2 Apps that SUPERCHARGED my productivity during lockdown
Tags: productivity
Published: 2020-10-28 17:49:19

The Covid-19 pandemic was my first taste of working from home. The first week went by in a blur of confusion and while **I didn't get much done, I still somehow ended up feeling exhausted and overworked.** 

It was clear that over the years, **my productivity as an engineer had become so deeply entangled with my presence in a professional setting**, that I would have to rethink my approach to work in order to get anything done.  

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#**The Problem**

Like any good engineer, **I started out by breaking my problem into manageable chunks:**

**1. Tracking Time:** I needed a way to keep track of the **number of hours of actual productive work** I did, minus the intermittent distractions that working from home brings.

**2. Tracking Tasks:** I needed to quickly **write down** and **prioritize** all the **tasks that were discussed in the multitude of zoom calls**. In addition to that, I also needed to keep track of **small tasks that were weighing on my mind** like following up on messages/emails I had sent out or points I needed to discuss with particular co-workers when they became available.

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# **The Solution**

After some research and trying out a bunch of different apps, I settled on 2 that would solve both of the aforementioned problems: 

1.  [Toggl track](https://www.toggl.com/track/) (formerly toggl)
2. [OneNote](https://www.onenote.com) 

My **criteria** was simple, I wanted a **quick and dirty solution** to my problems that was going to be **inexpensive** or, even better, **FREE**. 

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## **Toggl track**

![toggl.PNG](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1603215553574/me9xRq5Rj.png)

What I loved about toggl is **how easy it is to get up and running** and the fact that it has a  **useable free tier**, unlike many freemium apps these days.
Toggl comes with mobile, desktop and web apps with real time data syncing between them. **Oh and did I mention, its free !**

I set up 3 very basic projects on toggl : 
- **work**
- **work break** (for when I took a coffee break or phone break or watching random youtube videos break; while working)
- **personal productivity** (non-work, but productive stuff, such as writing this article)
 
These enabled me to track just enough of my time to make me **accountable and productive without it feeling like a chore.**

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## **OneNote**

Chances are, you've probably used/ heard of OneNote before. But did you know you can make **kanban boards in OneNote** ? ... well sort of. 

That was a game changer for me. 

Overnight OneNote went from being an app I occasionally used for note taking to a staple app that always remains open on my laptop.  
  
 
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> ##  Sorry trello, you have been replaced.   

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![onenote-capture.gif](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1603439985393/0i9q1y9mA.gif)

With three columns set up for **"Waiting"**, **"Todo"** and **"Complete"** items, I was able to build a very simplistic task tracking system that works for me. 

I can jot down tasks during meetings in the "Waiting" section while they come in thick and fast. There is no limit on the length and type of content I can add to a task so **I can mix text, images and doodles**. Then, using OneNote's convenient ability to drag and drop bullet points, I can move the ones I want to work on into the "Todo" section. 

Once done, I can simply drag a task, along with all associated data over to the "Complete" section. If I want to record the time at which a particular item is completed, a timestamp is just a right-click away.

The sheer simplicity of using OneNote for task tracking is just mind blowing for me. It makes me wonder why more people don't use it, **specially since its free**. 

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# **tl;dr**

Using OneNote and Toggl track has allowed me to *reach*, or dare I say, *surpass* my prior levels of productivity. I'm feeling a lot less stressed out because I don't have to worry about remembering small tasks. I can navigate the distractions that come with working from home, satisfied in the knowledge that I wont forget anything. And at the end of the day, I'm no longer left wondering about where all the time went.

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# **PS**

If you have any productivity tips/hacks/ideas that have worked for you, please can leave them in the comments below or tweet them to me at [@thesohaibtariq](https://twitter.com/thesohaibtariq). As a **self professed serial procrastinator, I need all the productivity advice I can get** 😀

**If you found this article even remotely helpful, it would mean the world to me if you could share it with your friends**. I'm trying to give this blogging thing a go, positive feedback will help me persevere through the initial lonely phase.