Humans are list-makers. We write down grocery lists on the backs of Target receipts, we prioritize the list of TV shows to binge on Netflix over the weekend, and most of us can recite the list of all 31 Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors. (Oh, that’s just us? Awkward.)
Lists keep us sane, keep us productive, and keep us from forgetting things when life gets hectic. They can relieve stress, helping you know that a thought won’t get lost in your busy mind.
But sometimes even our list-making gets out of control. Distractions are inevitable, and our highly complex and ridiculously frustrating human minds go to town making connections and adding ideas.
Our lists begin to multiply, spawning new lists until we feel disorganized again. How can we maintain organization without sacrificing efficiency and without losing our minds in the process?
If you’re looking for ways to increase productivity, whether in your own personal life or in a professional setting, keep reading – we’ve put together a few of the best productivity apps and tools in the market today. While this is by no means a comprehensive collection, these three are the most easily accessible and the most effective productivity tools we have found so far.
-
Magnet (CrowdCafe)
Our first featured productivity app is a computer screen organizer for your Mac that can help you multitask in a much more effective way. Gone are the days of minimizing and maximizing windows until you’ve forgotten which one you’re even on.
Magnet helps you avoid opening one trillion tabs on every browser until your computer explodes, and for that we are grateful.
The concept is simple: Magnet lets you choose which portion of the screen you would like a window to take up and then keeps it that size as you work in multiple places. The windows themselves “snap” into place on the computer screen based on which setting you choose in the app.
For example, if you’d like your screen in thirds, then the windows snap into those three sections when opened and placed. There are also customizable keyboard shortcut options so you can personalize the window management experience according to your specific work environment.
Apple listed this app among its editorial team’s choices for “Invaluable Utilities,” so that has to mean something about its capabilities. It has an overall 4.9-star average rating on the App Store, and at $2.99 the price can’t be beat.
-
Fantastical
This one is a game changer, guys. Fantastical, an all-in-one productivity app from the App Store, holds a wide variety of your organizational information with ease, almost like an electronic virtual assistant if they could predict your every request.
This one app includes a calendar, a meeting coordinator tool, weather and event updates, and to-do list generators.
One of our favorite parts of this app is the meeting/invitation feature. With a few clicks you can create an event (for example, a meeting to brainstorm for a banquet your organization has coming up) and invite others to view the details. You can also include the Zoom or virtual hangout link in the invitation so that everyone has access.
If the invited individuals can’t make that specific time slot, there is also an option for them to select “propose another time” and offer a rescheduling. When it’s time for the meeting, a big “Join” link pops up so all everyone has to do is click one button and you’re all linked.
The calendar itself can be customized to show notifications for the things you love. You can “subscribe” to different calendars including Finance, Entertainment (TV shows, etc.), and Astronomy (moon phases and celestial activity) calendars.
-
Slack
For a group working on a project together, Slack is one of the top programs for staying in touch and collaborating on material with your team.
Its easy-to-use format lets you create conversations between collaborators, post documents for editing, and keep track of deadlines and due dates. Slack’s notification system helps each individual in the group maintain their own schedule.
You can create your own keyboard shortcuts for this web-based app, and once you start with Slack, the possibilities are endless for your group.
Our list only included three of the best productivity apps, but there are so many more out there. Check these out, and then let us know which other apps you have found to be helpful as you work toward higher productivity and efficiency in your workplace/personal life.
