Tech Stack Tips for Work-Life Balance

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The through line for all of this is the same principle I've mentioned before.
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It's process over platform. I figured out what I needed to do and what I needed each tool to do for me before I committed to the tool. That's the part I want you to be thinking of, regardless of whether you end up using any of the same tools that I do. You are listening to the Positively Living podcast. I'm your host, Lisa Zorotne, founder of Positively Productive Systems and a productivity coach certified in positive psychology and stress management. Join me as we explore ways to live a more proactive, positive life with episodes on productivity, self-awareness, mindset, entrepreneur life, habits and systems, simplicity, fun, and more. I understand overwhelm personally as a multi-passionate entrepreneur, wife and mom to kids and cats, and as a caregiver. I'm here to help you choose what's right for you, so you can do less, live more, and breathe easier. Sound good?
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Let's get to it. Welcome to the Positively Living podcast. I'm your host Lisa, and if you caught last week's episode, you heard me walk through the seven techniques I pretty much use daily to keep my life and business running, today we're going deeper into the actual tools behind those techniques. I refer to these tools as a tech stack. The term, short for technology stack, originated in software development. It was intended to describe a layered vertical hierarchy of software tools, programming languages, and more that stack together to run an application. The term"stack" is now used in a lot of different industries in that way, and business owners use it to describe a collection of tech tools used together to get their best work done. Since I shared tips on how to make my life more efficient, I thought I'd share my tools as well. But please understand that this is not a best tools list. It's a best tools for me list. It's Alesia's preferred tools list. It's the ones I've chosen and stuck with, and some that I've changed or adapted over time. Some of them you'll recognize from last week, and there are a few new additions in here as well. The through line for all of this is the same principle I've mentioned before. It's process over platform. I figured out what I needed to do and what I needed each tool to do for me before I committed to the tool.
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That's the part I want you to be thinking of, regardless of whether you end up using any of the same tools that I do. The first one I'll mention is the Rocket Book. Now, this isn't actually a technology itself; it's a notebook, but it connects to technology. Tracking ideas and processing them has to start somewhere, and for me, it starts with notes. I'm a big note taker. It's how I process things best. So, I'm mentioning this tool because it bridges the analog and digital in a way that really fits how I work. The RocketBook looks like a notebook, acts like a notebook.
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You write in it like a notebook, but the pages are erasable and scannable. The app scans and saves whatever you've written before you wipe it clean, and this is just right for someone like me who thinks better with a pen in hand, but doesn't want to drown in paper and kill all the trees. So this way, I can have the information that I need saved online, but I can still process it in the way that works for me. I use it for mind sweeping, for sketching out tasks before they go into my task management system for tracking podcast episode development and ideas, sketching out timeframes, promotion for client notes and for training notes. When I'm studying something, getting my certifications, I take notes on everything, and then I can process it the way that I need to. It's any kind of thinking on paper that I do, anything where I need to capture something, but I don't necessarily need to keep it permanently. And then the scans live in my Google Drive for as long as I need them to reference. This worked really well recently for a training that I went to where I was able to scan and send my notes directly to someone. I didn't even have to summarize my notes.
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I could just send them.
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Now it's a good thing I have good handwriting, but it made it really easy to upload and then email those notes in minutes. So after all this is done, the page gets erased, and I start fresh.
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No waste, no clutter, no pile of notebooks that I will never open again. And yes, I do have a collection of those, so I did learn my lesson. The next app is Todoist. Todoist is my task management app, and the reason I chose it is the same reason that I stayed with it. It's the simplicity. There are plenty of robust tasks. Management platforms out there, which I review regularly for clients.
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But what I need from a task app is the ability to capture something quickly from anywhere-phone, computer, iPad-and access it from those places just as quickly. Todoist does that simply and cheaply. As a matter of fact, I currently use the free version. I use it primarily for my repeating tasks, this is a big one: daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly. As it's very simple to set those up, you type in the title of your task and say each year, each month, and from that date, it will automatically create the recurring task. I filter by day when I'm looking at the tasks that I need to do, and then check by urgency. So I'm only focused on what's important immediately for me, and I can remove all of the other tasks that might be in there. This is a great way to not be overwhelmed by everything you have to do, but still have it in a safe space. Because there are so many repetitive tasks in my business and personal life. It's important to me to be able to do that recurring task so fast, and that's one of my favorite reasons to use Todoist. There's a concept in productivity called friction, where too many steps means it slows you down, and you run the risk of not doing the action. And I feel like Todoist does a phenomenal job at reducing friction. When you have a system that's this easy and fast, it helps you create the habit. I do want to give honorable mention to adding a task in Google Calendar. So Google Tasks works equally as well in many respects. Like Todoist, you can choose the date and time. You can make it repeat as well, and I do use that feature for specialty tasks per day when something is going on that I really want to track and see on my calendar. This is especially good for personal work or for special projects.
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For example, my son and I are going to take care of some college administrative tasks today, and I have a task in my Google Calendar at a specific time with a list of things we'll be working on. I think one of the reasons that I don't use it as often and opted to go with Todoist, which is a separate system, is because I already overlap multiple calendars and color code everything. So adding tasks into that would be more clutter than I would want. For me, having separate space just works better. The next thing I want to mention is more than an app; it's a suite, the Google Suite. If there is one tool that touches everything else on the list, it's Google Suite with Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs. Those are highest on my list. Google Calendar is central to how I schedule my life. I keep multiple calendars
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business, personal, family, and sometimes multiple calendars of each of those. For example, my family is in a band. My son is in his own band, and so we have Google calendars for those that I can overlap, so I can see everything that's going on, and we don't end up with conflicts or trying to book something at a time when someone else is busy.
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And then within the personal calendars, each family member has a color, and family events have their own color. I can add clients to events, include links and details in the description, and set reminders ahead of time.
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It's also a space where I can add tasks that I mentioned, though I do keep those limited to avoid visual clutter, and I can block off large chunks of time for pending events by doing something that's an what's called an all-day event, and then you sort of end up with a banner at the top of your calendar, and that's a great way when I'm not sure of the details of something. I just know that we're camping or going on a vacation for that week, and I have it marked off, and I can mark it as busy so that other systems that I'm using won't be able to book something during that time until I have the details. Google Drive is where most of my main documents live: templates, resources, episode planning, client materials, graphics, videos-so much more.
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If it needs to exist somewhere accessible and shareable, it goes into the drive. This is especially helpful for simple deliverables. When someone purchases my minimum effective day training or requests the free positively productive toolkit, I send them a link to a Google Drive location where they can easily access the information, and I love that because it goes right to where they can grab the PDF, the video, whatever. They don't have to download another software themselves. It's just easy for everyone. Google Docs is what I use for all of my writing, from episode scripts and show notes to communication templates for this podcast, templates for my bio and marketing links, as well as all my notes for when I'm a guest on someone else's show. I use Google Docs to data dump ideas and notes about projects.
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As well as copy for training, free resources, hopefully some future books. You know, whenever I have those ideas, I put them into a Google Doc. I also use Google Sheets as well. That's definitely spreadsheets for tracking information, but Docs is probably the place that I spend the most time. Google Meet has also made the list most recently. I had been using Zoom for a long time for video meetings, but I was trying to simplify my tech stack and to trim my budget. Google Meet was the answer, and it's been working really well. I combine it with Fathom Notetaker, and my clients have loved the follow-up reporting and action items that I can provide with this combination. What makes Google Suite worth featuring is how seamlessly it connects to each other and to a lot of other things. It's to almost every tool that I use in the list.
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It's free, it's ubiquitous, and it integrates readily. So for me, it's an easy recommendation.
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And Google, if you're listening, sponsor me. Calendly is the next one on the list. I use Calendly for all of my business scheduling, clarity calls, coaching sessions, podcast guest recordings, and select collaboration calls as well. It works directly with Google Calendar, so I'm loving this because that means when someone books time with me, it populates automatically on both ends, and when I place anything in my Google Calendar that is considered busy, it blocks off the time in Calendly. So that's no longer an option when someone is trying to book an appointment. No back and forth.
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No did I miss something? No time zone confusion, no manual entry makes me so happy. That clarity alone has been worth it. But there's also an automation layer built into the paid version that allows me to send out confirmations, reminders, and critical information.
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Confirmations will go out immediately. Reminders will follow up at intervals that I've set in advance, and I customize those reminders. So, a client booking a coaching session will receive information on how to prepare for that session because we do a lot of interesting pre-work that helps us maximize our time. And a podcast guest will receive recording details and what they'll need to show up ready to have our best recording. The tool does the follow through for me, and even cues a guest to reconfirm closer to that date, so I can see that it's still on their calendar and we're still a go. It eases a lot of confusion and makes me feel more confident in being able to track what I need to do. Next on the list is Trello. Trello is my OG project management tool. It's probably one of the apps I've used the longest.
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At one point, I thought I'd outgrown it. You know, I was looking into some of the new, brighter, shinier apps that are out there because things are always developing. But I realized that Trello fits my brain. It fits how I work, and I appreciate the visual nature of it. It's where I manage anything that has a visual project-based workflow or works in that sort of column and card kind of style. The default view is a Kanban style board. Trello has cards on a board that you drag through stages or to different columns, if need be, when you're doing specific project movement, and you can also keep them in specific columns for organization purposes as well.
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It depends on how you're trying to use it. It's essentially a digital version of sticky notes on a wall, which is exactly how my brain likes to track progress, and you can even add graphics and color to it. So that makes me like it even more.
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I use it for a variety of things, but my favorite is for my podcast guest spots. There are shows I've applied to be on, shows I've recorded with hosts, and there are shows that we're now in the promotion phase, because we've done the collaboration, and I have a card for that show that starts with a label letting me know that I've applied and that I'm ready to go and that I'm interested, and then I've talked to them, and so there are different levels, a column that tells me exactly where things stand at a glance.
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So when I've applied, when I am now recording with them, when it is time to promote the show and it's complete, I can attach official graphics, which makes the card colorful and show me visually that I've completed the project with them. I can easily track how many guest spots I've done in a year, I can go back to those cards for dates and times and details as to how to contact these people, so we can collaborate again. The cards also have the label options so that I can see exactly where I stand, even within a column status. There's no hunting through email. Now, trying to remember the where and when it's right there for me, and it's a great way also to celebrate what I've accomplished. I also use Trello for personal projects, and for example, keep recipes in there as well. And this is a great example of something where it's not a movement kind of project where you have different status levels, but rather organization levels. In this case, the columns represent types of food: a column for entrees, for appetizers, for desserts. Each card has a picture of the food, either from the recipe that I found or one that I've taken of the food that I've made myself. I do try to update those and make it really personal. And the card includes links and text for the recipe, as well as extra notes from what I've learned, like baking a specific brownie mix at a different temperature and checking it at a specific time to get it to come out the best.
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I've even added ratings so I know which one is my all-time favorite sugar cookie recipe. I don't know why I have the other ones in there because I only want to make that one. But the point is, as I'm going through and I'm learning what's working, I can update the details in these cards and see them readily when I go back to reference. And probably most importantly to my family, or at least my mother-in-law, I can make French onion soup consistently every single time. Next up is ClickUp, and I want to mention this because it's the platform that my podcast production team works in, and I primarily use it for podcast management. It's a robust platform that is more than I need for my solo entrepreneur operation, but for podcast project management, it has been a dream. My team at Galati Media uses ClickUp to manage the production workflow, and rather than creating a parallel system, I stepped in as it made more sense to work within what was already running smoothly than to add a separate layer to my business.
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Now, while there's benefit to using one platform across the board for your business, and I certainly tried, this principle is really important to note.
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Sometimes the best tool is the one that's going to be easiest for the actual project, one that your collaborators are already using. I use ClickUp to track guest applications and even have forms built into the platform that automatically generate the cards. The board view is also Kanban style, so that makes me happy, and I can easily move them from topic ideas to recording to post production.
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It's easy to tag team members within, so that we can communicate back and forth about what's going on. And like every project management platform out there, I can add in text, links, graphics, and whatever else I need to get the job done, so it works well for that. Next up is Kit. Kit is the tool that has evolved the most since episode 178 when I first shared my processes, and now it does way more than it did then. Not only in general, but for me, it was formerly named ConvertKit, and now they call it Kit, and I use it for email automation and e-commerce. Those three things used to live across multiple platforms, and now they live in one. And that consolidation has simplified my workflow significantly, and that makes me so happy. On the email and automation side, Kit handles my newsletters, my welcome sequence, the tagging system that makes sure that the right people receive the right information at the right time.
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When someone requests a free resource through a form on my website, they're automatically tagged. They receive what they asked for, and they move into a follow-up sequence without me touching a thing. When someone purchases a product or service, the same pattern applies: the confirmation, the deliverable, and then welcome sequence. Their support regarding the product that they've purchased, things that they need to know, even like podcast episodes that might support them, and then they come into the general welcome sequence as well, so that we can keep in touch and I can keep supporting them. On the commerce side, Kit is now where my products live. On-demand training, printables, coaching services are all available through links on my website that connect directly to Kit, and then purchases are processed there, and automation takes it from there. It replaced Member Vault that I used to use, and it streamlined integration so that things are noticeably cleaner for me, and they look professional and they do the job. So same functionality, but things are cleaner and tighter.
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Next up, Canva. If you create any kind of visual content, you probably already know Canva.
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When thinking about software, I wouldn't want to be without for my team of one, Canva was high on the list. I use it daily, and it has made design genuinely accessible in a way that used to require either significant skill or significant budget. I use it for podcast graphics, social media images, promotional materials, and anything visual that represents. The brand, and I can even use it for personal use. I've used it for our band promotion as well. And as a bonus, I found that I can not only create a gorgeous presentation deck for training that I'm doing in Canva, but I can actually record it in there.
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So then I have the recording where it has the slides, and you can see those, and you can also see me inset into the video. Now I have that ready for training.
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Next up, I want to mention Riverside. Recording in it right now. Riverside is what I use to record podcast episodes, and I chose it because audio and video quality matter, especially for a podcast that's been running for over 300 episodes, I've used Zoom in the past, and I know many others use different recording platforms, and they are all valid options. They can all work well. It really depends on what you need, but I wanted to mention Riverside because I like that it records each participant locally. That means the audio quality doesn't depend on the strength of anyone's internet connection. For remote interviews, that's a significant advantage. The recordings are clean, the interface is straightforward, and it integrates well into my production workflow. So I just wanted to mention that again.
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Lots of options out there, but the one that I use and like is Riverside. Okay, I have a few honorable mentions as we wrap up this episode. A few other tools that I want to mention quickly, and if you're interested in them, let me know because I can go into detail in a future episode. WordPress is the backbone of my website, and I use the Divi website builder so that I can update it myself. It allows me to add links, create forms, use add-ons, so I can do stuff like incorporate my Instagram or add code for a Spotify playlist. I use Voxer and WhatsApp for async coaching and to stay connected with clients between sessions. Voice messaging back and forth is a flexible, connected way to support someone without having to schedule a call every time.
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The convenience is unparalleled, and for external processors, it is wonderful. And for social media scheduling, actually keep it really simple, and I use the built-in schedulers on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. That's a takeaway that I think is so important that we want to look for options that are already there. And for so many of these platforms, there are built-in options that we're not taking advantage of. So be sure to look for that kind of functionality that you need. You might be surprised where you can find it. Looking at this list as a team, a few things stand out to me. Most of these tools have been with me for a while because they work and they integrate and they grow and evolve. Switching apps can cost you money and time, and adding a new tool can be tricky. So it really needs to be worth it. The other thing I notice is how much of the stack is about automation and communication, making sure things happen without requiring my constant attention, and making sure the right information gets to the right people at the right time. I talk about productivity as doing the right thing at the right time, the right way for you. So I feel like there's definitely a connection in there. If you want to explore any of these tools further, I have my current favorites along with affiliate links and free resources, all at positivelyproductive.com/resources.
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That's a good starting point if you're trying to figure out where to begin, or you want to check out one of these. And if you want to go deeper on the project management side specifically, ClickUp, Trello, I didn't mention Asana today, but those are included, and a lot of other tools are mentioned in the tech tool playlist on the podcast page.
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positivelyproductive.com/podcast.
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Look for the different playlists, and one of them is tech tools. Even some email systems are mentioned in there.
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There's a bunch of episodes you may want to check out. As always, the goal isn't to use what I use or to use what anyone else tells you to use. It's to find what works for you. But I do hope that sharing what I've used successfully will help you do just that.