This 2021, most of us welcomed the new year by vowing to be more productive. However, our work from home setup and remote schooling don't make it any easier for us, especially with all the distractions lingering inside the house. The good news is that with just our smartphones, we can easily access several productivity apps that can help us in getting more things done.
With these apps at your disposal, complex tasks are bound to get simpler. They allow you to keep track of assignments, manage your time, and even realign your focus. They also aim to boost performance as well as efficiency. In this article we prepared a guide and our top 10 recommendations to help you determine which productivity apps deserve a spot on your home screen.
Quick List - Top Productivity Apps
Evernote Corporation
Accomplish More With This Note-Taking App
Shenzhen Tomato Software Technology Co., Ltd.
Get More Things Done With Better Concentration
Our recommendation articles are carefully researched and crafted by the mybest Philippines team of writers and editors. To stay true to our company’s mission and vision to help users’ selection process easier, we also collaborate with experts from various fields to ensure that our content stays factual and useful.
Table of Contents
With the overwhelming number of productivity apps available for us to download, it might be tricky to know which ones will work for you. Here are a few points you should take note to find the right match. Check out the buying guide below!
Before you can propose a solution, you need to identify the problem. This is also the case when selecting a productivity app. To narrow down your choices and find out what kind of productivity app you should download, you must first determine which area in your daily routine needs a boost.
Do some introspection and assess what is holding you back from doing all your tasks efficiently. Maybe it’s the lack of proper time management? Or maybe it is stemming from your very cluttered pile of unaccomplished paperwork?
Productivity apps differ from one another as they focus on different areas. Some apps are designed to help you keep track of your tasks, while there are apps that help you organize and transfer files. Whichever activity or aspect of your life that needs to be simplified, there is surely a productivity app that can help you get the job done.
Once you’ve determined the activity that needs some sort of boost, it is easier to point out which app should take over your smartphone. Make sure to select one based on the output that your work or personal task requires.
One of cons of working remotely is being exposed to countless distractions at home. If you’re one of the many people who often find themselves spending an unhealthy amount of time mindlessly scrolling through social media hence accomplishing nothing - focus apps are for you.
Focus apps help you stay away from your go-to procrastination websites. These can block applications that tend to consume most of your time. They have features that turn off notifications and updates from your favorite leisurely sites or apps to let you keep your eyes on the task at hand.
To-do apps are the perfect tool for creating lists of tasks, which you need to accomplish. It can be used not just for office work but also for personal tasks such as grocery shopping. These apps usually involve controls that let you add time frames to your tasks. Once accomplished, you can easily mark them as done. Most to-do apps also offer built-in reminder settings.
Tracker apps aim to let you know how much time it takes you to complete a certain task. These apps can also time your productivity sessions by recording where and how you spend your time online.
These records give you a bird's eye view of how you can manage your time better. Apps like these are not just useful for work-related tasks but also for personal tasks like workouts.
There are also productivity apps designed to help you produce better work outputs. Applications of this kind vary from one another as they provide you assistance for different things too. Some of these are writing assistant apps that can aid you with writing articles, letters, emails, and memos.
Music can also be associated with increased productivity as it can help alleviate stress and boost creativity. This is what most music streaming apps do, they provide background music that helps you concentrate on your current task and improve your overall mood.
These apps usually offer tailored music that is appropriate for your current task; may it be for working, studying, or physical training. There are also ones that can curate a playlist for you depending on your mood or the weather in your area.
These apps can obtain such information by having them integrated with third-party apps on your device such as your health app or location setting.
Aside from distractions, being disorganized is another factor that cripples productivity. As they say, being physically organized sometimes equates to being mentally organized. This is because physical and even digital clutter can create disarray that can affect your will to work and eventually, your progress.
Hence, there are apps designed to help you store and organize any type of file effectively. Most of the time, productivity apps like these also offer features such as file transfer and synchronization that would come in handy for a remote working setup.
Before proceeding with installing an app, always check if it is compatible with your device's operating system. Go for apps that are both available for Android and Apple devices so you can easily sync the data on it if you ever decide to switch devices.
Some devices also have more internal storage than others, hence, it is important to determine the application's size to gauge whether your device's storage can accommodate it. Lastly, the app should also be able to seamlessly work with your device's software, configuration, browser, and hardware.
Mobile apps can operate either online or offline. Online apps would require Wi-Fi or internet connectivity so they can run their full functions. These are usually high performing apps that integrate with your phone's internet or data, thus, they also consume more battery life.
On the other hand, if you have limited internet connectivity or if you intend to use the app even outdoors to accompany you on your schedules, there are also offline apps that can run even in the absence of an internet connection.
Aside from the app's description that will give you an overview of its functionality, it is equally crucial to look into its ratings. These are actual feedbacks given by previous or current users of the app. These can inform you of their experiences with the app. In turn, you can use their assessment to determine whether it'll meet your needs or not.
Online application stores would usually provide you actual numbers of the app's reviews and the average rating. They would normally indicate how many times the app was installed as well.
As they are deemed useful, most productivity apps require a paid subscription before you can use their full features. Fortunately, most of them also offer free trials wherein you can use the full functions of the app for a period of time before committing.
It is best to utilize the free trial so you can gauge whether the app meets your preferences and contains everything you may need. You can also assess whether it is worth your money. This is necessary so you don’t end up wasting money!
On the other hand, there are also several productivity apps that you can install for free. Some would just give you the option to make in-app purchases for additional features that is worth your investment.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Evernote Corporation Evernote - Notes Organizer & Daily Planner | ![]() | Accomplish More With This Note-Taking App | |
2 | Seekrtech Forest: Stay focused | ![]() | Unplugs You From Distraction in a Purposeful Way | |
3 | Grammarly, Inc Grammarly - Writing Assistant | ![]() | Your Virtual and Real-time Writing Aid | |
4 | Shenzhen Tomato Software Technology Co., Ltd. Focus To-Do: Pomodoro Timer & To Do List | ![]() | Get More Things Done With Better Concentration | |
5 | Doist Inc. Todoist: To-Do List, Tasks & Reminders | ![]() | Highly Functional Task Manager with Wide Integration | |
6 | Endel Sound GmbH Endel: Focus, Sleep, Relax | ![]() | Stay in The Right Headspace With the Right Music | |
7 | SHAREit Technologies Co. Ltd SHAREit - Transfer & Share | ![]() | For Speedy Transfer of Files Between Different Platforms | |
8 | KINGSOFT OFFICE SOFTWARE CORPORATION LIMITED WPS Office | ![]() | Turn Your Smartphone Into an Online Office | |
9 | RescueTime RescueTime | ![]() | Keeping You Mindful About How You Spend Your Day | |
10 | Innoxapps Stay Focused | ![]() | Reduce Overall Digital Disturbance |
If you're looking for a versatile organizer for all your digital notes, tasks, and files, this app is for you. With Evernote, you can write, collect, and capture ideas and compile and organize them in whichever way you like. By combining all these functions into one app, Evernote simplifies note-taking so you can focus more on what's important.
Additionally, Evernote has a search feature that makes it easy to instantly find what you're looking for across all your notes. Moreover, you can sync your notebooks across devices to access them anywhere, anytime. You may also connect the app to your Google and Outlook Calendar to link events and tasks seamlessly.
It's a common challenge for many to resist the urge to reach for their phones while studying. With Forest, you can avoid or at least lessen phone addiction as it blocks out sites, making you concentrate on your tasks without distractions. With over 10 million mobile downloads, this is a must-have productivity app for those needing help staying focused.
What makes Forest popular is its premise that you earn rewards by staying focused. The rewards are the trees, and seeing a forest of your own can help you visualize your progress and motivate you to continue your efforts. While these basic features are promising, the pro version allows you more custom options and the option to plant with friends.
Sometimes our lack of task motivation stems from our lack of confidence in our abilities. This is why tools that allow us to double-check our work are crucial for increased productivity. This app, in particular, is a writing assistant that is dedicated to providing real-time checking for several writing errors.
Grammarly's free version is useful for detecting grammar, spelling, and punctuation inconsistencies; thus help you produce error-free outputs. It also has the ability to provide insights about your sentence's tone, letting you know whether you sound informative, formal, confident, and so on.
The paid subscription offers a more customized checking such as providing suggestions for your work. It also checks sentence structures, inappropriate tones, and overusing of words. It can also check for plagiarism by comparing your writing to several sources across the web.
If you have difficulties managing your time well, this app is for you. Focus-to-Do is a productivity app featuring Pomodoro timers and to-do lists to help you accomplish more tasks with better focus. It's the ultimate app for work, study, or personal use, as it can create tasks, reminders, lists, and events and sync them to your calendar and across all your devices.
What makes this app great is it can track and give detailed statistics of your time distribution and tasks completed, giving you an overview of how you spent your time in the past days, weeks, or months. When adding tasks, you can make them recurring and set reminders, allowing you to build habits more easily. Overall, this is a great focus app if you like making to-do lists and seeing your progress over time.
With Todoist's core functions, you can organize personal or group tasks, which you can manage in collaboration with others. Using the app's free version, you can invite up to 5 people to be your collaborators. You can assign tasks to each other and have access to shared documents, making it useful for team tasks at work.
These created tasks and notes can also be synced automatically to any device that you use since the app is cloud-based. The app is can also integrate seamlessly with other apps like Gmail and Google Calendars so you can turn emails into tasks and sync deadlines on your calendar.
The premium version of the app also provides productivity reports by tracking tasks that you have accomplished. It is also useful for safekeeping important files as it can backup your data. They will be labeled with time and date stamps so you can easily access certain files that you need.
By creating an optimal environment, listening to music can help put us in the right headspace to work or study better. Endel is an app that will assist you achieve this by providing AI-powered sounds backed by science to help you relax and focus. It considers data such as location, environment, and heart rate to choose the optimal soundscape for you.
The app's minimalist and straightforward user interface allows fewer distractions for users. While most features are already available in the Free Edition, the paid version unlocks more music and a background mode feature. Subscription plans start from 1 month to 12 months, and there is also a one-time purchase for lifetime use that unlocks all paid version features.
This app is ideal for those who use multiple devices that contain important files. It will allow you to manage and transfer pictures, music, documents, even apps to other devices without using the internet or an Bluetooth connection. Its highest transfer speed can go up to 20M/s which is way faster than Bluetooth.
SHAREit also allows cross-platform sharing of files, you can use your laptop to send files to your mobile phone and vice versa. It can also simultaneously send files to up to 5 devices through the use of a private hotspot. If you're worried about your privacy, it also features an encryption tool to protect your files.
If you are someone who deals with a lot of digital paperwork and presentations, this app should save you time as well as phone space. It is an all-in-one office suite app that includes writer, presentation, and spreadsheet features. It also supports a multitude of file types such as DOC, TXT, PPT, PDF, HTML, and RTF.
It is also useful in safekeeping your confidential files because of its encryption feature that allows you to put passkeys on them. The app also runs minor spelling checks on your documents. In terms of integration, all documents made in the app are fully compatible with Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
You can also autosave your files on different cloud apps like Google Drive and Dropbox. Aside from that, it can also come in handy with the WFH setup as it allows easy sharing of documents via different platforms like Email, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, and Twitter.
RescueTime is a time tracking app that records how and where you spend your time online. It has the capability to analyze your daily activities on your phone by detecting which applications you often use and how much time you spend on them.
It can make you realize which activities or behaviors have been holding you back from getting tasks done. Then once you've come to that realization, you can also utilize it to set screen time goals based on your personal targets and the app will notify you in real-time if you accomplish it.
If you want to strictly implement discipline on your workday, its FocusTime feature can help you a lot. It can temporarily block your go-to procrastination websites so you can be protected from all digital interruptions.
Just like any other focus applications, Stay Focused is dedicated to helping you concentrate on your work sans the digital distractions. It not only restrict apps but also blocks keywords and websites. It gives you full access to configure the settings and blocking limits.
You can use it to set a daily usage limit for apps and websites so you can still use them during breaks while ensuring that you do not go beyond the allocated time. It offers 3 modes - normal, lock, and strict mode.
The strict mode prevents you from uninstalling the app and changing settings even if you feel like you cannot keep up with the restriction already. This is ideal for people who cannot keep their hands off their phones during work hours, causing them to accomplish nothing.
One of best ways to recharge your mental batteries and to ensure your well-being is by exercising. Check out these articles reviewing items that can accompany you on your workout sessions to boost your focus and productivity.
It has been long believed that technology poses more distractions for us. But the emergence of productivity apps just proves that there is a silver lining. In fact, these apps can even aid us with our everyday tasks - given that we know how to use it to our advantage. We hope that you found the right productivity app for your work or study routine this 2021. Keep grinding!
Author: R. Victoriano
No. 1: Evernote Corporation|Evernote - Notes Organizer & Daily Planner
No. 2: Seekrtech|Forest: Stay focused
No. 3: Grammarly, Inc|Grammarly - Writing Assistant
No. 4: Shenzhen Tomato Software Technology Co., Ltd.|Focus To-Do: Pomodoro Timer & To Do List
No. 5: Doist Inc.|Todoist: To-Do List, Tasks & Reminders
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