When analysing my workflow, I thought about the step–by–step process in which I follow. I always start with broad research, developing ideas before then refining my ideas and thinking of a final outcome. While I am accustomed to this process, I face difficulties that sometimes make my workflow much harder and cause unnecessary stress. I find that when I have many tasks to complete, I struggle to prioritise and complete certain tasks due to forgetting about them or being unorganised. When researching task-scheduling apps, I came across Rize, which is an AI-powered time tracker which improves focus and builds better work habits. I have found this very helpful as the app runs in the background while you work, allowing you to see how productive you have been within the time you set yourself.
I find that when researching and completing separate mini-tasks, I forget what I have already researched and, therefore, am constantly finding screenshots and little pieces of writing mid-finished that I have forgotten about and do not categorise with modules. When researching different applications, I found ‘Hazel’. This is an automation tool that organises your files based on rules that you define, moving, sorting and cleaning up files where needed. This allows me to keep my random screenshots in one place, meaning I do not forget about them and cleans my old files into a folder for me to sort through when I have a chance, allowing me to clear up space on my MacBook.
Below are two examples of rules I have set for my laptop: sorting out PDFs created of my work for University and a folder to sort out old items, which I can sort through and bin if they are unnecessary to keep.
Another application I have found is Typora. This is a clean editor that offers live markdowns as you write. I have found this helpful as I often get distracted whilst I am working and forget what I have already written about, Typeora allows me to write freely and cuts out all the unnecessary parts that I don’t need.
Overall, after researching many different applications and tools, I have found my general efficiency and productivity to greatly improve using these different implements and systems.
