Best Tools for productivity

Hi everyone!

For the next two weeks, we will be in Malaga! Do you know anyone over there? 

In today’s newsletter, I want to focus on the tools we use to run our company. We are often asked about them, so we’ll share ten tools we use daily. I’ll not mention Tableau, Figma, or Excel as they are very obvious, but focus on all the other tools that help and complement them.

But before that, I want to share three small but important news!

Viz Extension Launch

Everything is ready on our side for Viz Extensions. We have ten extensions ready for you to try! Please check our previous post to learn more about this new game-changer feature!

If you are on Tableau Cloud, there is a chance you can already use them! You can try them all for free directly on the Tableau Exchange or by visiting our store to buy the full version.

For Server and Desktip, we are just waiting for you, Tableau! 

Interview with TableauTim

Last week, I was lucky to spend two hours discussing with TableauTim. 

This resulted in three videos. The first two are already published: one is about Viz Extensions, and the other is about my journey from starting as a consultant to creating LaDataViz and the future of Tableau. 

The third one will be about Figma to Tableau and should be out shortly! 

Speaking about Figma…

Figma to Tableau updates

Now that the first batch of Viz Extensions is finished, Jessica will continue to improve them and build another one, and I will shift my entire focus from Figma to Tableau.

You should see some changes starting next week:

• Generator: This is the big update showcased at the Tableau Conference. Soon, you can generate Tableau dashboards in Figma with just one click and export them with another click.

• Background Image Export: The images will no longer be part of the background, so you can edit them, add links, etc.

• Image node: Force the plugin to export elements as images in Tableau by using IMAGE/ in the node name (just as SHEET/ or NAV/). This could be useful for instantly exporting a frame or group as an image in Tableau.

• Multi-Style Text: Single text nodes with multiple styles are currently unsupported. I’ll try to fix that!

• Absolute position: Fixed elements in your Auto-Layout design are currently not supported. I’ll see if we can have them as floating elements among your containers.

• Any other ideas? 

For the generator, I made a new short demo available here:

The video is an excellent example of a tool I use almost daily to make demos or small videos and GIFs.

Ten must-have tools (Part 1)

As I explained in the intro, I’ll not focus on the obvious (Tableau, Figma, ChatGTP) but talk about the other tools we use every day to run our different activities.

I’ll split the tools into two groups: Productivity (how to be more efficient for our client and the content) and Saas (more technical, the tools we use to run our Viz Extension, Plugin, etc.)

This week will start with productivity tools (software and hardware).

1. Calendly 
   This one has probably saved hours of back-and-forth trying to find the right time to meet with our clients. Calendly is linked to your calendar and allows people to book time in our calendar when you are free automatically. They can also choose the conferencing tool they want.
   
   It makes everyone’s life much simpler. We use the free version; it’s great!
   

2. Krisp
   This tool runs in the background every time you have a meeting and automatically removes all background noise when you speak. I had neighbors drilling holes during meetings, and no one could hear it (except me).
   
   If you are often in public or loud areas, everyone else will be happy you use that tool.
   

3. Screen Studio (and Cleanshot)
   These are the two tools I use to capture my screen. Cleanshot is more focused on static print screens or lengthy videos. Screen Studio is a new tool that handles and generates all the smooth zoom in and out in my short videos or GIFs.
   

   

4. Notion
   This is where we organize our time. I was not convinced initially, but it became necessary as soon as we started working as a studio of two.
   
   In Notion, we track our Project in four categories (Consulting / Content / Product / Admin). Each project is attached to a Client and has Tasks with deadlines and priority.
   

   

   
   We also have another page where we track our time to generate the invoice at the end of the month.
   
   Recently, Notion acquired Cron and renamed it Notion Calendar, making it even easier to see our tasks and fill our time tracker directly from the calendar app.
   

5. Hardware
   This part concerns our hardware choice. I mention this mainly because we optimized a lot for travel and efficiency.
   
   We both have a recent MacBook Pro, an iPhone, an iPad Pro, a phone stand, and a Shure MV7 mic. Here’s the whole setup when traveling:
   

   

   
   
   The Mac has a great battery, charges fast, and can easily handle video editing or complex tasks.
   
   The iPhone is the best webcam for the Mac. You may not know that, but you can turn your iPhone into your webcam anytime. All my YouTube videos are recorded in 4K, 60fps with my phone… and you always travel with it! It also ensures great-quality video in all meetings.
   
   The iPad Pro is the best portable dual screen for a Mac. As with the phone, as long as the Mac and the iPad are on the same network, you can use the iPad as a dual-screen. As we do more and more development, having a screen for the code and one for the rendering is super important, and this setup makes it easy.
   
   For the mic, it’s simple. The Shure MV7 is one of the best that you can connect via USB-C, and it does not take up much space. We also chose a phone stand that can shrink a lot.
    

   
   

   
   Once closed and put together, all our setups fit easily in any bag. We always have two screens, a mic, a 4K camera, and a computer that can handle all that for hours without getting warm.

This ended up being way longer than planned, so next week, I’ll focus on Part 2: tools for a SaaS!

That’s it for this week!

You can reach us easily over there:
‣ Website: https://www.ladataviz.com
‣ Twitter/X : https://twitter.com/ladataviz
‣ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ladataviz
‣ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladataviz/
‣ All other links: https://linktr.ee/ladataviz

If you have any suggestions, feedback is appreciated!