These slides accompany a talk about five key ways to improve digital efficiency in order to get more done, savor life and have more time to be creative. The slides focus on specific systems and tools for improving digital efficiency.

1. !1
5 Steps Toward
Digital Efficiency
by @jeremycaplan
!2
Links, Notes + Slides:
bit.ly/ninjasteps
by @jeremycaplan

2. !3
Please Contact Me!
jeremy@jeremycaplan.com
Follow Me on Twitter: @jeremycaplan
bit.ly/ninjasteps =
All links, notes and slides
Pulse Check
!4
!
Do you expect to have the
same phone in two years?
!

3. !5
!
Do you receive more than
120 email messages a day?
!
!6
About Me

6. !11
Why Bother with
Digital Efficiency?
!12

7. We Are
Flooded
with Information
!13
!
INBOX = SWAMP
!14

8. Weekly Emails
500+
!15
Daily Bits of Info
Notes, Phone Numbers, Tasks, Sites, Tweets...
50+
!16

9. We Have More Stuff to Keep Track Of, But Less Time
Year
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Number of Daily Info Bits
Amount of Spare Time
!17
We Haven’t Even
Mentioned...
!18

10. !19
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11. !21
Manage this FLOOD = Make Time to:
!
CREATE
LEARN
ENJOY
Einstein’s Desk
!22

13. Two Key Elements in Getting Things Done
Systems and Tools
!25
Systems Tools
Techniques, Practices,
Behaviors and Frameworks
Sites, Software,
Plug-Ins and Apps
Quick Summary Agenda
5 Steps Toward Digital Efficiency
!26
Create an
Extra Hour
Save your brain
for what matters
Draw a Life
Map
Turbocharge
Your Email
Make the Most
of Mobile
Sharpen
Your Toolkit
Put the big stuff
in perspective
Search, batch,
filter, and act
Pick 10 apps &
master them
Stay ahead with
useful resources

14. What’s a
Digital Ninja?
!27
!28
Someone who gets things done
Image By Justin Leibow

15. !29
… Who has time to be creative
Image By Justin Leibow
!30
… and time to savor life
Image By Justin Leibow

16. Digital Ninja =
!
Gets Things Done
Savors Life
!31
Digital Ninja =
!
Manages inflow and
outflow of digital info
efficiently
!32

17. !33
What Do Ninjas Need?
Systems and Tools
Image By Justin Leibow
Two Key Elements in Getting Things Done
Systems and Tools
!34
Systems Tools
Techniques, Practices,
Behaviors and Frameworks
Sites, Software,
Plug-Ins and Apps

18. !35
1. CREATE AN EXTRA HOUR
Image By Justin Leibow
!36
SIMPLIFY
Image By Justin Leibow

19. !37
When it comes to tools,
Pick. Stick. Dig.
Image By Justin Leibow
!38

20. A powerful, flexible, easy-to-use digital file cabinet
Evernote
Desktop: Store and Find Notes
Web: Clip and Save Anything
Email: Forward Key Messages
Mobile: Collect on the Go
!39
!40

21. !41
Evernote
!42

22. The best way to create, edit and share documents
Google Drive
Access Anywhere on Any Device
Collaborate and Publish Efficiently
Full Suite Integrates Well
Reliable and Consistent
!43
Why
Evernote AND
GDrive?
!44

23. Evernote = File Cabinet
Google Drive = Docs
!45
Social Dashboard Master List
‣ 3 Primary Streams: Home, Direct Messages & Mentions
‣ 3 Search Terms (i.e. Hashtags, Topic, Person)
‣ 3 Lists (i.e. Experts, Colleagues, Quality Topic Curators)
‣ 3 Key Accounts (i.e. Job, Mentor, Key Source, Competitor)
‣ 3 Other Networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
‣ 3 Aids: Scheduled Messages, Sent Messages, Drafts
!46

24. !47
A good toolkit has more than
a single hammer
Image By Justin Leibow
!48
Make Micro-Changes
Image By Luke Chesser

25. !49
Digital Assistants
Automate
Repetitive Tasks
Spend your time, energy and brainpower
where it’s needed or enjoyed
!50

26. Bill Payment
Auto-Deposits
Budget Tracking
!
!51
Automate
!52
The best way to create triggers to automate common tasks
IFTTT (IF This, Then That)

27. !53
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28. !55
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29. !57
Automate Typing
Automate Typing
Type something once, fine.
Type it twice, fine.
Type the same thing 50 times?
You’re wasting time.
!58

30. !59
TextExpander
!60

31. Agileroute.com/clipboardhistory
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32. !64

33. Focus on what works for you and stick with it
Pick and Stick To 10 Tools
!65
20
80
Primary Tools
Experiments
Source: Name of Data Provider
The 80/20 Rule
We do 80% of your work with our primary tools
The services I rely on most
Key Tools
!66
‣ Dropbox
‣ Evernote
‣ Toodledo
‣ Hootsuite
‣ TextExpander
‣ Gmail
‣ GDrive
‣ GCal/Contacts
‣ GVoice
‣ ClipboardHistory

34. !67
Streamline
Image By Justin Leibow
Keep it Streamlined
Choose tools that work well together
!68
Toolbox Tips

35. Keep it Consistent
Pick & stick to tools
!69
Toolbox Tips
Keep it Simple
Choose tools that suit your workflow
!70
Toolbox Tips

36. !71
2. Draw a Life Map
Image By Alejandro Escamilla
Simple life map
areas of focus
(Family, job, Charity, Hobby)
Projects
(Multi-Step work on the horizon)
Tasks
(Individual To-Do Items)
!72

37. Draft your areas of focus, your projects and tasks
!73
Manage the Big Picture
‣ 4 Areas of Focus
‣ 10 Projects for Each Area
‣ 20 Tasks for Each Project
An example
!74
Manage the Big Picture
‣ My Areas of Focus: LEARN | CREATE | TEACH | LIVE
‣ 10 Key Projects in each Area: e.g. Learn Motion 5
‣ 20 Tasks Per Project: e.g. 15 minutes Read Chap. 1

38. Tools for Projects/Tasks
Trello and Toodledo

39. !77
Trello
!78

40. Toodledo
!79
Keep Task Lists Simple
Imminent vs. Someday

41. A Smarter Calendar
Meetings + Events + Tasks
Email Integration
Mobile-Friendly
What About Willpower?
It’s Overrated

42. “...We each have one reservoir of
will and discipline, and it gets
progressively depleted by any act
of conscious self-regulation...” !
- Tony Schwartz !
!
Harvard Business Review!
http://bit.ly/rituals101
Establish Rituals

43. Just Do. Don’t Overthink.
“It is a profoundly erroneous truism that we
should cultivate the habit of thinking of
what we are doing” !
!
“The precise opposite is the case.
Civilization advances by extending the
number of operations we can perform
without thinking about them.”!
!
- A.N. Whitehead, Philosopher, 1911!

44. Rituals
First Things First
Mini Triggers
Tech Sabbath
First Things First
Start the day with the most important project

45. “Launching my work day by
focusing first on whatever I've
decided the night before is the
most important activity I can do
that day. Then taking a break
after 90 minutes to refuel...”!
!
- Tony Schwartz, !
Harvard Business Review
!
Tech Sabbath
No-Tech Saturday Morning
No Tech 1 Hour Before Bed
No Tech Before Breakfast
!90

46. Up to a two line subtitle, generally used to describe the takeaway
for the slide
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47. !93
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3. Turbocharge Your Email
Image By Vadim Sherbakov

48. !95
Search, Don’t File
Finding a message by hunting through folders
takes 3.4 times as long as searching for it.
Source: IBM Research
!96
FOLDERS

49. !97
Find Web Info
= Google Search
!98
Find Email Info
= EMail Search

50. !99
Use Email Tags:
#ej14
#projectx
@pat
!100
Send @ 6am Not 4pm
A message sent at 6am is three times as likely
to have a link clicked on than one sent at 4pm
Source: ReviveYourInbox.com

51. !101
73 Seconds
Email replies take an average of 73 secs to compose
Be Super Brief
Source: ReviveYourInbox.com
!102
See
five.sentenc.es
= a plea for short email

52. !103
Sunday = Good day to
reach people by email
!
27% of Sunday emails
are read
!
Source: Yesware Study
!104
4 Useful Searches:
has:attachment
from:caren
subject:budget
newer_than:2d

53. !105
Or use a combo:
has:attachment budget
4 Gmail Shortcuts
C"="Compose"
R"="Reply"
A"="Reply"All"
F"="Forward
!106

54. !107
Or use a combo:
has:attachment budget
!108

55. Batch, Don’t Squirrel
Focus on 1 thing at a time.
Your attention is valuable.
Don’t squander it.
!109
Don’t Be a Squirrel
Check email every hour,
not every minute
!110

56. !111
Schedule Email Time
12 messages per day on average require substantial
effort. That takes an average of 90 minutes
Source: ReviveYourInbox.com
!112
#Chronoplan
=
When’s your emailing sharpest?

57. !113
Act, Don’t Postpone
!114
37%% of emails on which
recipients defer action
Source: Carnegie Mellon Research

58. !115
Do = <2 Min Reply
Defer = Sked/Delegate
Dump = Archive/Delete
Do, Defer or Dump
Fool me once, shame on you...
!116
Fool me twice, I need a filter

59. Filter By:
Sender’s Name or Address
Subject Line
Recipients
Keywords
!117
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Unroll.me

60. !119
Use Email to Send to:
Evernote
Instapaper
Pocket
Dropbox
Toodledo
super.cc = Add to calendar by email
!120

61. The hottest thing in email keeps evolving...
Email Adoption Curve
!121
Innovators Early Adopters Early Majority Late Majority Laggards
TheChasm
AOL
The first email account many of us
had: not fancy, but eye-opening
Hotmail
The first mass-email product that
got the attention of the masses
Gmail
Revolutionary. Rethought everything - from
account size to conversations.
Sparrow, Mailbox, Boxer
New email tools are recognizing
how email has changed
Boomerang
!122

62. Boomerang
!123
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63. Nudgemail
!125
Nudgemail
!126

64. Rapportive
!128

65. Rapportive
!129
WiseStamp
!130

66. WiseStamp email
signature
!131
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Contactually.com

67. !133
Contactually.com

68. !135
4. Make the Most of Mobile
Image By Sebastian Müller
Digital Efficiency on the Go
Mastering Mobile
!136
Mobile Gear Key Apps More Tips & Tools
A look at mobile
tools of use for
digital efficiency
A quick tour through
handy apps for
getting things done
Some additional
resources for
mobile reporting

69. Up to a two line subtitle, generally used to describe the takeaway
for the slide
!137
Additional Notes: bit.ly/ninjamobile
8 Handy Mobile Apps for Efficiency
TASKS CALENDAREMAIL READING
NOTES CAMERAPODCASTS PHOTO EDITING
TOODLEDO BOXER SUNRISE INSTAPAPER
EVERNOTE DOWNCAST CAMERA+ SNAPSEED

70. A Google Doc with Mobile App Tips and Recommendations
21 Tips for Mobile Ninjas
‣bit.ly/ninjamobile
!139
!140
Quick Tips

71. !141
Stay Home.
!142
Airplane Mode.

72. !143
Go Wide.
!144
Pick. Stick. Dig.

73. !145
Camera+
!146
Camera+
Useful Features
Easy to Master
Efficient Workflow

74. !147
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75. !149
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76. !151
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77. !153
Fix Lighting... After Snapping Pix
!154

78. !155
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79. !157
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80. !159
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Snapseed.

81. !161
Snapseed
Simple Interface
Fast Edits
Finger Gestures
!162

82. !163
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83. !165
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84. !167
Instapaper
!168
Instapaper

85. !169
Olioclip
!170

86. !171
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87. !173
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88. !175
Find Top Apps
!176
Netted.net

89. !177
Quora.com
!178
App apps.

90. !179
Hashtags.
#BestApps etc
ProductHunt.Co
!180

91. BetaLi.st
!181
pinterest.com/journalismtools
!182

92. !183
5. Sharpen Your Toolkit
Image By Sebastian Müller
otranscribe.com

93. picmonkey.com
bufferapp.com

94. quickcast.io
cropp.me

95. tagcrowd.com
typeform.com

96. smore.com
!192
Lostphotosapp.com

97. !193
otixo.com
Useful resources for staying up to date
New Sites and Startups
!194
BetaLi.st ProductHunt.co JournalismTools
New Sites and Resources New Startups Ranked pinterest.com/JournalismTools

98. Useful resources for staying up to date
Tech Updates
!195
Netted Lynda.com MakeUseOf
A daily tech tools newsletter Top-notch online learning Free guides and tip sheets
Top news sources for new sites, apps, and tools
Useful Tech Resources
!196
ReadWriteWeb The Next Web Alltop
Smart tech industry news Rising star in tech coverage Aggregator of top blogs

99. Help for queries
Figuring Stuff Out
!197
Quora Lifehacker Mashable
Expert questions and answers Great tech pointers Social media news
!198
Use EMailFuture.com to
send yourself an email in
30 days w/ 3 objectives

100. !199
Contact Me
jeremy@jeremycaplan.com
Follow Me on Twitter: @jeremycaplan
bit.ly/ninjasteps =
All links, notes and slides
!200
Links, Notes + Slides:
bit.ly/ninjasteps
by @jeremycaplan