Tim Ferriss: 'I Couldn't Do My Job Without...'
Ever wonder what apps and gear busy entrepreneurs use to boost their productivity, stay organized, and maintain their sanity? We did, too, which is why we're launching a new series here at Business Hacks where we ask CEOs, founders, and other influential business folks to reveal their tech essentials.
The Entrepreneur: Tim Ferriss, angel investor/advisor (Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Evernote, etc.) and #1 best-selling author of "The 4-Hour Body" and "The 4-Hour Workweek".
The Business: Start-ups and writing, both for Random House and his popular blog (www.fourhourblog.com), which attracts around one million unique visitors per month.
The tech tool that makes his life easier: "I might seem biased, but I use Evernote every day. It came to me through my readers, who I'd asked for software recommendations via Twitter and Facebook. For seemingly every function, the answer was 'Man, you have to use Evernote.' After dozens of such comments, I finally reached out to Phil [Libin], CEO of Evernote, for a proper demo. The product did so much that I didn't know where to start.
"I was so impressed that I became a fanatical user and then an adviser. Now, two years later, I have used it (and continue to use it) for the following:
"- Creating a paperless life. I digitize all documents (from tax docs to articles torn from magazines) to Evernote using a ScanSnap scanner. I can email such "notes" directly from Evernote to my accountants, etc. Love it.
"- Saving time with searchable images. Rather than spend my life on data entry and typing, I also take photos on my iPhone of business cards, wine labels, menus, or anything I want to have searchable on-the-run.
"- Clipping Web sites and articles for research. I used Evernote almost exclusively for researching 'The 4-Hour Body.' I was able to eliminate all of the perpetually open tabs and multiple bookmarking services. It's also all automatically backed up to Evernote, which gives me peace of mind."
The Specs: Evernote is available free of charge. A premium account ($5 per month or $45 annually) adds more storage and additional features, such as searching within PDFs.
If you're a CEO, founder, or all-around Important Person, we'd like to hear how you'd fill in this blank: "I couldn't do my job without _____." Ping me at bizhacks@gmail.com.
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