influenced by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is increasing ceaselessly. So, it's completely impossible for any of us to move forward and compete with others unless we adopt AI in our daily lives. But the tool that has brought AI to all the common people and made it incredibly adaptable to all is ChatGPT.

ChatGPT can write emails, reports, ideas, and even complex problem-solving for you, saving you precious time. This is especially useful for research purposes, to shorten long texts, deconstruct difficult topics, and automate repetitive tasks. Its biggest selling point is its flexibility.

You can use it to generate ideas, build rough drafts, or even proofread a document. If yet, you aren't familiar with AI, begin your journey with ChatGPT.

Key features of ChatGPT:

• Provides answers to your questions using natural language processing
• Can assist in writing, image generation, custom support, translation, and more
• Easy to write codes and detect errors in your code snippets
• Help in brainstorming and idea generation
• Summarize long texts and articles
• Simplifies difficult topics

Closing Up: Which One Should You Choose

As mentioned earlier, it's quite difficult to find all the necessary features and functionalities available in a single tool. This is why most people, teams, and offices around are seen to depend on multiple tools. Besides, the tasks and purposes (persona, team, office, etc.) for which you are looking for a tool are also could be a consideration.

So, here's our suggestion, which can speed up your thinking process in selecting the best productivity tool.

• Explore all the free tools available in your suitable personal and team project
• Use WP Project Manager if you love to run a web-based project application
• Consider the WP Project Manager if your most projects are on WordPress
• Use Slack for real-time communication and integrate Google Meeting with it
• Integrate Google Calendar into your tools for event schedule
• Use Zoom if you want to host webinars, allowing lots of people to join it

Hope these recommendations can help you shortlist the tools and decide on the ones suitable for your projects. If you have any question or opinion, mention it in the comment box below.