9 Stellar Productivity Tools We Could Never Live Without

With an endless list of emails, projects, deadlines, and tasks competing for your attention on the daily, isn’t staying productive like, the ultimate juggling act? 

At Swank, we rely on a handful of productivity tools to keep our operations running smoothly. Over time, we’ve narrowed our choices down to the ones that truly deliver. 

And because we wouldn’t dare gatekeep, we’re sharing them with you.

If you need solutions that simplify collaboration, streamline workflows, and free up focus, keep scrolling to learn about the tools we use every day and why they work so well for us.

Trying to find the best CMS? Check out our 2024 picks. 

Swank’s Favourite 9 Productivity Tools  

The right tools can transform how you work. We’ve tried plenty, and after polling our team, these are the ones that have earned their place in our workflow. 

1. Figma

Price: Free for basic use. Paid plans start at $15 USD/seat/month.
Why we love it: Makes design collaboration easy, clean, and efficient. 

Pro tip: Use plugins to speed up tasks for wireframing, accessibility checks, and more.

Website: figma.com

Figma is our go-to tool for design-heavy lifts. It’s cloud-based, which means real-time collaboration—aka, everyone can work on the same file at the same time without worrying about outdated versions or messy file sharing. Sharing work is as simple as sending a link, which makes the platform accessible to both designers and non-designers on the team. Since it works across devices, edits can be made anywhere, ensuring nothing slows down the process. 

2. Google Workspace (Formerly G Suite)

Price: Free for personal accounts. Business plans start at $9.20 CAD/user/month.
Why we love it: Keeps everything in one place and supports real-time collaboration.
Pro tip: Use Google Sheets to automate repetitive tasks and save time.

Website: workspace.google.com 

Google Workspace is the foundation of our day-to-day operations. We rely on Google Docs for team collaboration, Google Drive for file storage and sharing, and Google Calendar to stay on top of deadlines and meetings. The real-time collaboration features eliminate the need for multiple versions of documents or endless back-and-forth emails. Our team uses this suite of tools daily to stay organized and efficient in both client-facing and internal activities.

3. Canva

Price: Free for basic use. Pro plans start at $19 CAD/user/month.
Why we love it: Beautiful, professional-looking templates that make design accessible to everyone.
Pro tip: Use Canva’s brand kit feature to store your logo, fonts, and colour palette.

Website: canva.com

Not every design project needs heavy lifting. We love Canva for quick, polished visuals like social media graphics or client presentations. Its drag-and-drop interface and library of templates make it easy to produce high-quality visuals without starting from scratch. The ability to customize templates with your own branding also ensures every design feels cohesive and professional. 

4. Loomly

Price: Plans start at $42 USD/month for small teams.
Why we love it: The visual calendar view makes content planning and scheduling intuitive.
Pro tip: Use the post preview feature to see exactly how your content will look on each platform before it goes live.

Website: loomly.com

Loomly keeps our social media strategy on track by letting us plan and schedule content calendars. Its interface is user-friendly and it’s really simple to adjust posts for different platforms and ensure everything aligns with our brand. Collaboration is seamless, too. Drafts and approvals happen within Loomly, so there’s no need for extra emails or tools. 

5. Asana

Price: Free for basic use. Premium plans start at $13.49 USD/user/month.
Why we love it: Breaks big projects down into tasks, assigns responsibilities, sets deadlines, and tracks progress all in one place.

Pro tip: Set up recurring tasks for ongoing projects to save time and stay consistent.

Website: asana.com 

Asana is the organizational backbone of how we manage projects, high-level timelines, and daily to-dos. Tasks are easy to assign, and team members avoid any confusion by seeing exactly what’s expected of them. The visual layout of boards and lists makes it simple to get an overview of where a project stands. With reminders and integrations with tools like Slack, Asana ensures nothing slips through the cracks.

6. Slack

Price: Free for basic use. Paid plans start at $8.75 USD/month.
Why we love it: Instant communication without clogging up inboxes.
Pro tip: Integrate Slack with other productivity tools to streamline workflows and centralize updates.

Website: slack.com 

Slack is the main communication method for our team. It’s faster than email and keeps conversations focused with dedicated channels for projects, clients, or general team updates. The search function makes it easy to find past messages or files, saving you time when you need to revisit something. With the ability to set statuses and work hours, you always know the best time to connect with your team. Direct messaging and group chats are perfect for quick decisions and Slack’s endless integration library keeps everything connected. 

7. Dropbox

Price: Free for basic use. Paid plans start at $15.99 USD/month.
Why we love it: Reliable, easy to use, and secure storage for all files.
Pro tip: Use the Smart Sync feature to free up hard drive space while still accessing all your files in the cloud.

Website: dropbox.com 

We use Dropbox to store project assets, share large design files with clients, and archive important documents. The folder system is intuitive and organized, and permissions can be customized to ensure files are shared securely. Having everything backed up in the cloud means we never have to worry about losing access to important work.

8. Loom 

Price: Free for basic use. Paid plans start at $15 USD/user/month.
Why we love it: Perfect for quick walkthroughs or updates that need a personal touch.
Pro tip: Use the trimming and call-to-action features to polish your videos and direct viewers to the next step.

Website: loom.com 

Loom is a powerful tool for communicating complex ideas clearly and quickly. Instead of writing lengthy emails or scheduling calls, we use Loom to record videos that explain exactly what we mean. It’s especially helpful for project walkthroughs or giving visual feedback on designs. Videos are easy to share by link, and recipients can watch them on their own time. With features like screen recording and editing, Loom saves us and our clients valuable time by ensuring everyone is on the same page in a fraction of the time it would normally take.

9. ChatGPT

Price: Free for basic use. Paid plans start at $20 USD/month.
Why we love it: It’s versatile, saves time, and adapts to a wide range of needs.
Pro tip: Be as specific as possible with your prompts to get the most relevant responses.

Website: chatgpt.com 

Say what you will about ChatGPT. It sucks at a lot of stuff but used correctly, it’s pretty great at simplifying workflows and streamlining the “grunt work”. If nothing else, it offers a solid jumping-off point to get the creative juices flowing, especially when you’re stuck. With its ability to push through repetitive tasks at lightning speed and generate ideas for a variety of things, ChatGPT helps us focus on the bigger picture. If you accept what it can and can’t do and understand how it should and shouldn’t be used, ChatGPT can be a really powerful productivity tool in your workflow. 

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Bringing It All Together

The right productivity tools make work simpler, more efficient, and more organized. If you’re in the early stages of developing a digital toolkit, start small so you don’t throw yourself into a cycle of diminishing returns. Test out one or two tools initially and build a setup that fits your needs. 

The goal isn’t to use as many platforms as possible. It’s to work smarter with a choice selection of proven productivity tools that make your work better, faster, and more enjoyable. 

Have a tool you love? Let us know! We’re always looking for ways to improve how we work.