Productivity tools. The topic of productivity and routines is really important to most people. As the saying goes, time is money. We have heard it a million times, and it makes perfect sense. If there’s a task to be done, whether it’s personal or for your job, there are productivity tools that will help you do it faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. From browser plugins to services that help you maintain important relationships, productivity apps aim to do it all—or at least, try to help you do it all.
To those who want to get productivity and well-being boost, check out these productivity tools devoted to making your work easier and yourself more productive. The list goes way beyond the more old-school definition of office suites, like Microsoft Office, and business applications.
IFTTT
IFTTT stands for If This Then That, lets you craft recipes and connect apps and devices you love with “if this, then that” statements and make those apps and devices work together. For example, I can create an IFTTT recipe that automatically turns on my Philips Hue bulb at sunset or Whenever you create a new link post on Facebook, it will also post a Tweet with the same link. In other words, you can create integrations with no programing skills and can be utilized in endless combinations
Dropbox
Dropbox lets you take your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Access any file you save to your Dropbox from all of your computers, phones, tablets, and on the web. With Dropbox you’ll always have your important memories and work with you. And if something happens to your Windows tablet or PC, your stuff is always safe in Dropbox.
Asana
One of the best team productivity tools, helping everyone stay on-task and organized. Asana will help you keep all projects and tasks in one spot, assigning various users different jobs which makes it easier to track projects. Responsibilities and next steps are clear, so you can shoot for the moon—and get there.With tasks, projects, conversations and dashboards, Asana enables teams to move work from start to finish.
Teamwork
Teamwork is a cloud-based project management solution that provides businesses functionalities to manage different operations of a project. Features include task lists, time tracking, file uploads and messages. Teamwork helps teams manage group objectives, communicate and establish business processes.
Teamwork Projects can be integrated with applications such as FreshBooks, Dropbox, Google, Box and more. Services are offered on a monthly subscription basis that includes support via phone, email and FAQs.
Evernote
Create a project to-do list. Jot down a reminder. Or snap a picture of a sketch. A note can be anything you want it to be. And once you make a note, it’s accessible wherever you go, forever. Evernote is a handy app that can save notes, audio, photos, set reminders, and upload attachments, all synced across all your desktop and mobile devices. Evernote’s bookmarklet makes it easy to clip web articles and store them for later reading.
Microsoft OneNote
It is a digital note-taking app that works on any device or platform be it laptops or smartphones. It has got you covered to type, write, or draw with the free-form feel of pen to paper. It comes handy while taking impromptu notes. You just have to pick a notebook, a section and create a new page and you’re good to go!
Google Keep
Google Keep is a full-featured notes app known for its simplicity to jot down reminders, capture ideas, create checklists, take meeting notes, make to-dos and much more. You get digital sticky-notes and as a part of G-suite you can integrate your notes with Google Docs. It works well on Android phone, iPhone, Google Chrome, Firefox or even Smartwatch.
HootSuite
HootSuite is very helpful when managing various social media accounts. With the ability to manage all your social networks and schedule messages for future publishing, Hootsuite gives you a wide scope of your social media activity. Monitor all your social activity across networks in one easy-to-use dashboard which lets you schedule posts, delegate social assignments to team members, organize Twitter lists and followers, measure performance, and more.
Sleep Time
Thanks to the Internet, it’s the age of self-diagnosis. People like to learn about (and treat) themselves through technology. Sleep Time provides insight into your sleep patterns by tracking your level of movement throughout the night. It generates customized sleep data in easy-to-read charts and analyzes your movement throughout the night, graphs your sleep cycles and learns to wake you up at the perfect moment of your lightest sleep phase
Noisli
Noisli is a fantastic sound, white noise, and color generator for relaxation and productivity. It includes many high-quality sounds to help you focus while working, relieve anxiety or to just relax while reading or before going to sleep. “A moderate level of noise the equivalent of the background buzz of conversation prompts more-creative thought. It also provides a color-changing background, bringing to you the healthy benefits of the chromotherapy. “A”A moderate level of noise the equivalent of the background buzz of conversation prompts more creative thought moderate level of noise the
F.lux
Ever wake up ready to write down the Next Great Idea, and get blinded by your computer screen? F.lux makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
Yoga Studio
It is a fitness app based on Yoga by Rodney Yee. It provides HD video classes from experts. Videos for different purposes including treatment of posture oriented diseases and other bodily problems are available. You can focus your yoga routine on the results you want to obtain.
Jefit
A gym workout application for training and keeping track of your progress. It helps to focus on different gym sessions for building fitness. You can focus on arm strength, legs or lower body according to your preference. The tool helps you to keep track of previous progress in gym routines to effectively improve performance.
Google Drive
With 15 GB of free storage, and excellent integration options with other services Google drive is a productivity tools superstar. Google Drive allows users to store files in the cloud, share files, and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with collaborators. You can also open and edit your files from any device. Try this productivity tool to share unfinished documents – instead of emailing your documents back and forth between your team members or contacts and constantly being confused about which is the most recent version, you just have it in one place; whatever is there is the most updated version. You can even see other people editing the document in real-time.
Zoho Docs
Zoho Docs is an online documentation software which enables one to centrally access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images, etc. You can also share these by a mere link, thus avoiding the hassle of a lot of system space being consumed.
Confluence
Confluence is a collaboration software which assists in organizing your work and creating professional documents. Its features include being able to update documents online without having to save it separately.
Bit.ai: Smartest Interactive Documents
It is a documentation tool that is integrated with an iterative interface which proves to be helpful in creating and sharing professional documents. Real-time uploading and updating can help team members and co-workers to access information as and when it is made available.
Dropbox Paper
A document creation and editing software to design creative work. You can efficiently edit, format and design professional-looking documents with absolute ease. It also has features for tasks and to-do lists. It is collaborative and team-friendly. You can create, review, revise, manage and organize all project documents. You can even work in offline mode when required. One can read, comment and edit without any Internet connection.
Unroll.me
Unroll.me is one of the few productivity tools that make it very easy to manage your inbox. Unsubscribe from unwanted email subscriptions, discover new ones and organize them all in one place. The Rollup is a digest that gives you an overview of all the subscriptions you receive each day. It will keep your inbox clean by organizing the subscriptions you receive into a daily digestible email.
Sanebox
If you need an app that cleans up your inbox then Sanebox is the app for you. It automatically sorts your emails and declutters your mailbox. It sorts your emails into different folders depending upon each email’s importance so that you can focus on what matters.
Top features:
- Prioritizes your email with a smart filtering
- Saves your attachments into the cloud
- Snooze email until a time set by you
EmailAnalytics
EmailAnalytics is a unique tool that integrates with Gmail or G Suite and visualizes your employees’ email activity such as emails sent, emails received, top senders, average email response time, and much more. It enables managers to identify imbalances in employee workloads, and identify top performers, while also identifying employees who don’t have enough work to do.
Aweber
AWeber is a Pennsylvania based company that offers email marketing solutions, sign up forms, and autoresponder software to subscribers. The business offers subscription packages and AWeber also operates in partnership with a number of other companies to offer integration opportunities.
Convert Kit
ConvertKit is an autoresponder email tool that allows you to grow your email list and then either automatically email those new subscribers over time or to send a “blast” email whenever you want to get a message out. Things are changing for the better in email marketing and ConvertKit has emerged as one of the more popular email services that can provide marketing automation without the huge cost.
Freedcamp
Freedcamp serves as a hub for planning, organization, and executing projects for effortless team collaboration. Share to-dos, files, and join in discussions with team members. Freedcamp provides a lot of functionality for free.
Lastpass
Stop wasting time writing, remembering, and resetting passwords. Only remember one master password, and keep the rest locked up and easy-to-find in the LastPass password manager. LastPass remembers your passwords so that you can focus on the more important things in life.
Rescue Time
With so many distractions and possibilities in your digital life, it’s easy to get scattered. Rescue Time helps you understand your daily habits so you can focus and be more productive. Rescue time is one of the best productivity tools that track how you spend your computer time or only apps and sites you want. This productivity tool works across multiple devices. Creates great reports. Graphs and charts contain information you can use to change behavior. Great settings. Superb customization options. Excellent free version.
Any.do
Get all of your lists and tasks perfectly synced on all devices. Any.do helps you achieve anything by syncing your personal tasks, work projects, and shared lists so you have a clear path moving forward. It’s a beautifully designed to-do app, and one unique feature called the Any.do Moment, sets it apart from others. The Any.do Moment nudges you to make a habit of reviewing your daily tasks first thing in the morning so you’re never caught off guard by surprise tasks and meetings later in the day. Developing a good habit that promotes productivity is extremely hard to do but immensely valuable, and it’s impressive that Any.do goes for gold with this special feature.
Stop, Breathe & Think
You can develop and apply kindness and compassion in your daily life through a process called STOP, BREATHE & THINK. This app offers a solid sampling of the basics of meditation, featuring a range of exercises at varying lengths (mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, the body scan practice), ideal for short practices at work and longer sessions at home. For a small fee, you can download a pack of meditations narrated by k.d. Lang.
Freelancer
Freelancer.com is an online job marketplace that provides a means for employers and freelancers around the globe to collaborate for mutual benefit. Individuals or businesses in need of skilled help for short or long-term projects can post those projects and allow freelancers to submit bids for the completion of the work.
For the employer or service buyer, Freelancer.com provides immediate access to thousands of independent contractors with specific skills, without the need to place job ads or provide workspace, insurance, etc. For the freelancer or service provider, Freelancer.com offers a constant source of part-time to full-time work opportunities, without the trouble and expenses of advertising and self-promotion.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a collaboration software with complete productivity tools for management, collaboration, and communication.
Bitrix24 gives you a unified platform for your files, projects, messages, tasks, and contacts. You can immediately use the platform by simply registering for an account and then inviting your colleagues. Through the Activity Stream, everyone in your team can keep track of tasks and effectively work together to progress on the project.
Funnelytics
Funnelytics is a simple and aesthetically pleasing funnel mapping software that you can use to design, track and analyze your marketing funnels. It’s the first product of its kind to focus on funnel visualization.
Funnelytics is the best funnel mapping software available to marketers and entrepreneurs today. The drag ‘n drop funnel builder is intuitive and the software is easy even for novices to navigate. It offers 6 core funnel templates so you can quickly bring your funnel ideas to life.
Click here to try Funnelytics free
Zapier
Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your favorite apps, such as Gmail, Slack, MailChimp, and over 1,000 more. You can connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks without coding or relying on developers to build the integration. Move info between your web apps automatically, so you can focus on your most important work. It’s easy enough that anyone can build their own app workflows with just a few clicks.
For example, maybe you get a lot of email attachments in your Gmail account and you want to save them to Dropbox. Every time you get an attachment, you could open up the email, click on the attachment, and then save it to Dropbox. Or you can have Zapier automate this for you, saving you time and effort.
Calendar
While using a digital calendar or other time management software to become more organized and better with your time, you may feel like you are actually spending too much time entering and revising information across your tools. Calendar has created an AI-enabled solution that learns your schedule and takes over organizing, booking, and updating meetings and events on your calendar. It also syncs across multiple calendar tools and devices, saving you time and letting you focus on high priority tasks.
Top features:
- Share calendars and designate who sees what on your calendar
- Analytics for your Calendar so you can see where you’re opening your time each day.
- Automatically invite and schedule meeting attendees
- Leverage analytics tools to assess calendar data and reveal how you spend your time with people and in meetings
- Integrates multiple digital calendars like Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal as well as other email, project management, and collaboration tools.
Google Docs
With Google docs, you can create write, access, edit, and collaborate wherever you go – from your phone, tablet, or computer – even when there’s no connection. It is a widely used document storage and work management software that allows individuals to collaborate.
Zoom
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. Zoom provides remote conferencing services using cloud computing. It is a real powerhouse tool that can accommodate up to 500 participants to collaborate seamlessly.
Toggl
Toggl is the ultimate time-saver app and is insanely simple to use. Toggl’s time tracker is built for speed and drives a stake in the heart of timesheets. This time tracking software can integrate tens of other tools to increase its functionality.
Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a time-tracking software trusted by more than 8,000 remote teams. Its time tracker runs as a software on your desktop or as a mobile app making it easy to track time. Once the time is tracked, you can invoice clients, pay employees, see in-depth reporting, and much more.
Brain.fm
Brain.fm is a focus and productivity application based on music. It uses music to stimulate the brain and helps to boost focus. It aims at unlocking the potential of music to assist our cognitive states. You can choose a mental state to get music from that genre. Focus, relaxation, meditation, and sleep are some of the modes that you can enhance. It is designed in a way that noticeable results can be observed in 15 minutes.
Hocus Focus
Hocus Focus is a focus application for Mac and iOS device which helps reduce the distraction and create an aura of concentration. This can be very efficient in ensuring productivity as people tend to waste a considerable amount of time on their devices without even actively doing something. The tools provide several creative features to encourage the user to concentrate and keep the desktop clutter-free.
Focus List
A focus-based app integrated with a daily planner which helps to enhance productivity and efficiency. It acts as a planner with a focus timer based on the timeboxing technique. This includes boxing several hours of the day to a certain activity. It is basically a way of visualizing the hours of the day.
BONUS PRODUCTIVITY TIP:
Don’t overdo it. As opposed to what most companies think, you can’t be productive every day and you’ll only degrade yourself trying to activate machine mode all the time. Humans actually achieve their peak potential when they’re happy and getting plenty of downtime throughout the day. Read up on the 80-20 rule and make sure you allocate regular breaks in your day so you don’t overheat your spare parts.
