12 Productivity-Boosting Holiday Gifts – TPW022

‘Tis the season . . . for giving gifts. In case you’re still shopping for those last few gifts, or in case you’re looking for ideas to give those who want to gift you!, this episode offers some productivity-boosting options for all the folks on your list, including gifts at a variety of price levels. And best of all? Every one of them can be ordered online!

(Mostly) Quick and Easy Productivity-Boosting Gift Ideas

1.  Protect your loved ones’ digital identity with a password manager.

• LastPass for Premium; $12/year, available on all platforms
• 1Password; $50 for Mac or PC, or $70 for a bundle for both Windows and Mac; also available on iOS and Android
• Use Canva to create a beautiful certificate for this (or the other digital gifts below) that you can put in their stocking or in a card.

2.  Help them get organized with a task manager.

• OmniFocus – for iPhone ($20), iPad ($30), Mac ($40 for standard, $80 for Pro — 14-day free trial)
  • Include a copy of David Sparks’ $10 OmniFocus Video Field Guide, an outstanding video tutorial on how to use OmniFocus to manage your projects and to-dos
• Nozbe – great web interface, and apps for all platforms; personal plan is $10/month, or save 20% by paying $96 for the year. Use the link in this post (disclosure: it’s an affiliate link) to get a coupon code that’ll save you an additional 10%.
• Franklin Planner – paper based with a variety of binders, planner formats, and accessories.
• Moleskine Day Planner (Evernote edition); another option for those who love a paper planner. $35.

3.  Let them store and access their important documents everywhere with a year’s subscription to Evernote.

• Free option, but buy them a year’s premium subscription for lots of great features – $60/year. Available on all platforms.

4.  Protect their important data with a year’s worth of secure online back-up for their computers.

• Backblaze – use this link (disclosure: affiliate link) and get one month free.
• CrashPlan – currently advertising plans at 20% off for the holiday season.

5.  Educate and inspire them with a great book or two.

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown
• Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg
• Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results, Stephen Guise

6.  Expand their options with a year’s worth of great audio books from Audible.com.

• A variety of plans to suit your budget and their appetite for new books.
• They’ll be able to choose from thousands of professionally narrated books of all genres.

7.  Get the big picture on the year with a big wall calendar from NeuYear.net.

• Variety of options to get a year at a glance.
• Great tool for making the most of the coming year.

8.  Simplify dinner prep with a crockpot they can control from their smartphone!

• Crock-Pot® Smart Slow Cooker with WeMo®.

9.  Make sure they don’t lose their keys (or other important items) with Tile.

• Small but tough device clips to the key ring (or whatever they don’t want to lose).
• Detectable within 100 feet by any iPhone with the Tile app (soon available on Android, too).
• $25, or $17.50 each if you buy 4; as low as $15 each if you buy a dozen.
• Free shipping.

10.  For the Apple geek on your list, a year’s worth of informative video tutorials from Screencasts Online.

• Video tutorials on a variety of apps and Apple-product-related tools.
• Memberships start from as little as $8/month.
• Includes a monthly digital magazine for the iPad, with the video tutorials and tons of extra articles and other useful content.

11.  Get your tablet-loving friend or colleague a cool stylus.

• Adonit Jot Script Evernote Edition Fine Point Stylus for iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini and iPhone (info available in the Evernote Market). $75
• Adonit Jot Pro Fine Point Stylus for iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, iPhone, & Kindle Fire – Silver; about $30

12.  Get them started on the road to a paperless life with a great scanner.

• ScanSnap desktop scanner: Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner for PC and Mac (PA03656-B005); about $399.
• ScanSnap portable scanner: Fujitsu ScanSnap iX100 Wireless Mobile Scanner; about $200.

Find more recommendations for cool gifts in a recent post on the To-Doist blog.

What do you think?

Any suggestions for holiday gifts that will help the recipient be more productive? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Don’t Forget: Celebrate Episode 25 with Me!

What are your best tips for getting things done, making the most of your time and energy, and making a life that matters? I want to feature them in episode 25. Email your tips to feedback@theproductivewoman.com, or click on the button at the right of this post to leave a voice message. (Remember if you have more than one tip to share, leave each one as a separate message, and start by telling me who you are–first name only is fine if you’re more comfortable with that–and where you’re from.) If you’re sharing a great productivity tool, be sure to tell us how to find it. From those who contribute a tip, either via email or voice message, by December 31, 2014, I’ll draw a name randomly for a $25 Amazon gift card!

I would love to have your help!

• Subscribe, rate, and review The Productive Woman in Apple Podcasts or subscribe in Stitcher.
• Join the conversation at The Productive Woman on Facebook.
• Your feedback matters to me. Please share your comments, questions, or suggestions.

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