The 6 Productivity Tools Every Entrepreneur Should Have

In this fast-paced digital age, entrepreneurs seek tools to help boost communication, organization and efficiency.

In the competitive, fast-paced world of startups, you know just how crucial productivity is to a company’s success. More than anything, though, entrepreneurs’ time is spread thin—and with such a fine line separating successful and sad startup stories, it’s imperative that they squeeze the most out of their days and maximize productivity. The determinant of success might just be who makes it to market first. Will it be you, or your competition?

We asked several tech startups to share what tools they use to stay organized, on task and productive.

These are the 6 tools entrepreneurs we spoke with swear by:

LastPass

We’ve all been there—the dreaded password reset. With every website calling for a different combination of capital letters, numbers and symbols, it’s easy to lose track of passwords. LastPass is a password management service that stores encrypted passwords for your private accounts to keep them organized and safe from potential hacks. This super-secure autofill tool can save users a great deal of time and protect your startup’s sensitive information.

Asana

Managing projects across teams can quickly become messy and inefficient. That’s where Asana comes in. Asana is a cloud-based software developed by a former Facebook co-founder and the mastermind behind Google Drive that allows colleagues to manage and track the progress of projects. Users can create different teams, assign tasks to specific users, set due dates and share documents. Keep projects organized and keep your team members on the same page with this intuitive tool—whether your team works remotely or all in one place.

Slack

Communication is key in all facets of life, but especially in a startup environment where people often work without structure and across disciplines. Slack is a cloud-based communication tool that keeps teams organized and in the loop with team-specific instant message channels. Users can also share documents, images and videos easily, not to mention the perfect GIF reactions for when Dave from the Dev team says something funny.

AdBlock

Unwanted and distracting ads of any kind—banner, video, pop ups, etc.— can slow you down and hinder productivity. This free, open-source extension for browsers makes sure you don’t see any of them—seriously. The add-on also blocks a variety of online tracking tools and allows users to whitelist select websites. It’s a simple way to eliminate everyday distractions and keep you on task while browsing.

Any.do

To-do lists are one of the easiest and most common tools people use to stay prioritized and on track. Any.do is a dynamic, digital to-do list with features like a voice assistant to making managing daily tasks pretty effortless. Responsive drag-and-drop interfaces and easy syncing across devices make this a good tool for organization in a startup environment where there are so many moving parts.

OneNote Web Clipper

Microsoft’s OneNote is an awesome way to keep research organized. It’s a web-clipping tool for free-form information saving where users can type, write or record audio notes. It’s a very user-friendly way to organize what you’ve learned, and easily share it across your workforce to reduce inefficiencies in your workflow.

If you’re looking for something to boost your startup’s productivity, one of these tools just may be what you’re looking for.

And if you have any other suggestions, let us know below! What tools do you use to remain productive and on task in your startup?