It’s been a challenging year for women in the workplace. The global pandemic upended routines, throwing things like childcare and routine into disarray. If you’re feeling distracted at work, you’re not alone. There are so many things out of our control at the moment, but fortunately, there’s still so much within our control as well. It’s still possible to salvage your productivity in the midst of uncertain times.
Here are 5 apps that can make your workday more productive:
Todoist
Imagine you’re at your makeshift desk (which is actually your dining room table) working on your tasks for the day and you remember that you need to reschedule your doctor’s appointment, and call the landscaper, and take your car for an oil change, and buy your niece a birthday gift. Most people can relate to everyday to-do items distracting them from their work. Todoist, a to-do-list app that allows you to set reminders and check off items as you accomplish tasks, is here to help. Jot those items down in the Todoist app and set a reminder to revisit them when your workday is over. You can look at your to-do items in a list, calendar view, or even a kanban-style board. This will allow you to clear your mind and refocus on work.
Price: Free with paid upgrades
LastPass
How many hours have you spent trying to remember every password for every different account you have? Your cable provider, banking apps, work email, personal emails — the amount of accounts and passwords to remember is endless. If you find yourself constantly clicking the “forgot password” button on every website, then it might be time to automate your passwords. LastPass puts your passwords on autopilot. You only need to remember one password and it will generate strong passwords for every account you set up, or you can save the passwords that you already have in a secure location.
Price: Free with paid upgrades
Airtable
Airtable is a tool that can be used for a wide variety of projects. The best way to describe Airtable is as a dynamic spreadsheet that allows you to customize every field. Cataloging data, project management, scheduling, applicant tracking — you name it, Airtable can handle it. The fields can accommodate a variety of data including files, images, URLs, videos, and more. You can invite collaborators and keep everyone on the same page for any project.
Price: Free with paid upgrades
Vidyard
In this remote environment, it can be hard to explain things as you would in person. If you find yourself writing multiple lengthy emails a day explaining to colleagues how to use a software program, or run a report, give yourself your time back by installing Vidyard on your browser. Vidyard is a free screen recording tool. Instead of hopping on time-consuming Zoom calls every time someone needs a tutorial, fire up Vidyard and show them instead.
Price: Free with paid upgrades
Focus Mode/Downtime
If you have an Android phone, you already have the perfect app to help you fight distractions. Focus mode will help you limit your apps to just the necessities and help you fight distractions from all the apps fighting for your attention. If you’re an iPhone user, the Downtime feature is a similar application that allows you to put your apps to bed for however long you need to stay focused. Read more about these tools and how to access these pre-installed apps on your phone.
Price: Free
There’s no time like the present to use technology and processes to increase productivity, reduce distractions, and keep organized.
