Tech Tools and Tricks That Boost Productivity

In a survey for Bloomberg BusinessWeek, LinkedIn users named technologies that aid—or sap—productivity. Here's how to make them work

By Arik Hesseldahl

The official measurements tell us that worker productivity is growing at its fastest pace in years. Anyone not living in a cave for the past two years can tell you why: Having slashed payroll, companies—and their employees—are doing more with less. That's why productivity jumped 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2009 to a level not seen since 2003, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

We're obsessed with finding ways to be more productive during the workday—longer hours, doing more with fewer resources, and using technology to do it. You see the effects anywhere there's a concentration of professional people: a widespread obsession with the Blackberry (RIMM) or iPhone (AAPL). There's a laptop bag on every shoulder at the airport or packed into the car on vacation, following lengthy discussions over whether or not to take it.

If the above sounds familiar, you're not alone. The perceived need to "work whenever and wherever you are" is showing up in all kinds of market data tracked by market research firm IDC: Smartphone sales surged 40% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2009; PC sales picked up unexpectedly in the same quarter, sparked mostly by sales of small and light notebooks called netbooks. By the end of this year, IDC estimates, there will be 1 billion mobile employees worldwide who work outside the office at least part of the time.

Ask workers what they use to stay productive and they point overwhelmingly to notebook PCs and smartphones. In a survey conducted for Bloomberg BusinessWeek by the professional social networking site LinkedIn, 63% of respondents cited their notebook PC as the most effective tool that helps them do their job, vs. 22% who identified their smartphone. When traveling, 49% credited smartphones with keeping them connected to the office, while 35% said laptops boosted their productivity.

Naturally, technology brings its own set of productivity-sapping distractions, some old, some new. In the same survey, LinkedIn asked people to name the "biggest drain" on workplace productivity. Some 41% cited "unwanted e-mail;" 19% said unexpected phone calls; and 14% mentioned "nonbusiness social media," such as Twitter and Facebook.

turn productivity drains into gains

Clearly there's an easily crossed line past which helpful technologies become distracting. Where is that line? Companies have long struggled over giving employees open access to the Internet at the risk that they will spend time playing Solitaire or managing fantasy baseball teams. As much as e-mail speeds up certain kinds of communication, it has drawbacks, especially when messages pile up or spam clogs your inbox.

We reached out to some productivity experts to help find the proper balance by suggesting tools and tricks you can try out for free to help turn your productivity drains into gains.

Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, says the key to being productive lies not in trying to do everything but in choosing what not to do. "It's easier to focus on a not-to-do list than a to-do list," he says. "To get big things done, you need to minimize self-interruption."

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