17 Apps That Could Help You Stay Productive

Staying productive in the digital age is becoming increasingly hard. Thankfully, for all the apps, which exist to distract you, there are just as many, which are created to help you stay focused and productive.

Sometimes, we need a helping hand to keep track of our schedules and stay on top of our work. If you struggle with distractions, need an app to help add structure to your tasks or need something that will help you stay motivated—this list has got you covered. Every person works differently and with these apps, you can, hopefully, find something that works for you

1. Forest

Forest helps you put down your phone in the best way possible. Whenever you want to focus, you can plant a tree. This is great if you want a little extra motivation to be productive. Not only are you helping yourself focus, but you are also helping the environment. Also, you get to see your tree grow as your timer progresses and if you leave the app, your tree dies. The more you use the apps, the more your forest grows. You can use it at work, school or if you want to spend quality distraction-free time with your friends and family. You can all plant trees together.

So far, Forest has planted over 520,000 trees! That’s pretty incredible. You can get the app for $1.99 on the app store.

2. Day One

If you have thought of getting into journaling, this app might help you do it. It gives you a simple layout to work with, which helps you focus on your writing. Aside from being the best journaling app out there, Day One is also a great way to keep track of some of your favourite memories—and you don’t need to even write. You can use photos, drawings or audio recordings, which means that you can incorporate different methods of journaling.

There is a free and a premium version ($2.92/mo).

3. ToDoist

This is one of the most popular productivity apps out there. ToDoist helps you organise your schedule. You can keep all of your to-dos in one place, so you never forget about anything. You can an overview of your daily tasks, keep track of your due dates, prioritise tasks and track your progress. It’s a very functional, yet simple app and that’s exactly why it’s so popular.

You can use the free version or upgrade to premium for $3/mo.

4. Productive

This is another very popular productivity app that can help you track the progress of certain habits or everyday activities. It can help you keep track of daily activities such as taking your medication or feeding your dog. If you’ve wanted to start running or doing yoga, or whatever, Productive can help you stay motivated by giving you an overview of your progress.

There is a free and premium version of the app.

5. My Study Life

Most students would have heard of this app. This app will help you stay productive in school by organising your classes/modules, exams, and assignments making sure that you are not forgetting anything.

You can get this app for free.

6. Evernote

Evernote is one of the most popular note-taking apps out there. It’s an app that can help you be more productive both at work and at home as you can organise all your ideas, personal notes, meeting notes, etc., in one place.

There are a few versions available: Basic (free), Premium (EUR6.99/mo) and Business (EUR13.99/user/month).

7. Pocket

If you end up getting distracted from your task at hand because online articles or videos keep sparking your curiosity, you can save them for later in your Pocket. It’s a great way to make sure you don’t miss out on the news/entertainment you are interested in, but stay focused on your work.

There is a free and premium ($4.99/mo) version of this app.

8. Due

Due is the perfect app for someone overwhelmed with remembering everything. This app will help you stay productive and concentrated by remembering everything so you don’t have to. You can set reminders and Due makes sure to remind you, constantly, until you mark it as complete or reschedule it. If you set many alarms in the morning, you’re probably going to find Due useful.

Due is $4.99 on the app store.

9. Sync.me

This app is not so much going to help you stay productive, as it will help you be organised and on top of your phone calls. Basically, the app syncs your contacts with their social media, protects you from spam calls (which is the feature people are particularly excited about), identifies unknown callers and sends you birthday reminders. Overall, a pretty useful app.

You can download it for free form the app store. There are also different premium options.

10. Doodle

The hassle-free way to set meetings. If you are sick of doing constant polls on facebook for every event you want to organise with your friends or need to send 20 emails to schedule a 20-minute meeting—this app will be perfect for you.

You can get a starter pack for EUR3.50/mo or a Pro version for EUR5/mo for yourself. There are also special plans for teams (5 users, EUR12.5/mo) and businesses.

11. RescueTime

Becoming more productive often times centers around understanding your habits. RescueTime helps you understand where your time goes each day. That way you know what to work on to optimise your day. They also offer FocusTime which automatically blocks social media, news, and entertainment when you need to focus.

There are a few plans: Free, Premium ($6/mo) and Organisations ($6/month per team member)

12. Werdsmith

If you are a writer, you might just fall in love with this app. You are probably going to need the premium version though, especially if you want to keep all your ideas in one place. It can help you stay productive by sending you reminders to write every day. You can also set goals and keep track of your progress.

You can use it free with a limited number of documents or get a premium version for US$4.99

13. Bear

Another popular note-taking/writing app. You can use it across your devices and keep track of your ideas. You can use it for notes and for longer works. Ia focus mode and plenty of markup options to help you stay at the top of your writing game.

You can use the free version or upgrade to premium to access more features for $1.49/mo

14. Bullet Journal Companion

If you have a bullet journal, but don’t want to carry it with you all the time, this is a great solution. The Bullet Journal Companion can help you take notes all day in the categories you have in your bullet journal, allowing you to never miss an entry.

The app is $2.99 on the app store.

15. Skitch

Developed by the people who brought us Evernote, Skitch is a great app that allows you to share annotations, shapes, and sketches, so you can get your point across easily. It’s like a better version of the drawing features on Snapchat and Messenger.

The app is free, though you can access all features through in-app purchases or with an Evernote premium account

16. Grammarly

We’ve all seen the ads on YouTube. You know what this is all about and everyone is using it. So try it out and see if it makes you look smarter.

You can use the free version or upgrade to premium for $29.95/mo (11.66/mo if paid annually)

17. Freedom

Another app that will help you focus on your work. Freedom helps you block the apps and websites that distract you. It can be used on Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS and there are over a million people on it. By blocking the apps that distract you from your work, you can make sure you stay productive.

You can use the free version or upgrade to premium for $29.99/year