15 Best Apps To Increase Your Productivity

Productivity is something businesses and individuals constantly chase. They want to get more done in a limited timeframe. While productivity has increased year on year since records began, individual productivity can be hit and miss. Some people are workaholics, while others are continuously distracted or poorly organized. Luckily, there are apps and programs available to help perk up your productivity if you want to use them.

On a basic level, productivity apps are designed to make working easier in some way. As your work becomes more streamlined, you'll find that you're able to get more work done in the same timeframe. In short, you're more productive. There are a wide variety of productivity apps available, and most have their own functions. Some help you manage your time better, some streamline specific tasks like editing, and others help with things like communication.

The benefits for employers are clear, but increased productivity can also help out regular people. If you're a freelancer, you'll make more money in less time. If you're a remote worker, increased productivity might stop your boss from pulling you back to the office. If work is out the window, you can still try to be more productive while completing everyday tasks such as housework, studying, side projects, personal care, and exercise. So here's a look at a selection of apps that will make all of that easier. Some are more work focused, some help you get more organized, and one even turns things like brushing your teeth into an old-school RPG.

You may have already heard of Grammarly or a similar app. At its core, it's a bit like the spelling and grammar section of a word processor. It will pick up on mistakes you've made while writing and suggest alternatives. This can have a huge impact on both productivity and the accuracy of your work. Instead of spending a good amount of time agonizing over how to word something, you can just throw it on the page and let Grammarly point you in the right direction. You will also save time when proofreading and it may help you get a little bit more confident about your writing. There's nothing worse than leaving a typo in a professional email or document, so any kind of safety net could be welcome.

However, Grammarly does have its issues and it doesn't play well with every word-processing program. When viewing corrections in certain versions of WordPress, you'll be bounced around the page so much that you'll get dizzy. Some of the suggestions can also be pretty strange, so don't treat Grammarly as an authority on how things should be written. Look at the suggestion and make sure it's actually saying what you want to say before approving it. A free version of Grammarly is available, but the features are very limited compared to the paid version. The premium version of Grammarly starts at $12 a month if you opt for the annual subscription, and the business version — which allows for multiple approved users — starts from $15. The program comes as a desktop app for Windows and Mac or a browser extension. There is also a mobile version that works on both iOS and Android.

Working in VR is pretty central to the concept of the Metaverse. Unfortunately, Meta isn't quite there with the concept yet, and even its own staff are avoiding its in-house software. Luckily, there are third-party apps that do the job better, and Immersed is arguably the best one on the market as things stand. There is a basic free version of the app and a premium version that allows you to use up to five virtual monitors amongst many other features. The multiple monitor feature is excellent if you're used to working with more than one screen. Monitors aren't always portable, but headsets are — and going without an extra screen could really slow you down.

The best thing about Immersed is the fact it allows you to bring your PC into the virtual world. You do this by downloading the Immersed PC app and syncing it up with your VR headset over your Wi-Fi network. Each monitor your PC or Laptop has will be connected, and you can add extra "virtual" monitors too. These can be resized and moved around until you're comfortable with your setup. Beyond your PC, Immersed can be used to collaborate with other users over the app. Their avatars will appear in the room with you, allowing you to hold meetings and plot over a virtual whiteboard. There's also a choice of settings, from a tropical paradise to a ski lodge. Or you can just enable passthrough and have your own room in the background. Immersed works with both Windows and macOS and is available on the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, and HTC Vive Focus 3 headsets. Support for the Pico 4 is also coming soon.

Sometimes productivity simply means staying focused on a task for a set period of time. Forest helps you do that by giving you another reason to concentrate. Set a task and a timer on the app and a tree will grow as the clock counts down. Exiting the app during that time kills the tree, so you have to stay focused and off your phone to keep the tree alive. Eventually, the trees you've successfully grown will begin to form a forest, which you can add to over time. You can unlock new trees as you go, and keep track of how much time you've spent focused. The pro version includes more trees and a chance to put apps on the "allow list" so you can use them without killing your tree. Pro is also ad-free, includes things like cloud backup, gives a better breakdown of your stats, and unlocks achievements.

Forest also offers the opportunity to turn your increased positivity into something environmentally beneficial. You can spend the virtual coins you earn on real trees through the App's charity partner, Trees for the Future. Over 1.5 million actual trees have been planted through the app so far, and you can add to that number. Forest is available as a browser extension, or as an app on iOS and Android. The iOS version is priced at $3.99, while the Android version has a free basic mode, with "pro" available for a one-off payment of $3.99.

Trello is a very popular organizational tool that can help keep track of tasks that need to be done, who is working on what, and what stage everything is at. The tool is highly customizable and can be used to meet your organization's exact organizational needs. On the face of it, Trello is split up into "boards," each of which can cover a department or team. On each board is a number of columns, and those columns can be organized into sections. But the real meat of Trello is in its card system.

Cards can be used to relay information, and cards related to specific tasks can be used to keep track of said tasks. For example, If you were planning a birthday, a "cake" related card could be put in a planning section, where members could discuss ideas via the comments section of the card. Then the individual responsible for getting the cake can be assigned to the card, and it could be moved to an "ordered," "picked up," and "ready" section as required. Pictures of the cake could also be attached to the card.

Trello's pricing structure has a number of tiers. Individual users, or very small teams, may be okay with the free version. Small teams may also want to consider the standard version, which is priced at $5 per user per month if billed annually. Larger or more complex teams may benefit from the premium version, which is $10 per user per month if you opt for the annual plan. Then, if your organization consists of 50 or more people, there is the enterprise version. Pricing for enterprise starts at $17.50 per user per month, though the price drops the more users you add.

Automation is a big boost to productivity, and Zapier is about getting over 5,000 popular apps working together as seamlessly as possible. Received an email from a client? Zapier can save the attachments to Google Drive, ping you in Slack, and update a relevant Trello card without you having to do anything. Have you got a vlog to publish? Zapier can automatically handle the social media side of things. According to its website, Zapier has some pretty big companies among its customers. Some, like Fellow Products, claim tasks like onboarding are now a staggering 75% more efficient thanks to the automation software. While it may be overkill for individuals, Zapier might be worth looking into if you're running a growing business and administration is becoming a bit more complex.

Zapier's pricing structure is complex, and it's split between feature-laden packages and how many tasks you expect the program to perform each month. On the low end, it's free for individuals who aren't bothered about coding, only need to complete single-step tasks, and perform fewer than 100 tasks a month. At the other end of the scale, companies expected to perform 2 million tasks per month will be getting an annual bill that is close to $60,000. Even the low tier of pricing aimed at individuals is pretty hefty. If you want up to 750 multi-step tasks per month you're looking at a $20 monthly bill. That bill is also charged annually, so you're out $240 plus tax for the most basic paid level.

Chanty counts Manchester United, Nike, and NASA among its customers — but you don't need to be a major organization to get its benefits. In fact, it may be a good option for small teams that want unlimited messaging without taking a hit in the wallet. The basic version of Chanty includes unlimited encrypted messaging for up to 10 "team members" and up to 20GB of storage. Features like video calls aren't included with the free version, but small teams have the benefit of being able to hop onto something like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet easily enough. There is also a built-in task management feature, which may help you keep everything in one place assuming your tasks or organization isn't complex enough to warrant a dedicated task management app. One-on-one audio calls are also free, which is handy as they're a great way to discuss complex ideas quickly.

A premium service is available, and that's priced at $3 per user per month if you opt to pay annually. Paying monthly increases costs by $1 per person per month, which doesn't sound like much but it is 33% and will add up if you have multiple team members. The premium version offers unlimited group video calls, an allowance of three guest users per paid member, the ability to add roles and permissions, and unlimited team integrations. The company's app is available on PC, Mac, iOS, and Windows.

Engross is a minimalist take on a focus app. You set out the schedule you want on your calendar, set some events to automatically repeat, block distracting apps, set reminders, and review your statistics to see how much more productive you've gotten since getting the app. You can break working time down with Engross. Simply set a time for working periods, like 30 or 45 minutes, add some break times to that to keep your mind fresh, then put the number of sessions you would like to work in.

This approach is based on something known as the "Pomodoro technique" which was developed in the 1980s and has helped people produce more work in shorter time spans ever since. Apparently, breaking up spells of concentration like this helps you focus more intensely on a task than if you just tried to tackle it in one long session (via Revolution Learning). Other features include white noise to help relax you, and a special button you can hit when you get distracted.

As with many similar apps, the basic version is free and the free version contains enough features to help the majority of people become more productive. The premium upgrade is a one-off purchase and is priced at $5.99. It adds extra themes, an automatic cloud backup, better analysis and statistics, the ability to comment on sessions, and the ability to start a session straight from your to-do list. Engross is available on both Android and iOS.