Google Keep: 11 Hidden Tips for Better Digital Organization
| Google Apps
Very few people know about this but when I first joined Google back in 2016, I almost quit after just 3 months.
I had joined the SMB Sales team (now called GCS Sales) as an Account Manager and I was the first person ever…to fail the sales case study three times in a row.
I was objectively the worst salesperson on the team.
My manager told me no-one had failed twice in a row before, and he even had to reach out to the People Operations (HR) team to see whether this affected my probation.
But then something weird happened: For the next two years, I was consistently ranked in the top 5% and there was a quarter (2019 Q4) where I ranked as the number 1 salesperson in Google globally.
What the hell happened?
After almost handing in my resignation letter, I realized something: The system I rely on at work is just as vital as my technical skills. In fact, I quickly found that most professionals are held back by their systems, not by their abilities.
After my first training quarter at Google (where every new salesperson gets an automatic pass), I created a system in Google Sheets to track every single call I made to my clients, what products I pitched, and how much they ended up spending 2 weeks after our conversation.
This system (well, spreadsheet really) helped me double-down on talking points and solutions that resonated with my customers and allowed me to hit my sales targets even though I was still objectively a bad salesperson.
We all define “productivity” a little bit differently.
At work, this might mean something complex like building out an entire system to track your customer calls, or something simple like using the “Data Validation” feature in Excel when collaborating with colleagues, making it physically impossible for them to input information in an incorrect format.
In life, this might mean looking for ways to reduce the friction of building healthy habits, like using a pretty Notion Agenda Template to start the day or paying slightly more for the gym that's on the way back home.
And with the advent of tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, this also means staying up-to-date on the practical applications of AI in our lives.
Luckily, you've come to the right place 😉
Other than the articles and templates you'll find on this website, here are 3 of my most-viewed productivity videos to help you get started:
And if you’re a professional looking to become (even) more productive and organized in the workplace, I highly recommend you check out the Workspace Academy, where I distill 10+ years of experience into a comprehensive video course.