7 Best Apps to Boost Your Productivity
Tags: Apps, Working From Home, Productivity, Procrastination

Most of us are working from home now, and we can all agree it’s a bit of an adjustment. When I first started working from home, I had trouble staying focused and getting things done. So have you, right? Unless you’re a Buddhist monk, of course, in which case I don’t think can help you :)

Today I’m sharing my list of apps that have helped me concentrate and boost my productivity:

1. Forest

Forest is my personal favorite. It has totally changed my perspective on how I use my phone, and since I’ve started using it, my productivity skyrocketed

What it does, is block your phone screen for up to 2 hours while growing trees in your personal forest.

All you need to do is to choose the time interval that you want to spend phone-free, and a tree will start growing. But if you quit the app until the time is up, the tree dies. And we don’t want that, right?

My personal forest

Every time you grow a tree, you get points that you can invest in new fancy trees. You can also compete with friends or grow trees together.

Since I started using it, I’ve realized how many times I unconsciously pick up my phone without even realizing it. And bam — the next thing I know, I wasted 10 minutes looking at Instagram memes. So Forest has definitely helped me become more conscious about my phone time and stay focused on the task I’m doing.

2. Flipd

When I get tired of growing trees, I switch to Flipd.

The concept is similar, but Flipd is not about productivity strictly speaking. You can choose categories like Hobby or Exercise and set a goal for how much time you want to spend doing it, and see the stats later.

It also has more social features. For example, you can join communities for your class or office or create your own.

What is also cool is that they have a music library with sounds to help you focus.

3. Be Focused

It’s a basic Pomodoro timer that I use on my desktop. If you use it right, it will help you both reduce your work time and be more productive.

You can make the intervals as long as you want then, and the same goes for the breaks.

My day is typically eight 45-minute intervals, and I add one more if I’m working on something urgent, or just not that tired. As for breaks, I typically do 5-minute breaks in between and 15 minutes after every third interval.

That brings me to 7 hours of pure work time, which, again, if you’re smart about it, is typically even more than you get during the 8 hours at the office.

But for it to work, you have to be strict. For example, I don’t allow distractions while the timer’s running. If something crosses my mind in the process, like something I need to buy or do around the house, I write it down and do it during the break.

4. eyeCare

This is a basic Google Chrome extension that reminds you to do some eye exercises every 20 minutes or so. I use this one but there is plenty of others you could use.

For a Windows desktop or laptop, I really liked eyeleo. The reason I like it, it’s because it blocks your screen, so you have nothing to do but do the exercises. And believe me, the temptation to turn it off is high.

On that note, I also recommend investing in blue-light blocking glasses. You can do it even if you don’t wear prescription glasses. I’ve definitely noticed that my eyes feel less tired at night since I’ve started using them.

5. Headspace

Meditation has been proven to improve cognitive function, help you focus, and make you more productive. And it takes just 10 minutes a day to get all those benefits. Seems like a great deal to me.

I recommend meditating first thing in the morning, just because it’s easier to make it a habit. Also, when you’re done, you feel tuned into work mode right away.

But you can also do it during one of the breaks on BeFocused. It really helps after these long Zoom calls we all have now or if someone on Slack pissed you off.

You can use any app for that matter, Headspace it’s my personal favourite UX-wise, and for someone who struggles with their sleep, their whole sleep section is amazing.

If you don’t meditate yer (which you should!), I explain the basics here.

6. Workflowy

Workflowy is a very straightforward app for making all kinds of hierarchical lists. It’s super easy to make sense of and you can use if for anything.

Personally I use it to plan my day, make quick to-do lists, and take down notes during meetings.

It’s also a perfect place to store all your lists in one place if you’re a productivity maniac like me.

So these are the apps that have helped me a lot during the quarantine. Hope you find my list useful!