Don’t worry—it’s not too late to learn about these tools and boost your productivity.
As one of the leading technology giants, Google has more than 271 products serving different purposes. Many of us are familiar with Google’s search engine and the Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Slides, etc.). But did you know there are some hidden treasures within the product catalog that you may have never heard of but can add to your productivity?
Here are five shortlisted Google applications you should add to your toolkit today:
Google Keep
If you’re someone who often banks on memo pads or papers to jot down the tasks you need to complete, you may find Google Keep to be your best companion. Like other note-taking applications, including GoodNotes, Notability and Notion, Google Keep enables you to take instant notes and create checklists. Since the application is set up by Google, it is directly linked to Google Drive, Gmail and other productivity tools under the brand, allowing you to access your notes across all your devices.
Google Keep supports both individual and business use; you can add your colleagues or group mates as collaborators to your notes with just one click. Whether the application is for personal or team use, you can set up reminders for each note. After setting up reminders, these time-sensitive notes will be automatically added to your Google Calendar, where you can view them as scheduled tasks. The application also supports customizations, such as changing the view of the workspace (as a list or a grid) and labeling notes in different colors.
Google Groups
Speaking of online forums, you may be familiar with Reddit and Quora, but do you know Google also owns a discussion forum named Google Groups?
Like Google Keep, Google Groups can be used in personal and business settings. When used by individuals, it serves as a public chat room where people can discuss various topics with other members online. Using Google Groups for personal purposes, however, doesn’t add much to productivity because you may end up spending a day discussing an NBA playoff you just watched; however, if the tool is used for business purposes, it’ll be a completely different story.
Google Groups enables business users to create mailing lists, share documents, set up meetings and do much more. If your company has a remote team where employees work from different time zones, Google Groups is a great tool. It offers an email update function to support asynchronous work, where employees work independently on their own time without having to stay online simultaneously. Users can choose to receive updates for each message, email digests (a scheduled email that is sent recurrently) or abridged emails based on their needs, ensuring every team member stays on the same page anywhere and anytime.
Google Resizer
Having a business website ready to be published is undoubtedly exciting. However, before the site gets published and welcomes its first visitor, you need to ensure that it is mobile-friendly. A mobile-friendly website refers to a minimized version of your website that can display and function on mobile devices. To make your website mobile-friendly, you have to adjust various aspects, like font size, image size and general layout, to make sure the site is compatible with mobile devices. If a website is not mobile-friendly (e.g. having oversized texts and messy layouts), it can put your company’s professionalism at risk and annoy customers.
Although website builders, such as Wix, allow creators to optimize their mobile website layout with just one click, the outcome is not always up to scratch. Instead of wasting time checking each detail and adjusting them bit-by-bit manually afterward, Google Resizer enables users to preview how their website’s user interface design and layout display will appear on different devices, such as on smartphones and tablets. In case some features don’t work out, it will also give creators a heads-up to make changes accordingly before launching the website.
Think With Google
Don’t be deceived by the tool’s name. Think with Google is not an IQ question bank or a philosophy seminar, but it is a powerfully-built, one-stop tool that supplies you with all sorts of information you need for marketing. With Think with Google, you no longer need to jump between websites when doing market research to keep up with industry trends or customer behaviors. You can navigate and access the latest articles on business-related topics, case studies and statistics on the same platform without hassle.
The platform has information sorted and placed under categories, such as consumer insights, marketing strategies and innovations and the future of marketing. On top of textual resources, it also offers useful marketing tools, like Find My Audience (to locate target customers based on specific business types) and Market Finder (to identify suitable markets for businesses to start).
Google Alerts
Surfing the internet and reading for fun is always enjoyable. Yet, if you need to follow particular trends closely, such as cryptocurrency and NFT, to prepare your upcoming business proposal or advertising campaign, manually checking for daily updates can be tedious and very unproductive. Google Alerts is a perfect solution to that.
As the name suggests, Google Alerts will help you track online content containing keywords or topics that you specify and alert you when updates are available. Simply put, if you want to receive updates about the NFT market, you may type in “NFT” as the keyword when setting up the function in your Google account. For a more personal experience, you can even choose how often you want to be notified, how many alerts you want to receive every day and related news from a particular region.
These are the five hidden Google treasures that you can leverage to spark your productivity. However, if you think Google is just about productivity and collaboration tools—think again! Google also has mind-blowing applications, like Google Sky (an augmented reality app that explores astrology) and Pet Portraits (an app that compares pet photos with classic artworks), that you can play with after work. Explore and try them out for yourself now!
Also read:
- Top 10 Productivity Apps for Working From Home
- 5 Companies That Let You Take Power Naps at Work
- 5 Video Games That Can Make You More Productive at Work
- 5 Digital Declutter Tips to Stay Organized and Productive at Work
- Five Easy Hacks to Stay Focused at the Workplace
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