Feel like this? Read on to learn of some productivity enhancing apps.

It’s already 11:00?! Between getting settled for the day, checking email, and having a coffee – it’s almost like the morning’s completely gone, and I haven’t actually accomplished anything! Know how that goes?

Even the best thinkers use some assistance to get on track. Before, it was scheduling and to-do lists with paper and pencil (link to BF), now, there are lots of applications available for your computer that serve the same purpose; making your job easier and more productive. Here’s four that we use at the Steelcase store:

1. Doomi- Described on its website as “dead simple to-do’s,” Doomi does just that. It’s clean, unobtrusive, and allows for you to save completed tasks as well as set reminders for when things pop-up.

2. FocusBooster- It isn’t much more than a timer, but FocusBooster operates according to the Pomodoro technique – 25 minutes of focus, take a break, and start again. After four sessions, take a longer break. You’ll be surprised what taking control of your time, and concentrating on one thing at a time can do.

3. Think – When there’s too much fighting for your attention on the desktop (iTunes, iCal, eMail, web browsing power users know what I’m talking about), Sometimes, its easiest to block out the noise. Think does exactly that. When installed, you select an application to work with exclusively (eMail, calendar, Microsoft Word, etc.), and Think blacks out the rest of your screen. When you close the app, pick another, and finish the job without interruption.

4. Tweetdeck- For those of us that use Twitter, it’s an invaluable asset of real-time information and communication about our friends and company. Problem is, sometimes it’s either too much information, or a black hole of time wasting. Tweetdeck cleans it up by allowing for multiple columns that you dictate – whether you’re checking two different accounts or getting alerts for when a certain keyword is mentioned (like Steelcase and awesome). They even have an iPhone app.

What apps do you use that help out your productivity? Did we miss any?
Let us know in the comments!

Yeah, there’s an app for that. Even depositing checks.

If you didn’t get a chance to read the New York Times last week, the big buzz was over USAA’s update to their iPhone application- which lets members take a photo of both sides of their paycheck (or any other one), and deposit it directly into their account!

Another app, allows a user to take a photo of a room in their house, add in furniture, and move things around to make sure everything looks good in 3D!

That got us thinking. Is high technology going to be the new norm?

When I was growing up, the checkbook used to be the number one thing needed when leaving the house. You’d write one up, give it to someone, they’d take it to the bank, and there’s the cash. The same sort of routine for buying furniture. If I were playing interior designer to outfit my office, I’d walk into a showroom, talk to someone, take it back to my place for a trial, and then buy. Even now, just a few years later, look at us; checking out possibilities at on online store, no talking necessary- unless you want to actually see it in the final environment. With these new apps, a lot of that won’t be needed anymore – simply take a picture of your office, and rotate that new Think chair 360 degrees in your 3D virtual office.

Once the trend of applications like these catch on, and I can see it happening sooner than later, where is there still a place for an “old fashioned” business to exist? I mean, once you’re able to cash a check without seeing a teller and pick exactly what furniture you want without help from a store’s rep, what’s next?

Is the trade off between convenience and and human interaction worth it? Will people even know how to recognize personal (not digital) customer service when they see it? What do you think?

The Gunnar Optik glasses from the Inc. list "Good office gifts for a bad economy"

Inc. Magazine hrecently came out with pretty cool lists that I thought I’d share…

The first interesting list is 7 Gadgets That Help You Do More with Less - While all these products are pretty interesting, I want to point out my two favorites:

The author's avatar enjoying a virtual sit.

Have you ever had a glimpse of an idea, told it to your boss who tells you to run with it, and then it turns into a life of its own. This is my case with Second Life. I tried to impress my boss at the time by showing him that I read Business Week, so I brought in an article on this futuristic video-game/alternate reality/buzz creator called Second Life. Not only was my boss not impressed, but he told me not to work on it. I did it anyway.

What is Second Life? According to its site……..

Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

Fast Company magazine recently wrote an article on the resurgence of Second Life and how to more effectively market in this virtual world. It is a well written article discussing some of the marketing failures in Second Life and what the most effective way to market is today. From the article:

“Second Life is not a place to make sales. It’s also a venue where large companies don’t have to spend $3 million to build an elaborate island when $10,000 to $100,000, usedjudiciously, can have a much larger impact. Linden Labs concurs. “New marketers often try to imitate another medium,” says Ginsu Yoon, Linden’s VP of business affairs. “Second Life isn’t TV or radio or even the Internet, all of which push information out one way.” “

Our original goal in Second Life was to create buzz. We found a partner and created a small little showroom in Second Life. However, nobody ever showed up, mostly because nobody knew we were there. So obviously Second Life is not place where “if you build it, they will come.” So we changed our strategy and decided to become part of the community. One of the lessons we learned is the Second Life community doesn’t want to be bombarded with your product. The inhabitants of Second Life are wary of traditional advertising; they are creative and want to be treated as the contributor to society that they are. So we ended up upgrading our space and creating a beautiful space and then we invited the community to participate in a critical thought process of our products and how we can best interact with the Second Life Community. We even had a Design Exhibition where many designers showed off their design skills in our promenade. We culminated this Design Exhibition with a 2 hour town hall meeting where designers, marketers, and a whole host of people from Steelcase interacted with people all over the globe in Second Life. It was a wonderful event, providing an opportunity for the citizens of Second Life to learn more about Steelcase and vice versa.

Get your avatar free and check it out…..click here to have your eyes opened to the new reality.