What’s not to love about being more productive? You’ll feel more accomplished and find some extra free time to do more of what you love. Here are 7 productivity-boosting apps that we’re falling in love with in 2019:
Grammarly
If you spend any time writing on your computer, you need Grammarly. Whether it’s daily emails, a monthly newsletter, content for your blog, or writing your next bestseller, you have a need to communicate clearly. Grammarly can help you spend less time proofreading, and proofreading again. This isn’t just your basic spell checker. It will automatically underline spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and punctuation mistakes. Grammarly is a browser plugin and can make you look like a literary genius on Facebook, WordPress, Gmail, and pretty much anywhere else. You’ll never have to be embarrassed by using the wrong “their,” “there,” or “they’re” again and you’ll up your productivity to have some more free time to spend doing the stuff you love.
Google Keep
It happens to the best of us—you’re at a meeting, having lunch with a client, dropping your kids off at school—and remember something you need to do later that day. With no pen or paper in sight, that thought might as well just grow some wings and fly away. With a note-taking app like Google Keep, you can jot down all of those random thoughts that come up throughout your day. Google Keep syncs across the cloud so you can view them on any of your devices. Productivity-1, short term memory loss-0.
Buffer
Social media can be a productivity black hole. But, if you’re running a business, you know just how important social media is to your overall marketing strategy. Buffer is a social media management service that can help you reign in some of that time you’re spending on social. The free version of the app lets you manage 3 accounts and allows you to have a schedule queue of up to 10 posts. If your business is extra active on social media, the app’s premium features include the ability to manage more accounts, schedule more posts, and access to analytics, content creation tools, and link shortening.
Freedom
You need this app if…oh look, a squirrel! Ok, focus here! You need this app if you are easily distracted and tempted to stray from the task at hand. Freedom allows you to block websites or apps on any device that are detracting from your productivity. It can even sync what you block across all of your devices, saving you even more time. For less than $2.50/month, it’s probably worth the investment.
Any.do
Need a little help getting your schedule organized? Any.do will do. This free app will help keep your productivity game strong by keeping you on track with to-do lists, reminders, and notes. You can even share lists and assign tasks from the app. Any.do syncs between all of your devices so you won’t have to sacrifice your productivity when switching from your computer to your phones when you’re on the go. Any.do also includes voice entry so you can add things to your to-do lists without breaking out the keyboard.
CamScanner
Finding a scanner these days is getting increasingly difficult, especially if you don’t work in a traditional office setting. CamScanner solves this problem by turning your mobile device into a scanner on-the-go. Turn photos, document, receipts—you name it—into JPG and PDF files. There is a free version that’s ad-supported and leaves a watermark on your documents. But, for only $1.99 to install, the premium version is the way to go.
Otter Voice Notes
If you’re a speak-to-text kind of guy or gal, you’re going to love Otter Voice Notes. The app can record your voice from your phone’s mic or a Bluetooth device. Then, (this is where the magic happens) Otter transcribes your work almost in real-time. It’s got you covered on punctuation, searchable playback, and speaker ID too. You can edit transcripts, you know, in case you mumbled something or had to yell at your kids while you were recording something important. Transcripts can be exported to text, to other apps, or shared. Never mind paying for this app, the free version offers 600 minutes of transcribed audio a month. If you really need the extra talk-time, $9.99 a month will buy you 6,000 minutes.
If you love these productivity apps as much as we do, check out 5 more here!
