Do you use any of these Productivity Applications on your phone? Apps like To-Do, Evernote, Be Focused, Freedom, Trello, Toggle, and the list is endless. These apps fall into two categories – checklist type or focus type.
I find the checklist type of productivity applications helpful when I have a lot of things to check off, such as grocery list, wish list items, components to an assignment, and even event planning. Many of these applications connect your phone to the computer, so it doesn’t matter where you sign on, your checklist follows you around. I think this really helps to make sure you are diligent.
The focus type of productivity applications is foreign to me. Perhaps it is because I grew up in an environment where I was told electronics are a distraction. From elementary to halfway through high school, I was without a phone or a mp3 player. I find it strange that applications are developed to help us focus for x-amount of minutes on a specific task at a time. Have any of you used these applications before? Do they work for you?
I tried using a focus app called Forest for a little while. How this works is before I start my task, I plant a seed and as time goes on, my seed grows. The tree keeps growing until you turn off the application. Did this work for me? I was actually more interested in seeing my trees grow than focusing on my task at hand. I understand that the brain can only focus for a certain amount of time, but how I get through work is just to buckle down and get to work. Or even when I work on assignments, I usually set aside an hour here and there and make those hours worth it.
What are your thoughts on productivity apps? Do they work for you? Is there a potential for them? What is your ideal productivity app?
Thanks for sharing Sarah,
I use similar apps. I also tried using Forest before but stopped using it when I felt I didn’t really have any incentives to continue using it. It was useful for a bit, but then I felt the novelty fall off. I’ve been using Microsoft To Do list periodically. I find when I get overwhelmed with the number of assignments or thing that I need to remember, the program at least lets me see what is front of me rather than have to recall it each time. It also makes it less likely that I forget something. The to do lists are simple and easy to use. Productivity apps have been hard to catch on for myself.
Thanks for sharing Sarah,
I use similar apps. I also tried using Forest before but stopped using it when I felt I didn’t really have any incentives to continue using it. It was useful for a bit, but then I felt the novelty fall off. I’ve been using Microsoft To Do list periodically. I find when I get overwhelmed with the number of assignments or thing that I need to remember, the program at least lets me see what is front of me rather than have to recall it each time. It also makes it less likely that I forget something. Sharing the sentiment, the to do lists are simple and easy to use. Productivity apps have been hard to catch on for myself.
Hi Sarah,
I have been looking into productivity applications as well as I find myself in desperate need lately of a tool to keep me focused and on track. I have just posted a similar contribution to the Mobile Technologies blog that looks at productivity apps with a focus on gamification. The app I have presented is called Habitica and has been a huge help keeping me on task over the past few weeks. I would highly recommend checking it out if turning your daily routines into a role-playing game sounds interesting!
Thanks, Ben! I will definitely check out your post!
Hi Sarah,
Great question – especially as there are so many new apps everyday that seem to pop up, the list is endless! I love a good checklist app – I’m the opposite of a procrastinator and like to be done everything WAY ahead of time, probably because of years working as a busy mom that if I left things until the last minute I’d never get it all done. I like any of the apps out there that help me be more productive, focused, keep me on track and I know in talking with a lot of other working friends who have demanding jobs, they also rely on these apps more and more as life goes back to normal these days. I think in schools they are incredibly useful as well to teach mindfulness, help student learn to manage tasks and time and also recognize the skills needed to be successful in school. I would love to see an app that matches to your personality profile, you do a quick personality test, then the app adapts to how you work and adjusts itself to your needs – I think that would be incredibly useful as I do find we often have to find ways to ‘use’ the app in a manner than works for us rather than the other way around!
Hi Asha, I think that is a great idea! Having a personality test that helps match me to an app. This would help me learn more about myself or even have a starting point to which productivity app to explore. It would also be great if these productivity apps can be highly customizable. I just downloaded the IOS15 for my iPhone and they integrated a Focus function. Depending on what I’m doing – work, sleep, or other, I can filter who’s calls and messages I can still read, or no one can reach me in sleep mode, etc. For me, having filtered messages and phone calls can help me focus on my tasks already.
Hi Sarah! Being an avid procrastinator but responsible for large teams and managing projects I have tried a number of the ones you note above. For productivity/project management Wrike and SmartSheet worked well. The key when looking at these for productivity within a team environment or for use yourself is that you have the option for different layouts to account for those who like to see lists versus those who find that overwhelming and confusing and want to see a card or calendar view. As a leader, I like the reminder functions and the ability to assign tasks and sort by individual to ensure they did not have too much on their plate and support where I could. Personally, I also liked the reminders (email and phone pop-up) and the ability of my team to assign me tasks and deadlines to ensure I was not the bottleneck in moving projects forward. I have specifically tried focus apps like Forest. Like you, I think I would be too interested in seeing my tree grow. Instead, I find that giving myself time between tasks for Mindfulness practice. The three I tend to use are: breathing to create focus followed by a vision exercise to create the picture of what I want to achieve, grounding where I do a walking meditation barefoot in the grass and then start brainstorming and lastly blasting a favourite song. I tend to use the first method before going into a meeting, the second when I am working on a project and am stuck, and the third when I know what I need to do and just need a release before jumping in. That said, I do love the Pause app and The Now app, the first for focused meditation and the second for reflection on quotes and sayings. It would be interesting to research if the use of apps like Trello, SmartSheet etc could help with students who have issues with Executive Functioning and breaking down projects into manageable chunks. I am a firm believer that we need to slow down to speed up. Perhaps incorporating this type of technology could support learning and success when trained to use them earlier in life?
WOW Nicole! Thank you for those tips on what you do to help you focus. For work, I used Trello and SmartSheet. Both of those programs get the job done; however, I wasn’t enticed to use it. I HAD to use it for work, but I didn’t feel like I want to use it. When I think of productivity, I want to use an app that I like to help me keep myself on track. I know this sounds so superficial, but I think the ambiance, my mood, and the application I’m using can help me be more productive when I need to get a whole lot done.
Hi Sarah, Like you, I “had” to use Wrike and SmartSheet and agree while they help break down the project or summarize the work you need to complete, they lack the interaction aspect to help keep you focused or “in the zone”. Perhaps we should design something together!