20 Best Productivity Apps
Productivity may be quantifiable, insomuch as you can measure the tasks you complete in a given hour or day, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to pinpoint what makes some people more productive than others. You can’t bottle focus and productivity, at least not without a psychological diagnosis and a prescription.
For the average person, consistent productivity may seem out of reach. That’s only because you don’t have the right tools at your disposal. With the right assistance, you can improve your focus and organization, add convenience to your life, and streamline your daily operations to create an atmosphere conducive to productivity.
No, you don’t have to go out and hire a personal assistant. Would you believe that simply downloading the right apps for your mobile devices could do the work of full-time personnel? The trick is finding the best productivity apps to suit your needs.
Of course, there are a lot of potential pocket helpers to choose from. How do you know which ones are going to deliver optimal performance and help you become the best, most productive version of yourself? Never fear. We’re here to help with a listing of twenty of the best productivity apps available to download now.
You encounter a lot of media throughout any given day as you check your newsfeed, scan your social media accounts, and browse the web. How can you possibly remember where to find some useful tidbit? Easy. Store it in your Pocket. This handy recall app lets you save items directly from browsers and apps so all you have to do is check your Pocket to find what you’re looking for – no internet connection required. – iOS / Android
Evernote
This app has stood the test of time, which is saying a lot for a mobile app. First launched in 2008, Evernote quickly became the go-to task manager for everyone looking to organize their lives in a mobile, digital format. You can use it to manage everything from complex work projects to your grocery list, with features that let you add and organize notes, attachments, web clippings, and voice memos, all in one place. – iOS / Android
Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Calendar for Business
The G-Suite may be tailor-made for the C-Suite, but that doesn’t mean the average professional can’t benefit from the many programs and features these business apps have to offer. Integrating your email, files, cloud storage, and scheduling across every device just makes sense, and compatible software offers seamless operation. Staying connected and managing the many moving parts of your professional life is made possible and even intuitive with Google’s G-Suite of business products. – Google
Wunderlist: Personal and Professionals To-Do Lists
Wunderlist is the easiest way to get stuff done, according to their website. How do they back up their claim? With a slew of convenient features designed to keep you organized. You can make to-do lists; set deadlines; collaborate with colleagues, family, and friends; set reminders; access it on every device, including wearables like the Apple Watch; and even print out your lists if you’re the type that leans toward the tangible. – iOS / Android
Todoist: To-Do List
Neville Longbottom’s Remembrall reminds him that he forgot something, but he can’t remember what he forgot. You won’t have that problem with Todoist, which acts as your virtual memory. Ten million users remain in control of their lives by using this app to capture and organize tasks, set priorities, schedule reminders, and track progress. Integrations with digital calendars, Alexa, Dropbox, and more ensure that you can keep track of everything with one handy interface. – iOS / Android
Be Focused: Focus Timer and Goal Tracker
In this fast-paced, digital world, it’s all too easy to get distracted every time your smartphones pings to let you know you’ve got an email or social media notification. How can you possibly stay focused with so many demands on your time and attention? Be Focused aims to help by breaking up tasks into small, manageable pieces and assigning them time frames to keep you task oriented. Work and break intervals are interspersed to ensure optimal performance and productivity. – iOS
Join Me: Free Screen Sharing
Scheduling meetings can be difficult when you’re reliant on a lot of other people. Join Me makes it easy to coordinate by offering a virtual meeting space that allows everyone to join from wherever they happen to be. Simply customize your virtual meeting room and ask others to join your digital conference call. Whether you’re confabbing with coworkers or trying to plan your family reunion, this is a great way to keep everyone in the loop. – iOS / Android
Facebook Local: What’s Happening Nearby
You and over two billion other active users understand the value of Facebook, easily the most popular social media platform. What you might not know is how useful Facebook Local is for organizing your time. Sure, you could waste time looking for events and activities in your area, but Facebook Local feeds them to you, lets you integrate your calendar, and reminds you of upcoming events so you never have to worry about overbooking or missing something. – iOS / Android
Mint: All Your Finances in One Place
This is another great app that’s been around for a while – since 2007, to be precise. It’s no wonder when you consider you can use it to create budgets, track expenses, schedule payments, and even check your credit score. If you don’t like the idea of letting creditors tap your bank account each month, but you have trouble remembering to pay your bills, this is definitely the tool to get your finances in order. – iOS / Android
Google Assistant: Google’s AI Personal Assistant
“Hey, Google” might be the most useful phrase in the English language if you utilize Google’s Assistant software. Whether you’re talking to your phone, your car, your watch, or other smart devices, all you have to say is “Hey, Google” to set a reminder, order a pizza, send a text, or crank the AC. This virtual assistant does everything but pick up the dry cleaning, and you can probably find a way to make it happen. – iOS / Android
Boomerang for Gmail: Email Reminder and Scheduler
You know that feeling when you open your email and get overwhelmed before your work day even starts? Boomerang wants to alleviate that stress with features that streamline your schedule and communications. You’ll get expected basics like snooze, send later, response tracking, follow-ups, reminders, and so on, but you’ll also enjoy easy controls and the addition of an AI voice assistant to further speed interactions. Manage email like a boss with Boomerang. – iOS / Android
Toggl: Task Timer
Time is money, so it’s best not to waste yours. Toggl is the solution to keep you aware of how you spend your precious time so you can make the most of it. Track the time you spend on project and tasks to find out where you’re getting the most bang for your buck. From there you can plan out your time, set reminders, and count on Toggl to keep you on track. – iOS / Android
Feedly: Information Feed Aggregator
When you’re bored at work, you’re stuck in a waiting room, or you’re sitting on the pot, you’ll probably find yourself scrolling through news feeds or YouTube on your phone in search of diversion. Wouldn’t it be easier if all the content you wanted populated in one place? Feedly created a platform that integrates your favorite resources, including YouTube channels, blogs, Twitter influencers, RSS fees, news publications, and even keyword alerts to deliver everything you want to see in a centralized hub. – iOS / Android
Notion: Notes, Tasks, Database, and Collaboration Manager
Notion is a lot of things. It lets you manage notes and docs, a knowledge base, task and projects, and spreadsheets and databases. It sounds a bit overwhelming, but just consider if you were using separate software for each of these undertakings. With everything in one place, the ability to customize your workflow, and connectivity to collaborate with a team, it’s hard to imagine another management app that equals this clever Notion. – iOS / Android
Sleep Cycle: Alarm Clock
There’s nothing quite like waking to the intrusive clamor of your alarm and feeling like you could sleep another hour. This occurs when your alarm wakes you during the deepest part of sleep, leaving you groggy and irritable. Sleep Cycle uses sound analysis to track your sleep patterns and wake you during the lightest phase of slumber. Set your desired time frame to wake and your alarm will go off at the perfect moment. – iOS / Android
Trello: Visual Collaboration App
Project management can get incredibly complex when you’re juggling a multitude of team members, tasks, schedules, components, and more. What you need is a collaborative app that keeps everyone on the same page and progressing steadily toward both personal and joint goals. Trello is a self-proclaimed “productivity platform” that integrates with apps like Jira, Dropbox, calendars, and more, syncs across devices, and generally helps you and your team stay organized from the beginning of a project through completion. – iOS / Android
Focus Keeper: Work & Study Timer
Inexplicably, the icon for this app is half of an orange. What does it mean? You won’t have time to dwell on it once you start using this app to increase your focus and productivity. You have the option to customize “focus sessions”, but the app optimizes with 25-minute work sections followed by 5-minute breaks between activities. There’s a lot of room for customization, but at its heart, this app is about as easy to use as an egg timer. – iOS / Android
Headspace: Meditation for Focus and Sleep
Stress can do funny things to a person, causing mental, emotional, and physical strain that impact your productivity, not to mention your quality of life. Setting aside a little time for meditation each day can help, but most people don’t know where to start. Headspace teaches you how to meditate effectively with a beginner’s course in mindfulness. A few minutes a day could be all it takes to reduce stress, focus, and improve your life. – iOS / Android
Monday: Team Management
Monday is no longer the worst, thanks to this project management app. What does it do? It lets you add and track projects, tasks, missions, and to-dos, as well as assign tasks to team members and plan out scheduling for your workload. You can quickly and easily communicate with team members, get notifications, add docs, and reorg as needed to ensure that everyone is making the most of their time. – iOS / Android
StickK: Habit Tracker
Sustaining productivity requires commitment. How do you make your goals stick? With an app that holds you accountable, of course. Whether you want to lose weight, save up for a car, or kick bad habits like smoking or nail-biting, you can set your goals. What makes you stick with them? Creating a Commitment Contract with real-world support, like a “referee” to verify success, or real-world consequences, like financial stakes should you fail. Upping the ante increases motivation and success. – iOS / Android
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