Apps To Improve Productivity

Hang on; surely anything that glues you to a mobile phone or notepad cannot be described as productive.

We need to be less engaged with mobile technology to be fully functioning, productive people, not more engaged, right?

Well, yes and no.  The vast majority of digital technology is designed to make us lazier and less actively involved with the world around us. Social networks allow us to be super-social without actually visiting anyone. Amazon and iTunes allow us to read all the latest books and listen to all the latest music without visiting a single bookstore or record store. Instagram allows us to let every restaurant and home-cooked meal go cold while we photograph it from every angle.

Is any of this good? In moderation, yes. It is all spectacularly counterproductive when creating a productive environment, but this is the world we live in so we need to make the best of it. Or at least the younger generations seem to be.

What we need are apps that compliment patience and perseverance – two values some would argue are in decline. So let's try and steer towards anything technical that can benefit our kids, working people and those who may be studying.

Here are some apps that can help improve your life and enhance your productivity.

Productivity App one: Any.do

You might be a freelancer working from home who needs reminders to get out of your pyjamas, shower and present yourself in a dignified manner for the day ahead. You might be a busy executive who’s simply too busy being disorganised to meet a single deadline. Or maybe you’re just one of those people who wings it through the day and wonders why your to-do list still reads like a Christmas shopping list.

If so, this is the app for you; all your daily tasks, chores, meetings, notes and to-do lists right there on your phone with reminders. You can even use the voice-entry feature to add tasks.

The Any.do app is free for android and iOS with, of course, advanced features if you’re prepared to pay for them.

Productivity app two: Todoist

No, not a tattooist with a speech impediment, Todoist is another app designed to get you operating like a human calendar. It’s gimmick-free, easy to use and allows you to use colour-coded priority levels for all your day-to-day tasks.

The app is described as ‘free forever, though premium subscriptions unlock additional features’ whatever that means.

Productivity app three: CamScanner

In the old days – about three weeks ago – we got all our documents in a neat pile, waddled off to the nearest computer shop and paid someone to scan our files and give them back to us on a memory stick. So last century.

Now, with the CamScanner app, your phone’s camera becomes an instant portable document scanner. No messing around, you can turn paper documents into PDF or JPG electronic files ready to send.

And yes, it’s free to a point. The free-option is supported by ads and watermarks, while the premium paid option eliminates these and adds extra features such as OCR editing and auto-upload.

Productivity app four: Nationally recognised business course

And yes, there’s technology involved with this one as well, though it’s more an application for higher business success than an app. That said, you can study for that success through online modules in your own time and emerge ready for paid on-the-job training that sets you up for a very productive business career. Check out all the available courses HERE.