The Best Life Hacking Apps to Maximize Your Productivity
Productivity has become a trending buzzword in the post-pandemic age as businesses and individuals are looking to make the most of their time and get as much done as humanely possible. This performance metric is getting more attention as people look to establish a proper work-life balance and ensure they overhaul their working regime.
Whether working a 9-to-5 job or running a business, you can easily get distracted by less important tasks thanks to the profusion of technology in the form of smartphones and the internet. Many professionals tend to lose themselves down the social media rabbit hole during work or start working on easier or more enjoyable things.
As a consequence, they delay important tasks, procrastinate unnecessarily, and get frustrated when working overtime.
Since the modern workforce typically comprises millennials and Gen-Xers, using technology to get things done is an established practice. As a result, you can find an app or software for almost anything, including productivity enhancement.
In this post, we’ll share eleven life-hacking apps that can maximize your productivity and help you stay focused and organized at all times.
Let’s dive right into them!
11 Productivity Apps to Get More Done in Less Time
1. Rize
Many professionals working with busy routines are so immersed in their work that they do not remember what they did all day. Some feel they haven’t done as much as they could have, making them feel anxious or frustrated. Rize is a one-of-a-kind app for Desktops that helps you use your time wisely.
The app monitors your routine and categorizes your work activity to provide valuable insights to help improve productivity. In other words, it can help you discover time gaps and build better habits to bridge them.
The automatic tracking also enables users to be more focused on their actions since they’re actively being reminded of how many times they spend on distractions and context switching.
2. Wanderlust
Wanderlust is one of the most popular productivity apps in the productivity market as it helps professionals in every area of their professional and personal lives. It’s free to use on the web via any browser and available for download on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
The key function of this life hacking app is to make your to-do list available anywhere, anytime. Once you set up an account, all your items are saved in the cloud. So, whether you’re planning your work routine or going grocery shopping, you can access it using your computer or smartphone as long as you have an internet connection.
How does this improve productivity? Well, this app improves overall memory by reinforcing short-term memory through continuous checking and recall.
3. Freedom
Distractions are the leading productivity killer. Whether it’s social media, a phone call, or the news, any form of distraction can cause us to lose focus and waste heaps of time. While we can’t block out everything that disrupts our routine, what we can do is block specific apps or websites that we tend to visit whenever we feel like going off course.
This is what Freedom does. When you download the app on your computer or smartphone (Android or iOS), you can type temporarily block access to certain apps or sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, ABC News, etc.
With Freedom, you can manage your time better and focus on what you’re doing. For instance, you can use the app to block out social media during your work hours. Similarly, you can block instant messaging or work apps during your free time.
4. Dumb Little Man
Dumb Little Man is one of the most intriguing life hacking sites out there. Sure, the site’s name might sound like an insult to your intelligence. However, you’d be amazed by what you can learn from it. Essentially, Dumb Little Man offers a never-ending list of useful life tips for success, happiness, and wealth.
You might be wondering what this has to do with productivity. Well, the advice related to different topics is much more concise compared to what you’d typically find on most life hacking sites. Therefore, you can spend less time hunting for answers or suggestions to help you work faster and increase your concentration.
5. Google Docs
Google Docs is the world’s most popular cloud-based word processing tool. Essentially, it’s the online version of Microsoft Word. Therefore, it offers the same functionality as its offline counterpart with additional benefits, such as real-time collaboration, anywhere-anytime accessibility, and automatic saving, to name a few.
However, from a productivity viewpoint, it offers another feature that can help you get more done with little effort – voice typing. For those who rely on note-taking and other forms of writing, this speech-to-text feature can record audio.
So, whether you’re listening to a speaker or dictating your ideas or thoughts, Google Docs can help save valuable time and offer convenience at the same time.
6. DropBox
Dropbox is one of the most popular content transfer tools in the market available for mobile d
evices running Android and iOS and Desktop. Using this free tool, you can easily send large files, documents, videos, and images from one device to another using the internet. This way, you can limit the need to copy files into USB sticks or external drives and provide them to the recipient.
Its simple “drag, upload, and send” functionality saves time and effort, meaning you can focus on more things and avoid wasting time.
7. HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks is a popular app that covers an extensive range of topics related to science, technology, money, and automobiles, among other things. As the name suggests, it explains how things work. For many professionals, learning is an essential part of their job descriptions. Therefore, the time spent on the internet or talking to others while hunting for information determines how productive they are.
This productivity tool can offer quick and valuable insights related to things that can help you solve a work-related problem or improve your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. For instance, you can learn how to factory reset your iPhone, how health insurance works, or how to invest in a 401k.
8. Evernote
Evernote is one of the most popular note-taking tools in the market that can help users stay organized when managing their daily schedules. Apart from note-taking, you can also use it to create to-do lists, take pictures, save your online research, and even record voice reminders.
The app is available for free for devices running Android and iOS. Moreover, you can access it on the web using any browser. However, to unlock some of its advanced features, such as offline mode, video creation, and collaboration, you need to opt for its premium version.
9. 1Password
If you have to log into multiple accounts or portals every day, you probably know how redundant and annoying this task can be. Not to mention, you have to remember different passwords for security reasons, and forgetting one can get lead to more time wastage with painful resets and overtime.
1Password is a powerful time-management app that allows users to store all their passwords in an encrypted password-protected database. With this tool, you only have to remember one password to log into all your important accounts.
From a productivity viewpoint, this could save anywhere between a few seconds to a few minutes. Regardless, it’s time you can use it to do other, more important things.
10. Alfred
Alfred is a unique life hacking tool that can help macOS users save valuable time. Essentially, it helps them launch their files, documents, and folders with a few keystrokes instead of making them search through multiple folders to access what they need.
Many professionals use the same apps, files, and documents for their work every day. Therefore, this tool offers a simple way to get everything up and running while you set up your workstation, make a cup of coffee, or complete other tasks.
11. Habitica
One of the many reasons we lose focus or interest in what we do is the fact that we have more enjoyable things that attract us during our work or leisure hours. Habitica is an excellent app that serves one core purpose – gamify your routine, habits, and overall lifestyle. Essentially, it stops habits from wearing off quickly by offering motivation and excitement.
It also helps you monitor your goals, activities, and to-dos so you can remain accountable for everything you do or don’t do. Gamified elements include rewards for completion, punishments for missing out, and streaks for momentum.
Wrapping Up
Productivity is essential for businesses and individuals as it leads to greater fulfillment, improved work-life balance, and a positive mindset. For many people, it could also improve their physical and emotional well-being. The life hacking apps in our list are designed to make your lives easier and most of them are free to use.
So, what are you waiting for? Follow their links and proceed to download them or access them through the web to get started. You’d be amazed by how quickly you can get more done in less time.
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