What You Need to Know Today: April 24

Good evening, Early Risers!

Tech

Fun way to stay focused and be present. The next time you feel the urge to check your smartphone, remember you will be killing a tree. Ugh…what? A new productivity app called Forest App puts a new spin on chunking your time. When you start the app, a seed gets planted and in 30-minutes your seed will grow into a tree, that is unless you check your phone. The app tracks how many trees you’ve successfully grown to give you an idea of how productive your day has been.

This James Bond-esque briefing site will save you time. What do most well prepared professionals do before meeting someone new? They Google said person. Charlie takes the legwork out of this time-consuming task and creates a one page brief on whoever you’re about to meet. The brief includes shared connections, latest blog posts, recent product launches, and company stats, to name a few.

Career

This is what professional resumes look like. VisualCV has compiled over 8,800 samples of real resumes of professionals like CEOs, doctors, lawyers etc. You can download free samples and create resumes that mirror those of professionals in your field. You can also track the resumes you send out and see which resumes perform best.

Personal Development

How to write emails like a CEO. Time is a CEO’s most valuable asset and if your emails look anything like this, you’re probably wasting your boss and co-workers’s time. Brevity is key. Leave out the fluff and get straight to the point in your emails. Here’s how to write emails like a boss. NNTR: No Need To Reply.

5 politically-incorrect ways to manage your time. “If you’re not upsetting someone; you’re probably not doing something important,” says entrepreneur and blogger Oliver Emberton. I think ETR editor Craig Ballantyne would agree. Craig knows how to get things done and he attributes his productivity to some ruthless time management practices he’s picked up from mentors like Dan Kennedy. Here’s a list of 5 politically-incorrect time management strategies you can start using today (Tip 5 is the best).

I hope you enjoyed today’s news brief. Please send any news, comments, tech you like, productivity hacks you swear by and any other insights you think we might like to hear at support@etrhhelp.com. You can follow us on Twitter here and like our Facebook page.

Check out what you missed in the latest Daily Brief here.