My favorite productivity tool of the moment is Dropbox. It is the simplicity that makes it so useful, because it is just a folder on your computer that syncs to the cloud. This allows anything inside of it to be available remotely.
Here are 12 tasks you can accomplish using Dropbox and tools like IFTTT.
1. Make it your default folder
This tip comes courtesy of Lifehacker. You assign your “My Documents Folder” to your Dropbox folder. Now when you save a document it will automatically be synced. That is just pure awesomeness.
2. Host external scripts or images
One way to speed up your website is to host some of your files externally. Dropbox’s public folder makes this easy, just follow these steps. This is an advanced technique for those who work in web development.
3. Portable library
I download a lot of free ebooks. I learn best when I can read information, so I have a folder in my Dropbox for this very reason. Now I can carry my library with me remotely.
4. Fits on a USB drive
You don’t need to host your Dropbox folder on a computer. Why not use a 4GB thumb drive instead? The default for a free account is 2GB of space, but there are ways to earn more.
5. Text editor
I use a distraction free text editor called Q10. It is a small .EXE file. Put it in your Dropbox folder and have a portable word processor!
6. Back up your tweets
If This Than That (IFTTT) uses a Dropbox channel. This means you can automate tasks that involve your Dropbox account. One of my favorites is creating a Tweet Log.
IFTTT allows you to use Dropbox as your personal secretary. It will take dictation for you. Set up a task with your cell phone that will post a file to Dropbox transcribing your call. It will also store your message in MP3 format.
9. Torrent anywhere
You can use your Dropbox to start torrent downloading remotely. Configure your client to watch a folder in Dropbox for any .torrent files.
10. Read later
It is easy to have Dropbox transform any web page into a PDF document to read later. There are IFTTT recipes for this task.
11. Post to WordPress
Our final IFTTT task is to automatically post to our WordPress or Blogger blog using Dropbox. I use this for images, by placing the graphic in a public folder it automatically generates a post for me. No hassle.
12. Identity kit
It is very useful to have a branding kit. Something that contains all your identity information; bio, avatar, and other needs. If you store it in your Dropbox you will have it all backed up and available for use anywhere.
Dropbox reminds me of Felix the Cat and his magic bag of tricks. Dropbox is the same concept, a dimension that holds any file on your computer. It all becomes available to you remotely via a USB drive, computer, or app.
What things will you pull out of your magic bag?
Featured image courtesy of ilamont.com via Creative Commons.
Susan is a copywriter who crafts content strategies that rank. She is also the community manager for Gygax Magazine. She shares information on business, social media, and writing.
You don’t need to host your Dropbox folder on a computer. Why not use
a 4GB thumb drive instead? The default for a free account is 2GB of
space, but there are ways to earn more."
I try to create my Dropbox folder in a 4 (or more) GB USB pen drive but Dropbox does not accept directories on portable drives. Do you have any suggestion to solve the problem?
Dropbox was the only thing that caught the burglars that ransacked my house. When they turned my computer on after the stole it, Dropbox automatically signed in and I was able to get an IP address of where the computer located, which the police were able to then track down, locate and arrest. I got my computer back, and they were locked up - I don't think I've ever really used Dropbox though!
We've used Dropbox a few times, but never so creatively. One reason is because we are a big enough company to have the infrastructure for VPN access to large file shares. But #1 and #10 were pretty cool.
And this is one of many posts that piques my interest in IFTTT.
I've signed up for IFTTT and Dropbox. Though I use Dropbox fairly regularly there are some great ideas in your post...and I hadn't considered combining the two...very cool!
Hi Susan, This is such a great article about uses for Dropbox. I am a big Dropbox fan along with IFTTT, what a powerful combination. You gave great ideas about combining the two. I'm going to make Dropbox my default folder right now...after I share this article of course!
@BillWinterberg @MichaelKitces That is why IFTTT rocks! When I wrote the post, I wanted to include something you could not get from other sources. That is why so many are the IFTTT recopies I use every day to manage my work routine.
