Want to know which tools you need to become successful? Well, a develop tool is what you need! Maybe even a few of them. Read this post to find out which one will work best for you.

Getting into gear and taking charge of your life is extremely exciting. These trusty tools will help you get things done.

As someone who loves efficiency and has found the perfect things to keep me on track – there’s nothing I’d like more than to share my developer toolkit.

Developer tools are not just for software developers, they’re for anyone who wants to reconstruct the infrastructure of their life. You will learn the essential tools you need to get you on the right path.

After learning about developer tools, you will become a pro who is not overwhelmed by their dreams but is instead empowered by them.

This post is about how you can rewire your life with a develop tool that will lead to success.

The Power of a Develop Tool

Google Calendar

Time management is nothing without this miraculous tool. It is incredibly easy to use and addictive to play with. Like any calendar, you’re able to track different dates and events. You can share it with others and you can take it anywhere where with you. You may be asking – what is the big deal?

The beauty of this calendar is that you’re able to create different calendars and then color code those calendars to easily view and plan your days. It’s also highly addictive to see how all the colors line up and try to balance them so each category receives as much time as it needs.

Another highlight of this calendar that once again makes it worthy of living in your developer toolkit is that you’re also able to have a running list of tasks. Sometimes you can’t put a date on a goal and this feature allows those goals to remain top of mind.

If you’re wondering how to get started watch this super informative video on youtube:

Grayscale on Mobile

Everyone has experienced it. That moment where you have a ton to do but for some reason, you just have to keep checking Instagram every ten minutes.

The algorithm is real and social media is highly addictive. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right balance.

You may opt to delete all your apps but then it gets annoying when you want to join again. Or you put your phone away but then you’re left worried that if an emergency occurs, you won’t be available for the call.

So the question is – what do I do when I just want a phone?

Grayscale baby.

I just recently learned about grayscale and it works like this. On your phone you’re able to make everything black, white and shades of grey. Doing this dramatically cuts down your usage but still allows you to function when needed.

Watch the video below to learn more about this revolution:

Excel

Excel has a bad wrap. Those who don’t use it regularly are easily intimidated. But hey we have YouTube and you can learn how to do anything there.

I love Excel because once you program it to do the math for you or format it in a way that helps you keep track of your finances, it’s just way easier than pulling out a calculator.

Have you ever made yourself a budget and then kept adding and deleting numbers to see if you’re on track? With Excel, you don’t have to do that.

Or have you ever had Paid Time Off (PTO) and kept switching the dates around and kept getting confused with how many hours you have? With Excel, it’s not a struggle.

Seriously if you allow it to be, Excel can be your friend. Really, what could be a better developer tool than this? Here’s a video that goes more in-depth:

Cronometer

Do you ever think about nutrition? It’s definitely a topic that becomes more and more popular as you get older.

Cronometer is an app where on a daily basis you document what you eat. You’re able to submit what you’ve eaten either by manually typing down what you ate and then searching for it on the app, taking a photo of the barcode on the item or if no one has ever eaten the item before, you’re able to add it on the app.

Once you submit what you’ve eaten, you’ll be able to see a summary of how much energy, protein, net carbs, and fat you’ve had. The app also allows you to see how much fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, B12, folate, and potassium you’ve had for the day.

Doing this allows you to build a healthy eating lifestyle and it keeps you energized. See below for a video with more details:

Transit App

If you commute you need a transit app. The number of times I have caught a bus because of this app has been amazing. Truly a lifesaver.

We live in the digital age. Information is plentiful. Use a transit app so that you’re able to adjust your schedule as needed. There really is nothing worse than missing the bus or train and then having to wait thirty minutes.

Besides being a timesaver, it’s an energy saver. We underestimate how much energy we could save if we practiced a little more awareness over the things we can not control.

Give yourself the gift of knowledge and download whichever transit app applies to you. Also, many apps now allow you to purchase a ticket through your phone. Once again saving you time and energy.

See the video below to learn about how the NJ transit app takes care of its customers:

Strava

Whether you like to exercise or not there is one thing we all enjoy, keeping track of how hard we work. We count everything from how many steps we take to how many pounds we lose. Usually, these are activities that are filled with dread, but why not reframe them as a develop tool?

When you gamify your level of fitness, you become competitive and you improve. What is not measured is not managed. So what does measuring your fitness look like?

On the strava app, you have the ability to use it as a GPS, and once you’re done with a run or a hike you can visibly see the trail you followed on a map. The app hosts monthly competitions against other strava users. By the way, it’s super duper fun when you ask your friends to join and watch them progress. The app allows you to submit all sorts of physical forms of exercise and like any social media platform you’re able to upload a picture on your feed.

To get totally inspired to work out, visit the Strava youtube page and watch a video. They are beautiful and give you an idea about the sense of community that lives on Strava:

Duolingo

Duolingo is another beautifully addicting thing. It’s an app that encourages language learning in a completely gamified way.

Unlike other language learning experiences, this one has a bunch of cartoons (that are funny), it’s divided into incredibly short segments, has a leaderboard, and keeps track of how many days you’ve completed. There is nothing more exciting than seeing that you’ve dedicated 124 days to the app (my personal streak). It makes you banish the idea of ever quitting.

Overall it’s fun, easy to use, and has a ton of languages available for you to learn. Over thirty-five languages! Once you try it you’ll think to yourself – sure I can learn a language. And that’s what I think they did best! Change the idea of learning a language from being a rigorously dull activity to action-packed fun.

To get a better idea of what Duolingo has in store for you see the video below:

This post was all about how to Rewire your life with a develop tool that will lead to success.

Are you someone who is debating whether they should return to college and if professional development in education (AKA learning through the educational system vs youtube and google) is worth the time and effort? These are the 7 lessons you learn in school and how they can change your path in life. 

Going back to school is a huge investment. One that takes a lot of time and money. I had my doubts about returning but now I can look back and say it was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Also, it led me to an abundance of opportunities.

As someone who was struggling to make more than 30k a year and had no idea what success should look like… here are seven reasons why school is so important. Including what it can give you and why it’s better than the internet.

This post is all about the 7 Revolutionary Lessons you learn after returning to college & why professional development in education is important.

Professional Development in Education is Important

1) Morals

We all have them. Things we believe in. But most of the time these beliefs, morals, or values are ingrained in us. Obviously nothing wrong there. It’s a beautiful thing to have.

However, there is a lot we don’t know. There is a lot of information the public elementary school systems don’t cover and that pop culture doesn’t invest much time in. Learnings that can be layered into your current belief system.

When you’re in college you’re able to take electives like Global Conflict, Philosophy, World Religions, and Ethics. Subjects that make you realize how important your opinion is, how your decisions impact others and how everything is connected.

After taking global conflict, I became a vegan and now I am hyper-aware of the working conditions of any company I chose to buy a product from. Philosophy led me to realize the importance of being a gadfly. A gadfly is basically someone that questions the status quo in pursuit of justice. World Religions made me feel better connected to others and left me feeling in awe over different faiths. Ethics gave me some context regarding why we make some choices and how to peel away at conflicts.

It’s not a matter of questioning everything you’ve ever been taught to believe. It’s having an understanding of your position in the world and how you make your decisions.

2) Interests

Due to the nature of having to select classes and electives, you become very exposed to subjects outside of your everyday scope.

College allows you to discover things about yourself that you wouldn’t have otherwise realized. Things that help you feel inspired and whole. Also, you have a better understanding of why you like the things you do.

Let me share the interests I discovered in hopes of being more darn specific than using “things” in every other sentence.

Art History is a magical class and if you find a passionate teacher you have hit the jackpot. This class was not about memorizing dates and pictures. Which is what I thought. This class uncovered what was happening at different times in history, including how people felt about it, and how artists captured their stories.

Italian Literature brought me to a book that has never made me cry so much in my life and how my ancestors felt growing up. I’m not Italian, I’m Dominican but there are worker generations that fought tooth and nail for a smidge of the opportunities we have now.

Business Management led me to a fascination with organization and structure. As someone who hates feeling lost, having an understanding of order and how to create it was intoxicating.

3) Finances

We all know it. The public educational school system is not equipped to prepare us for our finances. We don’t learn about interest rates, compound interest, liabilities vs assets, or retirement accounts.

Ignorance is not bliss in this situation. In this situation, ignorance leads you to poor financial decisions that end up impacting the quality of your life more than you ever thought. Continuing professional development in education is easily measured when it comes to your financial choices and quality of life.

I’m grateful my parents taught me how dangerous borrowing money is. I have a ton of friends that are in debt over loans for school or credit card debt over everyday items. The amount of stress they feel on an ongoing basis is something I would never want for anyone.

But there is way more to that when it comes to finances. And you learn of a world of opportunities when you become exposed to financial literacy. Sure YouTube videos can teach you this, but school forces you to learn the basics. I encourage anyone returning to college to take some form of accounting or personal finance class.

4) Critical Thinking

Einstein said it best, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds to think.”

I remember thinking – what the duck does that mean? Well, it means this, we do not view a problem from different angles or rationalize others’ input in a manner that is well structured. We view things either from an emotional perspective or from a singular angle.

When you take classes like critical thinking, economics, or physics you discover how many different factors impact one element. And this is best done in school, under the guidance of someone like a professor, who lives their life balancing the details.

5) Just keep swimming

With any college degree, you will have to take classes you do not like. And this is an opportunity to learn how to complete the things you do not care for.

Any job will have very unglamorous tasks or projects that no one wants to do. After I had to take international business and write a ten-page paper for foreign investments in China, I realized that I could do anything.

You learn that completing a job well done is hard work, it’ll push you out of your comfort zone and it’s something you can’t escape.

6) Negotiation

For the difficult tasks that you can delegate, or make easier, you should.

In college you’ll always find yourself with a teacher’s style you don’t understand. You just can’t learn following their teaching style. And this doesn’t mean they’re a bad teacher or you’re a bad student. This just means there is a level of miscommunication in the room.

I can’t emphasize enough how important having a conversation with them and mentioning your hardships is. It can curve your grade, you can complete extra assignments or you have a better understanding of what their expectations of you are.

These are all lessons that will drastically improve your working relationships in life.

7) Time Management

If you’re returning to school then the chances of you returning with extra responsibilities are incredibly high. Maybe now you have children or a day job or you’re acting as someone’s caretaker. Either way, you most likely have a limited amount of time.

When you return to college you are forced to implement a level of time management and flexibility in your life in order to be as productive as possible.

And believe me, I know it is hard. It was difficult for me to work full time and attend school full time but in the process of figuring it out, I learned how to take advantage of each moment. You say to yourself – “hey I have an extra hour here, I’m going to work on completing this task I’ve been putting off.”

In elementary school, you become accustomed, for the most part, to watching tv when you come home or do homework and that’s it. But when you’re an adult and you have extra responsibilities and you become addicted to crossing things off your list.

Hey, you may even add things back onto your plate like starting a blog or taking a language class.

This post was all about professional development in education and how it can lead you to live a better life.