13 Productivity Apps That Will Change The Game For Tackling Your To-Do List
Do you have a lot of tasks and projects to get through? Productivity apps make it easier for you to organize and manage your workload more efficiently and effectively. Whether you're a productivity pro who loves developing to-do lists or a newbie who wants to learn how to create a to-do list, there is probably a productivity app available that will change the game for you.
Productivity apps have become popular over the years, as they can improve your life by making it more productive, easier, and balanced while you learn how to better manage your time. A wide variety of productivity apps are on the market, including digital to-do list apps, project management apps, and workflow apps, and the productivity world is constantly evolving. Nearly every productivity app includes some kind of to-do list feature, but some apps are more simple list apps, while others are more complex, taking the form of a fully realized project management platform.
Here is everything you need to know about productivity apps, their benefits, and the different types available to help you get stuff done and even achieve a better work-life balance when working from home.
What is a productivity app?
A productivity app is a software application that makes you, your workplace, or your team more efficient at work or school. You can find productivity apps in the form of extensions to install on your internet browser or apps you download on your mobile device. These apps have a number of benefits, including improving your organization, helping you stick to the task at hand, and increasing your focus.
No matter your situation, you can find something that meets your needs, from creating healthier habits to managing tasks and time to scheduling. That said, it's important to figure out the best task management method for you before looking for the right productivity app. For instance, determine how you keep track of your tasks and projects, how you assign them to a particular group, what your process is like for completing tasks and notifying others, and if you want to enable other people to add details. Figuring out these details will help you find the appropriate app for your needs.
Below are some of the best productivity tools and apps on the market.
Any.do is the app for dragging and dropping
Considered one of the most well-designed and aesthetically pleasing apps out there, Any.do is a to-do list app that allows you to mark tasks complete by swiping them through a drag-and-drop interface. The app gives you the option of receiving push notifications in the morning about everything you have scheduled that day. Any.do also has some awesome modern features, from adding tasks or projects through voice commands to deleting a particular task by shaking your smartphone.
Furthermore, you can easily integrate this productivity app with Slack or Alexa to collaborate with other people. The app also boasts an excellent scheduling assistant, cross-platform capability, an intuitive and attractive user interface, and lots of compatibility, with apps for macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS. Any.do is an excellent to-do list app, but it also includes the capability for reminders, scheduling, calendars, and organizational project management. While the basic version of Any.do is free, you can also download a premium version for $3 per month.
Todoist turns your tasks into a formal schedule
Todoist is a cloud-based app that can help you plan both your day and the upcoming weeks. You can use the to-do list app to remind yourself of any tasks or projects you need to work on by typing them into the app in an informal way. The app takes your casual message and creates a formal schedule for you to follow based on the language you use. It is simple to sign up, and you can use hashtags to categorize the reminders within the app. Todoist also enables you to manage group projects by automatically assigning tasks to various project members.
It's also possible to integrate the productivity app with more than 60 other apps, including Slack, Dropbox, Alexa, and Amazon. This integration capability makes Todoist an excellent choice for those who want to connect their workplace and personal to-do lists. A basic free version of Todoist is available, but you can also opt for the Pro version for $4 per month or the Business version for $6 per user per month.
Notion is a collaborative digital workspace
Notion is a free app with a digital workspace for developing to-do lists, journaling, taking notes, organizing work and school tasks, and creating mood boards. This productivity app rose in popularity in the midst of the pandemic, particularly within the TikTok community. Notion is an excellent option for teams who want to work together in one workspace, because the app allows you to develop shareable content, customizable roadmaps and workflows, and living documents. You can also use or adapt templates within the app for onboarding, weekly agendas, to-do lists, and meetings.
Notion offers a number of resources, including webinars, tutorials, guides, blogs, design documents, calendars, project management tools, and wikis. The app is compatible with multiple platforms, including PC, iOS, and Android. You can use Notion for free, or you can subscribe to one of the app's subscription plans. The Personal Pro plan costs $4 per month, while the Team plan costs $8 per month, or you can choose to purchase an Enterprise plan.
Freedom offers freedom from distractions
If you get easily distracted while trying to work, Freedom is probably the app for you. The Freedom app blocks social media sites and other websites, including streaming platforms, online shopping sites, and more, that can distract you. There are many benefits to a phone-free morning (or anytime really). When you use this productivity app, you can block out all of the noise for improved focus on the task or project at hand. You can opt to work entirely offline or block websites either through a customized schedule or for a set, timed duration to prevent yourself from wasting time while trying to complete projects.
The Freedom app also offers ambient noise and allows you to make project notes and track your session history. You can even sync the app across all of your devices to keep yourself free of distractions everywhere. Use this productivity app in combo with time management, to-do, timer, and focus apps for optimal productivity. The premium version of the app features partner discounts, recurring scheduled sessions, and unlimited sessions and devices. You can find Freedom on iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows with extensions available for Opera, Edge, Firefox, and Chrome. A free trial is available, but, otherwise, the app costs $8.99 monthly, $3.33 per month for an annual subscription, and $159.99 to purchase and use indefinitely.
If This Then That (IFTTT) is a user-friendly, integrative app
IFTTT is an automation app that integrates all your apps across your devices and helps them work together, thereby boosting your productivity by connecting and automating all your top devices and apps.
For example, you can use IFTTT to connect your Google Calendar app to your weather app to make sure you receive calendar notifications based on the weather forecast. If the forecast says it might rain, you would receive a notification to take an umbrella with you for the day. Helpful, right? You can also connect your social media apps so when you post on Twitter, the post also appears on other platforms, such as Instagram.
This productivity app is super user-friendly and has more than 700 services available for automation. The basic version of IFTTT is free, while the Pro version costs $2.50 per month, and the Pro+ version comes to $5 per month.
Asana is a popular project management app for teams
The Asana app is an excellent option for workflow management. While you can certainly use the productivity app to manage your individual to-do list, projects, and tasks, the app works best for managing work amongst collaborative teams. Whether you are looking for a workflow management app for your business or for another group or team you are part of, Asana is one of the best apps out there. This productivity app offers one comprehensive platform for managing your tasks, sharing files with other team members, and connecting with your teammates to accomplish tasks and projects.
Asana boasts a modern, fast, and flexible design with plenty of features to suit your particular needs. The productivity app also includes a Gantt-style timeline view that simplifies the managing of any dependencies. A free version of Asana is available for up to 15 people, but you can also buy a premium version with an annual plan that costs $10.99 per month.
Structured lays out your day in a visual way
Structured is a planning app with a calendar that makes it simple to plan all of your projects and tasks and lay out your entire day in a visual way. The productivity app lays out everything you need in one display, so you know exactly what to expect each day.
Structured is entirely customizable and includes plenty of options for themes, images, and colors, so you can create a to-do list and calendar that match your unique personality and needs. Select from more than 500 different icons to customize your everyday tasks and projects, and then put together a daily schedule that works for you.
You can include both one-time and recurring tasks and projects in the app's calendar section and write down any extra tasks in the Structured inbox. A free version of Structured is available, but you can also buy a Pro version of Structured as a one-time purchase for $29.99 or pay monthly for $1.49 each month.
Evernote is the app for note taking and reminders
The Evernote app is the go-to app for taking notes. This productivity app offers several methods for taking down reminders and notes, including PDFs, Word documents, videos, photos, full lists, and voice memos. Any notes or reminders you add to the app will sync to all of your various devices, from smartphones to laptops to tablets and more. Evernote's excellent search feature also allows you to easily look for notes and tasks by combining different tags, locations, and keywords to find what you're searching for.
Evernote is available for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android and can be integrated with Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and Slack. A free version of the productivity app is available with limited features, but you can also buy a premium version of the app for $70 per year or $8 per month, which includes access to extra storage, offline files, and password protection for your notebooks.
Forest keeps you motivated by planting virtual (and actual) trees
The Forest app is great for keeping you motivated. It allows you to plant a virtual tree when you want to focus on a task. This virtual tree grows and evolves while you work on your tasks and projects, but if you get too distracted, start procrastinating, or walk away before your project gets completed, the virtual tree will die. If you struggle with getting distracted or not staying focused on the task at hand, this app can help you become more motivated and focused.
Forest even provides a personality test to help you determine your focus needs. The productivity app also doesn't simply grow virtual trees. Forest partners with Trees for the Future, a tree-planting organization that plants real trees with virtual coins from app users. Isn't that cool?
Forest is available for Android, iOS, and Chrome. The Chrome extension of the app is available for free, though you can purchase the iOS app for $3.99. The Android version of the app is also free with in-app purchases.
Workflowy makes organization fun
Workflowy allows you to gamify your productivity by checking things off your to-do list. If you love tracking your progress with to-do lists but tend to get overwhelmed with complex organizational tools, this productivity app is for you. Workflowy is a simple app that provides a clear picture of everything you have to do. The productivity app also offers infinite nesting options for you to develop all of your tasks and ideas. You can even collapse or expand those tasks and ideas whenever you want to allow for more or less visibility.
You can access this productivity app through smartphones such as Android or iOS, native apps for desktops including Linux, macOS, and Windows, or a web-based interface. Workflowy is super simple to use and understand. A free version of the productivity app is available, but there is also a Pro version with premium support and features. This version costs $4.99 month-to-month or $4.08 per month for an annual subscription.
Google Keep helps you capture otherwise fleeting ideas
Google Keep is a top reminder and note-taking app. This free productivity app enables you to add creative ideas you think of throughout the day, follow up on those ideas later, and take notes about items or tasks you need to remember at a later time. Google Keep provides intuitive and simple functionality with team sharing and colored labeling. The app is also fully integrated with Gmail, Google Docs, and other Google offerings.
You can choose to share your notes from Google Keep with other employees or team members when working together on projects. The app displays working lists or notes for specific tasks automatically until you have completed or archived those tasks. You can also pin or color-code notes for easier access. Additionally, when you save articles on Google Keep, the app populates the key image and article headline, so it's easier to find the article later. Google Keep is available for PC, Android, and iOS.
OmniFocus is a comprehensive task management app
OmniFocus is a task management app that comprehensively organizes all of your tasks and projects. This productivity app boasts an amazing user interface that is incredibly easy to use.
OmniFocus is meant for people who follow the Getting Things Done or GTD productivity and organizational method developed by David Allen. As the productivity app is geared towards individuals who want to manage their tasks on their own, it does not include any collaboration capability. One of the app's top features is that it allows you to add lengthy details to your tasks.
A free 14-day trial period of OmniFocus is available. Following the trial, the app costs $9.99 per month. You can save 16% if you subscribe annually instead of monthly. You can also pay a one-time payment of $49.99 for a standard license or $99.99 for a Pro license to buy the software for macOS 11 or newer devices.
TickTick is a simple organizational tool loaded with features
TickTick is a to-do list app that offers multiple features and is simple to use. This productivity app is the way to go if you are searching for a simple-to-use app with several different features. TickTick can help you boost your productivity and organize your schedule in a detailed way.
The app emphasizes collaboration with the ability to assign a task or share a list with a particular team member. TickTick also features diverse cross-platform compatibility for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. A watchOS app even allows you to keep track of all your to-do lists from your wristwatch.
A free version of the app is available that offers access to basic features, including some cool ones such as location-based reminders, voice input, options for recurring tasks, and the capability to turn emails into tasks (nice!). TickTick is also available in a Premium version with features that include customizable filters, the capability to add start and end dates to calendar projects, and the ability to access prior changes on project and task lists.