Do you wish you were “working smarter, not harder”? In this session we’ll demo ten free or low cost tools that will help you be more productive when doing day-to-day tasks. We will look at tools that will help you with activities such as tracking tasks, hosting virtual meetings, organizing notes, making quick videos and creating online forms, and more. You don’t have to be a tech whiz to participate! This session is ideal for anyone who is looking to be more efficient in their work and wants to learn about the tools that are available. All the tools are very user-friendly and can be set up without IT expertise. Presented at the Futures Conference by Jane Zhang and Tierney Smith, October 3 2013

2. ABOUT TECHSOUP CANADA

3. Is my org eligible?
a) Does your business
number end in
RR0001?
b) Do you have a
Letters Patent from
Industry Canada?
c) Are you incorporated
as a not-for-profit
corporation with your
province?
d) Are you a library?
You may be eligible to
get donations of…
DONATIONS PROGRAM

4. KEEP IN TOUCH
@jzhang99
@tierneys
@techsoupcanada
facebook.com/techsoupcanada
techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog
youtube.com/techsoupcanada
slideshare.net/techsoupcanada

5. TOOLS THAT MAKE IT EASY TO…
W O R K W I T H
O T H E R S
1. Schedule
meetings
2. Host online
meetings
3. Get feedback
on documents
4. Get input
E N G A G E Y O U R
S U P P O R T E R S
8. Stay social
9. Email large
groups
10. Make quick
videos
S T AY S A N E &
W O R K O N T H E
G O
5. Track ideas
6. Track tasks
7. Track
expenses

7. SCHEDULE MEETINGS
Problem:
• Every time you try to schedule a meeting you have
to send 1,000 emails back and forth to find a time
that works
• More people in the meeting means more emails
and more confusion

8. DOODLE

9. DOODLE
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: somewhat
mobile-friendly
website
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Suggest meeting
times and find out
when others are
available
• Let others see your
calendar and book
meetings with you

10. SCHEDULE MEETINGS
Other ideas:
• http://www.smashingapps.com/2011/07/14/five-simply-
effortless-tools-for-meeting-and-scheduling.html

11. HOST ONLINE MEETINGS
Problem:
• You need to meet with people who aren’t physically
close by
• Travel is expensive and time consuming

12. GOTOMEETING

13. GOTOMEETING
S P E C S
Cost: $46/year for qualified
orgs
https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/cit
rix/product/gotomeeting-1-year-
subscription-access-to-
discounted-rates
Platforms: Windows, Mac
(Note that Mac version has a few less
features)
Mobile: apps for iPhone and
Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Host online
meetings of 25
people
• Invitees can join via
phone or computer
headset
• Share your screen

14. HOST ONLINE MEETINGS
Other ideas:
• Skype (free, up to 10 people)
• Google+ Hangout (free, up to 10 people, includes
video calling)
• TeamViewer (free for personal use, up to 25 people)
• ReadyTalk (donated, up to 15 people)
https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/readytalk/product/readytalk-audio-and-web-conferencing-
one-year-subscription

15. GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS
Problem:
• When you have a document you want feedback on,
you email it to several people
• They respond by editing and updating the version
number, or by using Track Changes
• You have to make sure all the changes get
incorporated properly
• Discussions about the document result in long,
unwieldy email threads

16. GOOGLE DOCS

17. GOOGLE DOCS
S P E C S
Cost: free
(paid if using Google Apps for
Business)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android,
mobile-friendly viewing
on all platforms, edit
Docs on iPhone
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Multiple document
editors at the same
time
• Have discussions
threads in the
comments
• Go back to a
previous version at
any time

18. GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-
tierney/challenge-3-document-collaboration

19. GET INPUT
Problem:
• Getting input or information from others – whether
inside or outside your organization – can be a
manual process
• E.g. maybe you ask people to email you feedback
on a question – now you have a bunch of
responses scattered across your emails

20. GOOGLE FORMS

21. GOOGLE FORMS
S P E C S
Cost: free
(paid if using Google Apps for
Business)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android,
mobile-friendly
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Quickly create a form
with different types of
questions
• Submissions are
automatically added to
a Google Spreadsheet
• Embed your form on a
website

22. GET INPUT
Other ideas:
• Survey tools e.g. Survey Monkey
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/articles/onli
ne_survey_tools
• Polling tools e.g. Poll Daddy
• http://www.platformation.ca/polling-and-voting.html

24. TRACK IDEAS
Problem:
• You have all these great ideas and pieces of info
and it’s all on pieces of paper or you forget
• How to keep track of all this in an easy, organized
way?

25. EVERNOTE

26. EVERNOTE
S P E C S
Cost: free
(upgrade to get more space
& collaboration features)
Platforms: online,
Windows, Mac
Mobile: app available on
all platforms
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Create text, picture
and audio notes
• Tag your notes to
make it easy to find
them
• Access your notes
from anywhere

27. TRACK IDEAS
Other ideas:
• Mindmapping is great if you are a visual person
• http://spyrestudios.com/15-great-mindmapping-tools-and-
apps/

28. TRACK TASKS
Problem:
• You have so many tasks to do that you forget about
some of them and they slip through the cracks
• You aren’t sure what your team is working on
• You’re working with an outside consultant and
aren’t sure what they are working on

29. TRELLO

30. TRELLO
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for
Android and
iPhone
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Make “cards” for
each task
• Organize cards into
lists
• Create a group
board and assign
tasks

31. TRACK TASKS
Other ideas:
• http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2010/03/35-very-useful-
online-tools-for-improving-your-project-management-and-
team-collaboration.html
• Asana:

32. TRACK EXPENSES
Problem:
• Tracking and categorizing all your expenses is
tedious and time-consuming
• You don’t have an easy way to find out where
you’re spending your money and how far along you
are with your budget, without talking to your
accountant
• You track your expenses in a spreadsheet, which
works but is unwieldy

33. MINT.COM

34. MINT.COM
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for
Android, iPhone
and iPad
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Connect to your
credit card to pull in
your transactions
• Categorize your
expenses
• View graphs of
your spending over
time

35. TRACK EXPENSES
Other ideas:
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231406/10_smartph
one_apps_that_can_help_track_your_expenses

37. STAY SOCIALLY CONNECTED ONLINE
Problem:
• You want to be social online, but it takes too much
time
• You are having difficulty staying on top of multiple
social media accounts

38. HOOTSUITE

39. HOOTSUITE
S P E C S
Cost: free for up to 5
profiles
Paid plans start at $9/month
20% discount for qualified
charities
Platforms: online
Mobile: app available for
iPhone, iPad &
Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• View feeds from all
your accounts in one
place
• Schedule social media
posts
• Track how many
people click on your
links
• Basic analytics

40. STAY SOCIALLY CONNECTED ONLINE
Other ideas:
• Tweetdeck – free and great for Twitter
• Postling – small monthly cost, incorporates more channels
than most tools
• Buffer – free version, great for scheduling posts

41. EMAIL LARGE GROUPS
Problem:
• You want to send out a newsletter, or let your
supporters know about a big announcement
• If you send the email in Outlook, you can only send
to so many people at a time
• Also, you risk getting blacklisted as a spammer
• Also, you have no idea whether anyone actually
read your email

42. MAILCHIMP

43. MAILCHIMP
S P E C S
Cost: free for < 2,000
subscribers
(above that, 15% discount for
nonprofits)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app available
for iPhone and
Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Allow supporters to
subscribe online
• Create & send
professional-looking
emails
• Find out how many
people opened &
clicked on your email

44. EMAIL LARGE GROUPS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-
tierney/challenge-1-newsletters

45. MAKE QUICK VIDEOS
Problem:
• You have some great pictures from your program or
an event
• You want to put them together into a short video,
but you don’t have any video editing programs, or
any experience

46. ANIMOTO

47. ANIMOTO
S P E C S
Cost: free
($3/month for longer videos
& more features)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for
iPhone and Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T
Y O U D O
• Create short videos
that combine
photos and text
• Choose music &
style for your video

48. MAKE QUICK VIDEOS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/articles/a_f
ew_good_tools_video_editing
• https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/adobe-
alternatives-free-video-editing-resources-to-get-the-job-done
• Great video tutorials for nonprofits:
http://letsdabble.com/tutorials
• Smilebox (photo slideshows) -
http://www.smilebox.com/index.html

49. ORGANIZATION SOFTWARE
Software to consider for your organization:
• Constituent Relationship Management (e.g. Sumac,
Salesforce, CiviCRM)
• Back office software (e.g. Google Apps, Office 365)
• File sharing (e.g. Google Drive, Skydrive Pro, Box.net)
• Project management (e.g. Smartsheet, Asana, Basecamp,
Trello)