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While I’m by no means trying to take the place of Lifehacker, I thought I’d share the five online applications that have helped make me more productive. I can’t imagine handling my day to day tasks without these apps, so here’s to hoping they can help you, too! And, while I swear by the five apps I list below, I’ll give you a runner-up link at the end of each point, just in case you’ve tried one of these and aren’t quite happy with it.

In no particular order…

1. Todoist – A swank little online list application, Todoist lets you reorder, indent, reassign, add notes, and all kinds of other things to your lists. They’ve also recently integrated Todoist with Gmail via a Firefox extension, and frankly, if you come between me and my Todoist, you’re going to lose an arm. Seriously. Runner-up: Tadalist.
2. Gmail – As you can see, I just mentioned Gmail in my previous point, but I have to iterate just how much I lean on my Gmail account. Not only does it give me all kinds of functionality with its built-in labeling system, but now that Todoist and Gmail can work together, there’s little stopping me in the way of tracking what needs to get done. Runner-up: Yahoo! Mail
3. Meebo – Don’t want to run some bulky instant messaging application (or applications!) on your PC? No problem. Just head over to Meebo’s website and you get a virtual desktop where you can log into all of your IM identities at once, and also manage them from the same location. I rely heavily on IM, so this is a real lifesaver for me. Runner-up: imo.im
4. Firefox – I know, Firefox doesn’t quite qualify as an “online app,” but it significantly enhances these other tools I have listed, so I consider it vital to my work. Now, listen up all you Internet Explorer users! Sick of having your hands tied when it comes to browsing the web? You seriously need to check out Firefox. It has a multitude of add-ons that can help tailor Firefox to your needs, and it’s more web standards compliant than IE. Don’t delay, check out Firefox right now. Runner-up: Opera.
5. Google Calendar – Ah, the bread and butter of my online planning. Not only does Google Calendar neatly integrate with Gmail, but it allows me to have multiple calendars that I can turn on and off with a simple checkbox. My wife uses Gcal also, so it’s a no brainer for us to see what the other has coming up in the next days and weeks. Runner-up: 30boxes.

If you want to get organized, but want to avoid a pricey software solution (like Microsoft Office) then you owe it to yourself to check out the above online apps and give them a test drive. Seriously, you’ll be glad you did!

This article was written for the Problogger Group Writing Project called Top 5. Thanks to Darren and all the entrants for giving me lots to read!

todoist, gmail, meebo, firefox, google calendar, gcal, problogger, darren rowse, group writing project, top 5, shawnw