The 21st century has been characterized as a period of technological disruption.
Advances such as, cloud-based computing by avant-garde companies such as Google, have created collaboration spaces in real time, which provide access to information at
any time, device or place. This “global village”, as the Mcluhan Communication Theologian called it, when referring to the human interconnection on a global scale generated by the media; It has become smaller and smaller. Phenomena such as globalization, provide access to global markets, to differential resources and to obtaining comparative advantages for those who wish to possess knowledge and information, as the basis of the new world order: the first to arrive at information will be the first to exercise power For this, the following article is intended to inform you of a series of strategies to improve productivity, time management, and communication channels through the use of applications developed by Google that seek to build value to the user.
According to the PhD Daniel J. Levitin in his book “The Organized Mind”, millions of neurons are constantly monitoring the environment through an attentional filter, which allows access to the information that the person needs or requires. Each update of Facebook, each tweet, or message competes with attentional resources that consume neural capacity for the truly important aspects. Humans can only process a total of 34 Gigabytes or 100,000 words a day and taking into account that neurons are metabolically living cells, which need oxygen and glucose to work efficiently, we must use our efforts optimally and productively.
Although the term productivity is associated with the business sector, and is understood as the ability to generate greater profitability with the efficient use of resources; Nowadays it is a term that accompanies the human being in his daily life.
That is, due to the amounts of information, data, images and decisions that people are exposed to on a daily basis, all the tools and aids that allow them to fulfill their commitments in all contexts, with the same amount of time, are key.
Access to information in any place, time and device has created links or networks of people, where collaboration in real time brings a number of benefits. Google designs a doc suite (slides, sheets and docs), which allows you to make presentations, work on spreadsheets or write documents in a word processor in a collaborative way. Several users may be working on the same document, allowing them to see the edits made, communicate or leave comments. Changes are recorded automatically in Google Drive; storage service and synchronization in the cloud. This suite, additionally, puts the voice type and the explore feature at the service of the user, tools that speed up and complement its use; since they allow dictation directly to the computer without the need to write and integrate into the suite a web browser, with which access to any Internet page is achieved directly within the document, spreadsheet or presentation in which they are working; respectively.
Time management is the process of consciously planning and exercising control over the amount of time spent on specific activities; in order to increase efficiency and productivity. There is a tool known as Google Calendar, which goes beyond a simple agenda or an electronic calendar, this allows people to work more intelligently. It allows the user to synchronize their calendars, those of their friends, co-workers and even the public, in a single screen. In this way, you can visualize them according to your needs, facilitating the scheduling of work meetings, appointments or events of any kind. Eliminating this way, the disrespect of having the time of others without their consent and avoiding the number of emails exchanged to schedule a simple meeting. This tool helps to be more productive, procrastinate less and have more time, which can help reduce anxiety and stress.
Gmail revolutionizes the functionality of email. Not only does it differ from its competitors by offering 15 Gigabytes of free storage, or by allowing you to receive emails with attachments of 50 Megabytes in size or send emails of 25 Megabytes, but it also acts as a personal assistant. That is, it organizes the messages received in folders by priority, read, marked and unread, this is done through an algorithm that studies the behavior of the user, finding a pattern in their habits and establishing a sorting behavior.
This email option also has a feature called labs, which allows the user to try and experience new improvements to the original software. Developments such as “undo send” grant the user 30 seconds after sending an email to repent and correct any error, modify the text, attach a file or simply, not send at all such mail. There is also one called “canned responses” which allows to respond and send predetermined messages, avoiding delays in responding to many users and making better use of time.
Additionally, it has extensions or small software that modify and improve the functionality of the Chrome browser. One of them is known as a boomerang which allows you to schedule emails sent and / or received so that they leave or arrive at a preferred day and time. This can be very helpful for those workaholics who write emails during non-working hours, arranging them in such a way that they are sent automatically when required.
Effective communication is composed of the harmonious conjugation of several elements: Issuer, Receiver, Message, Channel, Code and Context. From the Gutenberg Press that gives way to the books, to the telephone of Graham Bell and finally with the arrival of the Internet, telecommunications have evolved exponentially. The sender and receiver no longer need to be in the same place, the channel is the one that varies in format (audio, text or video), the message remains the same and the contexts are built according to the moment.
Tools like Google Hangouts, allow you to send messages, make calls or even have video conferences from any device as long as you have an Internet connection, reducing distances and making our communication process more agile. In the workplace, when articulating this tool with others such as Google Calendar, there is a quick, simple and practical way to carry out actions that lead companies to be more effective. It provides collaborative spaces that facilitate teamwork and connectivity on a global scale.
Finally, here we have been exposed, in a very general way, some of the most used tools of the Google Suite, without ignoring that there are many more, that like the aforementioned, were designed to build value in the intangible resource, not -renewable: time.
If you are interested in expanding the knowledge on these digital tools for the generation of value in any field or context, you can start your training by accessing the following link:
References
HORN, M., Y STAKER, H., (2015), MEZCLA: USANDO LA INNOVACIÓN DISRUPTIVA PARA MEJORAR LAS ESCUELAS, JOSEY-BASS, SAN FRANCISCO, EE. UU.
CLARK, H., Y AVRITH, T., (2015), EL AULA DE INFUSIÓN DE GOOGLE, ED TECH TEAM PRESS,
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, EE.UU.
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