Seven apps to boost productivity

Our digital activities have skyrocketed with classrooms and workplaces going online amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, many have shifted to mobile phones, laptops and similar devices to attend meetings, classes, take notes, etc.

This puts us in a precarious position (thanks to the numerous distracting apps vying for our attention) to procrastinate for hours and not get anything done. So to fight fire with fire, here are some apps you can download for free from any app store to stay on track.

Google Calendar

This is a must if you have schedules or routines to stick to. The app integrates with your Gmail account to directly schedule your meetings and events from emails to the calendar and reminds you beforehand (you can adjust how early you would like to be reminded). The app also allows you to colour code your events which help to stay organised and view an entire months schedule at a glance in the widgets.

Google Drive/Dropbox

Both these apps perform the same function: easy file transfer and storage across several devices. Both also come with in-built document scanners so that you can directly upload your assignments to the cloud. Moreover, they also let you view slides and e-books if they are in PDF format.

Forest

This app is designed to keep you away from your phone and focused on the work you are supposed to be doing. Just set the duration of time you don't want to be distracted and begin and the app rewards you with a virtual tree every hour you focus (you can have a forest of trees if you focus long enough). Additionally, it also provides insight and detailed reports about the time you spend focusing while simultaneously blocking all distracting notifications. If you want to combat phone addiction and boost your off-screen productivity, this app is for you.

Google Keep

This is a simple note-taking app that allows you to both colour code different notes and creates to-do lists that can be easily re-ordered or checked off from the home screen. It can also help to set reminders, store voice recording and annotate images. Google Keep lets you sync notes from phone to desktop via web browsers.

Evernote

This is another note-taking app that is more versatile and offers a plethora of other features. Evernote lets you sync notes on any device with the app. Additionally, it allows users to make their tables and schedules and scan and store their documents, including handwritten ones.

Money Manager by RealByte

This is a simple financial management app that lets you track daily income and expenditures while providing weekly or monthly graphs and reports about financial habits. The app can also help make regular credit card payments with helpful reminders. It is very easy to use and includes a widget that displays monthly cash flow on the home screen.

YourHour

This app is for those trying to curb phone usage and wonder where most of the time goes. YourHour provides insights about how much time the user spends on each app and helps limit over usage by providing reminders, auto locks and a dark mode (which allows users to take a break by turning off all notifications). This app also provides monthly and weekly reports on the time spent on each app to help users truly understand where all their time goes.

Getting most of these apps should significantly improve your productivity and make youbetter-focused. Keep in mind, that although these apps are valuable tools in your arsenal to stay on track, it is still up to you to be productive.