5 Technologies That Increase My Efficiency

In my role as VP of Sales here at KaiNexus, I speak to people all the time that are skeptical about whether technology can make them measurably more efficient at work. I tend to talk to people that  use - and value - the technology that they already know, but they’re hesitant to adopt new technology into their daily workflow. They forget that at one point they transitioned from a typewriter to Microsoft Word, or  from an inbox on the desk to an email inbox. In the end, once we overcame this aversion to change, we all became much more efficient.

So to that end, I wanted to highlight 5 technologies that I have adopted recently that make me more efficient in my role.

1. Todoist
   
   Yes, I could manage a To Do list without technology. But for me, having a To Do list app that works on any of my digital devices and provides a very easy to use interface allows me to organize my daily work in much less time, which means I do it more often.
   

2. Boomerang
   
   As the VP of Sales, email is one of the primary tools I use at work. While I can stay on top of my own tasks, it’s difficult to remember when someone does not respond to me. After all - how can you manage a list of things that you’re waiting for, but can’t complete on your own? Boomerang solves this problem for me by putting email messages back into my inbox if the recipient does not respond by a certain date. This method lets me process email more efficiently, and keeps opportunities from falling through the cracks.
   

3. You Can Book Me
   
   One of the newest technologies I uncovered recently is a system called You Can Book Me. Again, as a salesman, a significant percentage of my responsibility is booking time on other people’s calendars. You Can Book Me makes that process so much easier for me, because it allows me to share my calendar with my customers, and they can book time directly on my calendar. This eliminates much of the back and forth required to nail down a time to meet, and significantly increases my efficiency.
   

4. Podcasts
   
   Time to exercise means a lot to me, as is continual learning. However, fitting both of these into my work and family schedule can be difficult. Over the last few months, I’ve started listening to podcasts while working out early in the morning, knocking out two birds with one stone as I feed my appetite for learning while exercising. It took me a while to get used to this, but now I listen to the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast, LeanBlog.org, TED Radio Hour, the Lean Blog Podcast, and the Hubspot Growth Show, among others.
   

5. KaiNexus
   
   It should come as no surprise that we use KaiNexus to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our own improvement work. The technology makes it easier to communicate with my team about our various improvements, track the results, share the improvements, making us all a lot more efficient. Spending less time in the administrative components of improvement gives us more time to get stuff done..

None of these technologies are perfect. In my sales life, though, I don’t need perfect solutions… I need solutions that help me achieve my goals. Of course my goal isn’t to email more efficiently; my goal is to help more organizations find KaiNexus and spread continuous improvement. By emailing more efficiently, scheduling meetings more efficiently, by learning through podcasts instead of reading during the day - I’m better equipped  to achieve my goals. That’s how technology makes me more efficient.

See how to make time for continuous improvement in this free upcoming KaiNexus webinar: