Boosting your productivity levels
It seems as though each day a new, cutting-edge app is released, making it difficult to stay on top of which app is the best at doing everything you need it to do. A recent survey by Conosco looked at 44 of the most popular apps in eight different categories, in order to give you a quick overview of which app may work best for you.
Below is an overview of each category on the study, many of which you may have seen here previous on AG (click to enlarge):
Most popular to do list apps:
Any.do, Todo7, Todoist, Carrot, Wunderlist, HabitRPG, and PocketLists
How are they different? Each app has its pros and cons (see the infographic for more information), depending on how you need it to work for you.
Todo7 is considered the world’s most powerful collaborative to-do list and task manager, but Wunderlist can manage to-do lists across multiple platforms. If you need more motivation to stay on top of your lists, Carrot may be the app for you: every time you complete a task you are rewarded. Each of this apps offers something useful in terms of productivity, you may have to try them all and see which one works best for you.
Most popular project management apps:
Basecamp, Trello, Asana, RedBooth, Redmine, AtTask, Wrike, and Kickoff
Again, each app offers pros and cons and these will vary greatly from user to user, but, in general, Basecamp and Trello are your best bets. Your budget may be a big consideration with these apps because features and pricing vary greatly.
Most popular time management apps:
RescueTime, Atracker, Toggl, Eternity Time Log, Fanurio, Now Then
Out the apps featured, Now Then is my favorite. It is easy to use and you can export your data, however, it is only available for iOS, which could be a drawback for a lot of companies. RescueTime is a good way to see where you, or your team, spend time. It is compatible with multiple operating systems, making it a better choice than Now Then for some people.
Most popular apps for staying focused:
Focus@will, Focus booster, Stayfocused, SelfControl, Concentrate, FocusWriter, and Anti-Social
Depending on what you need to stay focused on, whether it is a to-do list, or the beginning of a novel, one of these apps can help. Focus@will works well for everyone as it plays background music to help ramp up productivity. Anti-Social is also good for those of us who are distracted by social media, as it turns off these distractions. SelfControl is similar to Anti-Social, but SelfControl is only for Mac users. All offer a way to keep you on task, depending on what distracts you the most.
Most popular goal tracking apps:
Lift.do, GoalsOnTrack, LifeTick, and Habit List
Each of these apps will help you list and stay on top of your goals. However, keep in mind, Lift is only for mobile devices, Habit List is only for iPhone, and GoalsOnTrack does not offer a free version. If you can manage with a mobile-only version, Lift.do is a great option.
Most popular file storage apps:
Stand-alone options: Dropbox and iCloud
Integrated options: Google Drive, OneDrive (also part of Office 365), iCloud (as part of iWork)
Most of these are familiar, allowing you to store and share your documents and photos as needed.
Most popular reminder apps:
Due, Checkmark 2
Both of these options are only for iOS devices, but both are good options if you do not already have a favorite reminder app.
Most popular apps for automating everything:
IFTTT, AutomatiIt-Automate Your Droid, Zapier, Hootsuite, and SortMyBox
IFTTT is far and away my favorite automation app. AG has frequently featured it as the best way to make apps “talk” to one another. Zapier serves a similar function. Hootsuite and SortMyBox organize your inbox and help automate native inbox tasks, but will not help you automate tasks as well as IFTTT or Zapier.
