I spent this past weekend in Chicago, for a Hackathon event, and it was so much fun. Chicago is an amazing city and the weather was perfect while I was there.

chicago instagram

I had to spend most of my weekend inside but I did manage to get out for a stroll here and there and I also had my first taste of real Chicago deep dish pizza. I actually thought it was quite good, even though I’m more of a thin crust fan. Now I’m back in Richmond attempting to catch up on things while running a little short on sleep. So let’s talk about productivity.

I might I have a weird obsession with productivity. I just think efficiency is so crucial for getting everything done. It’s not that I want to be busy all the time, it’s just that I want to get everything done as efficiently as possible so that I do have down time to just relax. Ya know? 

So I thought I’d share a few of my favorite tools for making some of those everyday tasks a tiny bit easier.

Unroll.Me

Unroll.Me– If you’re not using this, stop what you’re doing and sign up. It aggregates all of your e-mail subscriptions into one daily e-mail. You can choose which one’s to add (so I still get the ones I really want in my inbox). It means that Loft, Gap, J Crew, and The Limited can tell me they’re having 50% off every single day… but I only get one e-mail about it. Seriously, it’s the best for cleaning up your inbox.

The Skimm

The Skimm– Speaking of e-mails, this is the one subscription that I send straight to my inbox. It’s basically a summary of all the news you really need to know. It’s just handy for knowing a little bit about current events without having to dig through a bunch of news sites.

Mint Budget

Mint– You probably already know that Mint is an online budgeting tool but I use it as a real-time monitor to make sure that my bills get paid, I know which checks have been cashed, and that I haven’t totally over-spent at Target this month. The mobile app works really well, so I rarely check it on my desktop. It’s easier, since I don’t have to log into each mobile app for each account.

Do you use any special tools to get things done?