One of the skills that is useful in life when it comes to managing your time properly is recognizing when to do something right away, and when it should be done later. An excellent tool for doing this on the internet is called Read It Later, a Firefox plug-in (and iPhone app) that allows you to archive sites for later reading.

When you come across a site that you know contains information that you need, but you are in the middle of another project, it is best to come back to that site at a later time. This is because switching from one task to another slows you down and when you switch tasks part of your mind is still focused on the previous task, so you work less productively. This is why it is better to focus on one project until you are done with it, before moving onto another task.

Normally saving sites to be read later can be somewhat awkward as you pile up potentially useful links. Bookmarks and tabs can build up fast and you can lose track of them, which can be annoying if you only intend to visit the site once.

Read It Later lets you archive sites to your hard drive or direct to your iPhone. It saves them in the order that you saved them and they can be accessed when you are not connected to the web. This way you can still access a site of interest on the subway or on the go, even if you don’t have a wireless connection.

Image: Idea Shower

PageOnce is an app available for the iPhone that allows you to more effectively manage your online accounts. Netflix, eBay, credit cards, banks, frequent flier miles and social networking can all be managed using this single program. All of the accounts are safely locked behind a 256-bit encryption key that is insured by one of the top ten A+ insurance carriers. The premium version of PageOnce also allows you to have an unlimited number of accounts, the ability to refresh all of your accounts with one click, and real time flight information.

By managing all of your online accounts through a single program, you will spend less time trying to track and monitor each one. By putting all this information in one place, it also becomes much more difficult to forget whether or not you checked on a specific account. Without a program like this to organize all of your most important accounts, it can be easy to neglect one, or several, and lose track of what has been taken care of and what has not. A great deal of time can be wasted checking up on a site that you have already checked in with, or trying to recall little used sites you need to check.

You can pay all of your bills at once using this account, allowing you to be certain that you haven’t fallen behind on any of your payments. In addition to this, it will alert you when you need to pay your bills. This saves time that would otherwise be spent logging into different accounts and paying them all separately, entering in your personal information over and over or, possibly, missing a payment and having to pay unwanted late fees. PageOnce is an excellent way to stay on top of all of your accounts.

Image: PageOnce

When handling complex tasks on a computer system, it is much easier to get them done when you have a multi-screen setup. This way you can have information on one screen while getting work done on another. Multi-screen setups are an excellent time saver because you don’t need to repeatedly open and close windows, losing track of information. Unfortunately, the standard multi-screen setup which comes with most operating systems is less user friendly than might be preferred. That is where Ultramon comes in.

The most important feature of Ultramon is its smart task bar. Unlike the standard multi-screen setup, the smart task bar assigns specific tasks to the task bar at the bottom of each screen, instead of putting them on all screens. This makes it much easier to designate each monitor to a specific use, so that you don’t lose track of your programs.

Ultramon allows you to drag a window from one monitor to another with a single mouse click. The program also makes it easy for you to adjust the settings of each monitor separately. A display profile can also be set up so that each user can set up their own properties. Mirroring also lets you take what you are doing on one monitor and display it on a secondary monitor as well – you can even display it on several other monitors. This is great for doing presentations. Unlike other options, Ultramon lets you hook up more than ten monitors, and a user friendly interface makes it easy to decide how you want these monitors to work together with one another.

Ultramon is an excellent way to save time by quickly setting up multiple monitor systems which can be used in such a way that more work can more easily be done – and in a shorter period of time!

Image: JoshMcConnell

iTalk Recorder, which allows you to make high quality recordings of yourself, is one of the most useful apps currently available in the iTunes store. Any recordings you make can then be emailed to your computer or wirelessly transferred by syncing your iPhone with the machine.

The application is very useful for people in the creative industries as well as for people with a busy work schedule. By allowing you to record notes at a moment’s notice, the app makes it easy to remind yourself of things that you need to get done later. This is much less awkward than pulling out a calendar or notepad in the middle of a discussion in order to jot some things down.

By simply activating the iTalk app whenever inspiration strikes, or whenever you discover a new task that needs to get done, you can record a quick note for yourself to listen to later. You can then check up on these notes when you get to your home or office computer, to remind yourself what needs to get done.

This is an excellent way to save time because you don’t have to pause what you are doing to write something down. You can just record your voice and be done with it. This makes it easier for you to focus on whatever else you were doing without getting distracted.

Switching modes is one of the biggest time sinks in our modern society, because once you stop doing one thing and start another, there is an adjustment period that eats away time that could be spent doing something more productive. This app is an excellent way to avoid this problem by letting you record a quick note and be done with it.

Image: Griffin Technology

Image: Yutaka Tsutano

Technology today allows us to do things that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. However, sometimes it can feel like all the gadgets at our disposal are slowing us down rather than making things easier. Here are 25 iPhone apps that really can help you to manage your time and increase the efficiency with which you work – making you a better and more effective worker. Continue reading ‘25 Most Incredible Productivity Apps for the iPhone’ »