Three Tools that Have Changed the Way I Work

I wanted to introduce you to three tools that have changed the way I work.  I highly recommend that you check them out.

1.  Action Method.  This is a little more than a task-management system – it’s a way to keep meetings action oriented and projects moving forward.  The thing I love about Action Method (and the reason I switched from Things and got Tracy to switch from lists on paper) is that it’s collaborative.  I can delegate a task to my assistant or a staff member (and vice versa).  I can see that they have accepted it and am notified when it’s completed.  We can share notes and discussions and files related to the project as well.  In addition to a very nice website, they have an AIR application and a fantastic iPhone app and all action steps are automatically synced.  There are also paper products, including the Action Journal, which is a Moleskin plus a task manager.  Finally, you should know that they offer a great non-profit discount.

2.  Dropbox. Dropbox is basically a hard drive on the web, a cloud where you can store files.  A 2GB account is absolutely free, and if you use this link, both you and I will get a little extra space for free.  I can easily share my sermons, shared church documents and official graphics with everyone on staff – it’s like an easy to use/free network.   I moved every one of my documents to Dropbox, which means they are synced with my computer, any computer, my iPhone and my iPad at all times.  You can drop pictures in an image folder to create an instant gallery (like this), and drop files in the public folder and send out a download link – that works much better than trying to attach large files.

3.  Evernote.  This is a free tool that I use to capture ideas and take notes.  With a keyboard shortcut, I drop in articles and blog posts, sermon notes, images, and pictures.  I’ve got a notebook for design ideas, one for meeting recaps, and one for sermon ideas, and it’s completely searchable.  One of the coolest things about Evernote is that the search feature recognizes text inside of images.  This means I can take a picture of a brainstorming session and Evernote will find a word from the whiteboard image.   Again, there’s a web app, an application, and an iPhone/iPad app that keeps notes and ideas synced all of the time.