How much are you getting done each day?

If it's less than you'd like, you're normal.

However, the difference between a lackluster organization and truly inspiring organizational leadership can come from improving your productivity so that you are always working towards the most important goals of your nonprofit.

The difference comes from how you use each hour and what you prioritize in your work plan.

Fortunately, technology is making it easier than ever to track your hours and make real progress towards your goals.

Keep reading to learn how you can use the best of the internet to improve your work output each day!

The David Allen Productivity Techniques

David Allen's method of prioritizing your goals to be at your most productive will make a significant difference in your effectiveness as a leader.

Below is a summary of his five-step technique for getting more done each day.

• Capture: collect everything that has your attention so that you don't lose track of what your goals are.
  
  
• Clarify: Process what you collected and decide if it's actionable for you. If not, trash it or set it aside for later. If it is actionable, start working on it now, delegate it or add it to your list for later.
  
  
• Organize: Create lists to sort your priorities with categories that make sense for the situation, like emails to send and calls to make.
  
  
• Reflect: Make sure you look over your list as often as you can to determine what's a priority and what can be pushed off altogether.
• Engage: Use this system to make the right kind of progress on your list.

But how can you stay organized through the process? It turns out that some incredible online tools will help you follow Dave Allen's productivity method. Below are three of our favorites for more productive leadership.

Three Time Management Tools for Leaders

Evernote, Trello, and Slack are three powerful tools for leaders to improve their productivity, and they all accomplish slightly different goals.

Evernote

Evernote is a cross-platform app meant to take your note-taking to the next level. The app allows you to create "notes" from almost anything, including recordings, web pages, photographs and even handwritten notes. All of these files are then added to notebooks which can be sorted, searched and edited on any device, making it the perfect app for effective time management.

Evernote can quickly become your digital file cabinet, and you can use it to manage and organize every aspect of your personal and professional life.

For leaders, this means that Evernote can store your notes, organization directory, inspirational photo ideas for online promotion and even recipe ideas for the next potluck.

If you want to see Evernote in action for yourself, check out this introductory video.

Trello

As a leader, you know that you're only as good as the team you surround yourself with. Trello makes it easier to work together by letting you organize projects into boards. In an instant, you can have a complete idea of who is in charge of each aspect of a project, deadlines, and actions needed.

In essence, your Trello board is a list of files that are managed by you and your team.

You can move the cards around that make up each list to re-prioritize the projects, invite people to edit the board, and start discussions in the comments between members.

Best of all, everything in Trello happens in real time, meaning you'll see what information has been updated without having to refresh your screen (assuming you have internet!).

Trello helps everyone understand the full scope of a project at once, ensuring that you are all on the same page and able to be productive.

Want to learn more? Check out this introductory video.

Slack

Don't let remote work environments keep your staff from communicating with each other!

Slack is a digital workspace that makes it simple to stay organized and in communication with the rest of your team, helping you all get more done each day.

Slack is designed to let you create groups of people that need to communicate together. Within this workspace, you can create channels to hold conversations with other members to hash out the details on specific projects.

Sending direct messages is also possible, and you can search through all the information on the site to find what you're looking for. Easier to use than email, Slack will keep everyone in the loop and ensures that you meet your long-term goals.

See Slack in action in this video.

The Big Benefit For You

David Allen's premise is simple: Our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear, and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective results and unleash our creative potential.

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work and live, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

We hope that you will benefit from the "Getting Things Done" techniques and resources (Evernote, Trello, Slack) so that you can put yourself in the best position for success.