The hectic pace of life has all of us running crazy trying to figure out how to adapt and remain competitive. The use of technology has become essential for this process, and those who don’t catch up with that are going to have a hard time staying in the race.
There are many things that people can do to improve their efforts and achieve better results. The focus of this article is to give you some great mobile app alternatives designed for a more productive workflow.
The following top 5 apps are in no particular order, and I selected them because they are practical and easy to use.
1. Freedom
The beauty of the Freedom app is not found so much in what it offers regarding features as it is in what it offers in terms of blocking distractions. It will shut down any messages or accessibility to websites you only use for entertainment and leisure.
2. Todoist
The Todoist app is ideal for those looking to create a more reliable schedule that they can manage properly. It is perfect for helping you organize your daily tasks as it lets you know when you are due on any of them with reminders and deadlines.
3. Trello
There are many great organizations and schedule managers, but Trello is the one you want when involving other people in those tasks. You can assign projects to groups, and people can review and edit that content as part of the team.
4. Evernote
When you think of an app that can take notes, organize ideas, and capture notes with audio and video, you will find that Evernote is perfect for those who don’t want to be typing every time they have something to add to their projects.
5. Habitica
The greatest thing you can do with your daily tasks is added gamification to the mix. Habitica is not your average habit tracker as it provides the incentive of allowing you to add some fun to the process and progress in the game.
Note on productivity apps: There are countless other apps out there that you can consider for this purpose, but I wanted to mention the ones I believe to be most valuable and popular but also free to use. Some of them have extra features that require a purchase, but most are functional with the free version.
Other helpful tips on staying productive
The following handy tips will help boost your productivity further. I recommend that you keep them in mind at all times; this will be a perfect addition to your existing productivity efforts. The more you turn these tips into habits, the better your results will be when you are looking to become more efficient.
Keep your body in top shape
If you want to stay as productive as possible and to have the energy to handle your daily tasks, your body needs to be in top condition. I recommend that you exercise regularly and that you take the time to maintain good nutritional habits.
Don’t try to take on big projects in one sitting
One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they often try to take on large projects in a single work session. This is usually going to lead them to feel burnt out, and that is going to make everything even more complicated. Break big projects down into smaller parts, and you can handle them more efficiently.
Stop trying to multitask
The whole concept of multitasking has proven to be less than favorable for productivity. Focus on one task at a time. You can prioritize tasks based on their urgency and the amount of thinking or concentration needed. For urgent ones, the ones that require your full attention and creativity are better tackled at the height of your energy. Is this early morning or late evening? You decide. On the other hand, those urgent and menial tasks can be done when your energy is at its lowest. If all they require is to check the box or get it done, reserve those tasks at a time during your day when you can do a lot of them without getting mentally fatigued.
Keep your work area organized and clean
Nothing can be more demoralizing to a person than working in a dirty and disorganized location. The best way to handle this situation is to ensure that you are taking the time to tidy up and ensure that your work area is clean and properly organized. This is important because it gives you easy access to everything you need.
Take short breaks
A 15-minute break after hours of hard work is a perfect strategy. Sometimes, the process takes 5-minute breaks every half hour or 25 minutes. This is known as the Pomodoro method. The short breaks allow the mind to re-focus and refresh. When you get stuck and creative ideas don’t seem to flow, take a short break to reset. Breaks could be in the form of taking a walk, stretching, scanning pages of literature (online or print), making coffee, talking to a friend or colleague, or journalling. Whatever works to take your mind off the current task and re-calibrate.
Reevaluate your time of leisure
Some people spend a little too much time in leisure, and this is often something that can affect their productivity. You should take a look at how much time you are spending on activities that are not related to work and self-development. Sometimes, there are significant productivity improvements when you take some extra time for work.
Final thoughts
Anything you can do to boost your productivity will always be necessary. Make sure that you are taking the time to work on enhancing your productivity, which will give you better results in terms of your performance and your ability to handle all kinds of tasks efficiently.
