Top 5 apps to improve your productivity

Top 5 apps to improve your productivity

December 23, 2022

8 minutes read

We live in a world full of distractions. As a result, staying productive is a bit difficult. You must be thoughtful about how you use your time if you want to stay on top of everything work or school related. Fortunately, there are several approaches you can utilize to stay productive.

This post will explain how productivity is more than a buzzword, how challenging it is to be productive with so much going on, and how productivity apps can help us keep up with things, manage time, and improve our overall routine.

Understanding Productivity

Productivity is a metric that measures economic or commercial performance that shows how effectively individuals, organizations, industries, and entire economies turn inputs like labor and capital into outputs like goods and services.

Productivity is output determined by the input. However, it can be difficult to quantify productivity if the outcomes aren’t immediately apparent. Many people explore time management approaches while thinking about how to be more productive. Productivity and time management are interlinked but different concepts; not all productive people are good at time management. Sometimes the most productive outcomes do not come from successfully managing a list of chores – productivity is more concerned with the outcome.

People also believe that multitasking is the key to accomplishing more in less time and that working long hours will help them get more things done. However,  Longer working hours are not associated with increased productivity, as per statistics compiled by The Economist. Another recent study found that the most productive persons work for 52 minutes and then take a 17-minute break. Multitasking is a highly admired strategy to get more things done at once, but it actually slows us down and increases the chances of mistakes we make, according to a study by  Stanford University. The pressure of too many tasks will also make you much more prone to distractions.

We frequently believe that being productive requires doing more tasks each day. However, productivity is about keeping a steady pace and making significant progress on a regular basis. Most productivity techniques are geared toward improving short-term performance. For example, you can learn how to manage your to-do list efficiently, get more done each morning, cut down on the length of your weekly meetings, etc. These are all logical concepts. However, we sometimes overlook the fact that there are some strategic decisions we must make if we hope to maximize our output over the long run. There are numerous tips that can help you focus, be more effective, and get more work done. The best way to increase productivity is to be conscious of your preferences for your schedule, working environment, and other factors.

Being Productive is Hard

Productivity is essential for success, but it isn’t always simple. It can be challenging to stay productive at times. The average person only spends about 2 hours and 53 minutes each day engaged in productive work, according to a study of 1,989 UK workers. Several distractions can hinder people from staying productive. Understanding why you’re struggling to stay productive is a solid first step toward finding a solution. The following issues are typical reasons people lose motivation to work.

1. Digital Distractions

Technology nowadays is both a blessing and a curse; People are easily distracted by things like social media, text messages, and notification alerts while in the middle of the workflow. A recent study found that it often takes us 23 minutes to go back into work mode after being distracted by a buzz in our pocket. The average American adult uses media for 11 hours every day. Harris’s collates research indicates that smartphones and other digital devices are significantly impairing our ability to pay attention. We can’t concentrate or stop getting distracted since these devices are made to keep our attention.

2. Not Understanding the “Why.”

 Understanding your “why” simply refers to knowing something before you take action. The “why” may also be referred to as the “guiding principle” or the “primary goal.” Your motivation, tenacity, optimism, or lack thereof, are determined by your why. Not understanding the purpose of the tasks stagnates your productivity and makes it difficult for you to keep going with the things you need to get done. if your goal and vision are not in harmony with your actions, you can struggle to accomplish what you need to. Without a clear grasp of your goal, making a to-do list won’t lead to the progress you seek.

3. Procrastination

Procrastination is the practice of delaying or postponing tasks until the very last minute or after their specified deadline. Procrastination occurs due to many reasons, including not being aware of what needs to be done, not knowing how to do something, or not having the motivation to do a particular task. Sometimes, people find it difficult to be productive only because they are uninterested in their work. This also happens when their work is extremely challenging or complex. Procrastination is a typical behavior among people when a task seems impossible to complete. They frequently come up with reasons not to start it, and this results in low productivity and a failure to complete tasks.

Read more about procrastination and ways to overcome it.

Apps to Improve Productivity

Productivity is individualized. You can read about other people’s methods for getting things done, but productivity tips that suit one person may not suit you and your working style. The same is true of productivity apps. With so many tools to choose from, it’s important to understand exactly what you need. You might be a good note-taker, but you have a hard time focusing on tasks. Perhaps you have a wonderful system for communicating with teammates but don’t have a good way to plan meetings with them.

To help you choose from the many available apps, we will break down the top  5 Apps to boost your productivity for your specific needs.

Todoist

Best For Managing your to-do lists

Cost: Free for the Basic version. $3.99/month for Premium

Todoist is a basic task manager app that enables you to log and group activities based on projects. Consider this an improved version of your regular to-do list. The app allows you to share and assign projects with others while also managing and keeping track of your own activities. The free plan includes enough features for project management. you can create priorities, deadlines, labels, filters, and tags. You can also experiment and see what works for you because you can change any aspect of a task at any time. Once the project is filled up, you can view the tasks as a list or on a board in the Kanban style.

Promotodo

Best for Time Management

Cost: Free for the Basic version. $3.90/month for Premium

Pomotodo provides a full workflow management system. Pomotodo allows you to collect ideas, plan activities, complete projects, examine your work history, and do more directly from the app. Pomotodo is based on the productivity method known as the Pomodoro Technique. Pomotodo’s to-do list is made to be easy and includes useful features like priority, pin, and #hashtags. The Pomotodo Pro plan gives the app additional functionality by adding sub-to-dos, a reminder, a repeat feature, notes, and more.

Calendly

Best For Scheduling meetings

Cost: Free for the Basic version. Premium Plan for $8/month

Calendly makes it easier to organize meetings without emailing back and forth. when you sign up for an account with Calendly, you will be requested to sync your calendar and select your available choices, including time windows (15 min, 30 min, 45 min, etc.), Then, when you need to set up a meeting, you just give the other person your Calendly link so they can select the most convenient time. Calendly enables you to own your time, and people cannot randomly book meetings with you. It allows you to accept or reject a meeting request, allowing meetings to take place on your preferred schedule.

Forest

Best for Staying Focused

Cost: Free for the Basic version, Premium version $1.99

If you struggle to put down your phone and concentrate on one task at a time, Forest is the perfect app for you. Simply open the Forest app and plant a tree whenever you want to concentrate. As long as you are attentive and keep your phone away, this tree will continue to grow. Your tree will die if you do exit the app at any time before the work is finished. Users can eventually create an entire forest out of these trees. Players are rewarded with more tree species and relaxing sounds to go with their forest collection, which adds to the app’s enjoyment. Even better, Forest has a partnership with Trees For The Future that enables users to spend earned cash to actually plant trees.

Toggl

Best for Time-tracking of tasks

Cost: Free for up to 5 users. Custom Pricing starts from $9/month

Toggl is a time-tracking tool that assists you in keeping track of the amount of time you spend on various tasks. If you’re more conscious of how you spend your time, you can learn to maximize it and organize your schedule accordingly. Toggl provides more than just a basic timer tool; it lets you easily schedule tasks to increase productivity and provides full reports on your data. Individuals and teams can both use Toggl. In either case, Toggl gives you powerful reporting tools, allowing you to keep track of what you and your team are spending the most of your time on.

Benefits of Productivity Apps

Here is why you should explore these or any productivity apps.

  • They are simple to use. The majority of productivity apps have basic enough user interfaces for beginners.
  • They offer guidance and feedback on your performance so you can always stay on course.
  • They monitor your progress over time, enabling you to learn from your mistakes and improve.
  • Most applications have extra features like timers or alarms that can help you remain on task or block distractions as you work.
  • Productivity applications provide concrete data on what we’ve done and when we’ve done it.
  • Many productivity apps now offer tools that simplify sharing and collaborating on documents or work items with coworkers, which can increase communication and collaboration.

Wrapping up

A productivity app is designed to help you work more efficiently. Using a productivity app to manage your routine tasks and stay focused on your goals takes time, just like Rome was not built in a day. It happens over time. So, don’t hope for a miracle to happen overnight. Take time to identify the apps you want to use and understand the best methods to use them. This post will help you narrow down a list of options. It is over to you to test out the apps that suit your needs.

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