Learn about the 11 best productivity apps in 2020! For the purposes of this blog post, a productivity app is any piece of software that makes your job easier and allows you to get more work done in less time. Some of the applications listed below aren't 'productivity apps' in the traditional sense of the phrase. Any of the apps here can double as a writing journal, but none of them let you personalize and simplify it like Day One (Mac, $10; iOS, $5) does. With an impressive system of tags, reminders,. However, some of the top journaling apps for iOS have special features that can increase your productivity in unique areas. The Mac App Store is completely redesigned and features rich editorial.
Feeling over-hurdled with tasks and tired of not having time for anything? Need to go the grocery, cook a Mediterranean dinner on Saturday, answer emails, generate a quote, negotiations at 3 pm - prepare a presentation, buy tickets. Gosh!
Such a mess with tasks and time, no life, no work, no chance. It's better to declutter your head and organize your time wisely with a productivity planner tool to get all things done.
We've prepared the list of the best productivity apps in 2020 for you. Our top 12:
Read on for the detailed analysis of each app.
What is Productivity?
To move forward, let's find out first what this mystical productivity is. Imagine, you have just an hour and a lot of tasks to do. The more you've done within this hour, the higher your efficiency is, the efficiency defines your personal productivity.
There are loads of books and articles written on how to increase productivity, many strategies and methods were discovered. However, the main principle of all of them is just to help you not to waste your time and carefully manage it. Applications also known as productivity planners can really assist.
Top Apps For MacDiscover The Best Productivity Apps for You in 2020
There are a lot of directions for productivity planner apps: some of them help to create and manage to-do lists, some of them help you to get things done, ones assist with your mailbox decluttering, some help with organization, others are essential to building habits and so on. Later in the article, we will look over the best productivity apps for mobile devices anyone can use.
No need to search for queries like ‘best Android productivity apps’ since most productivity apps integrate easily with the most popular platforms. Later in the article, we will look at some of the best productivity apps that anyone can use. Continue reading on to get some of the best productivity apps for 2020.
1. Monday.com
Monday.com is an awesome option in our list of the best productivity apps for 2020. Monday.com is a tool for teams to use to collaborate, track their progress, and view informational dashboards. The views include charts, graphs, and even a Kanban view to easily check-in to see where things stand. The product is designed using “boards” where each project is tracked, and tasks can be assigned to each member with a status designation to code where it currently stands in the flowchart.
The interface is intuitive and attractive, making it a pleasure to use. It includes helpful integrations to link Zapier and Google Calendar, but setting up a project can be time-consuming and confusing with the different views.There are also a few missing pieces, such as the ability to set up recurring tasks and link dependencies in the timeline (this is a must-have for productivity apps). Also missing is any type of markup tools and a group discussion area (not linked to any specific project) within the app.
Monday.com works great for close-knit teams but is less effective for sharing with the outside world (clients and vendors). The pricing structure is cumbersome and uses group ranges (1-5, 10-50, etc.) rather than pricing per person. There is no free version to use, but it does work on the web, iOS, and Android devices. https://yxpocr.weebly.com/blog/signal-mac-app-store.
Specs: Monday.com works on most platforms, including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Starts from $39/month for 5 users
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2. ProofHub
ProofHub also made our list of the best productivity software. ProofHub is an excellent project management app designed for small to medium-sized businesses. The service offers three pricing plans, each with different limits for storage and the number of projects. You can try it for free for 30 days. Unlike other companies, they charge a flat fee, rather than price per person. The more team members you have, the better value you get.
The interface is clean, attractive, and easy to use. ProofHub uses a lot of color-coding to make things easy to find. One of the nicest features was the setup walkthrough, which made adding a new project quick and simple. You can reorder tasks with a simple drag and drop. ProofHub is packed with great features like Gantt charts, time tracking, custom reports, Kanban view, task management, calendar, chats, milestones, and more. It even integrates with programs like Google Calendar, Apple iCal, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Outlook. ProofHub works on the web, iOS, and Android platforms.
Aside from some interface glitches, responsiveness issues, and the lack of ability to add recurring tasks, we think this is a fantastic tool for small businesses to stay connected and organized.
Specs: ProofHub works on most platforms, including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Starts from $45 USD/month for 40 projects.
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⛔️ CONS: What office app is used with mac.
3. Todoist
It's just as it is, a free 'to-do' list app. Todoist allows you to set up lists, reminds you of specific tasks like meetings and appointments, helps to make sure you're using your time wisely and much more.
To start using the tool, just put down all the tasks you need to do, and the software will then interpret and categorize them for you. Handy charts and graphs will be a great helper to check on your progress at any time.
Specs: Todoist works on most platforms, including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Limited free version with premium plans for $29 per year.
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4. Trello
A popular tool either for the common Joe or for a professional user to organize and prioritize your projects. You can set up boards, create lists, fill them with cards (and this can be anything from tasks, master class notes, presentation pictures, and those brilliant ideas that you may have) which you can drag and drop up and down the list or move to other lists.
Thus, you could have To Do, In Progress, and Done boards for any project; Topics, Writing, Editing, Published boards for writing or any other specialized lists to organize anything and everything on a kanban board.
Specs: Trello works on most platforms, including iOS, Mac, Windows and Android.
Price: Free for personal use with business plans starting at $9.99 per month.
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5. Notion
Notion is a popular all-in-one workplace for notes, wikis, and databases. Whether you are a venture entrepreneur or a student, it's a great tool for you. You can easily create tables, colorful pages, critical lists, exams and tests on a calendar, and project boards. With over 30+ types of media supported you can easily add video, audio files, images, and files to notes alongside text for a quick note-taking and share notes with others.
Notion works on most platforms including iOS, Android, Mac, and the web, and syncs across devices.
Specs: Notion works on most platforms including iOS, Android, Mac, and the web, and syncs across devices.
Price: Personal for $5 per month or team plans at $10 per team member per month.
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6. Slack
Slack is an incredibly useful communications tool for optimizing teamwork and streamlining team coordination. With Slack, collaboration is made easy as different channels are created for specific users and tasks. Team members can navigate between channels, leaving their mark where it matters without leaving unnecessary notifications for others.
So much more than a simple email substitute, use Slack to share documents, video chat and integrate a flurry of other tools.
Specs: Slack works on most platforms including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Free version with basic features with standard plans starting at $6.67 per active user per month.
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7. Toggl
If you can’t measure it, then can you really say that you’re boosting your productivity? Fortunately, with Toggl you do just that. An intuitive time-tracker app, Toggl allows you to easily quantify time spent on tasks throughout the day, week, month and even year. Use Toggl to track your hours, but don't forget to analyze user reports to check your progress.
Toggl analyzes your results, showing you where you wasted your time and where you were most productive. In the mission to enhance productivity, Toggl is a great first step.
Specs: Toggle works on most platforms, including iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Personal plans start at $9 per month.
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8. Hootsuite
Social media is the latest vector of customer engagement for businesses and other organizations, but keeping track of it all while trying to stay active on all the various social media fronts is a lot of work. Fortunately, Hootsuite can save everyone, such as activists and entrepreneurs, a ton of time. Use Hootsuite to integrate all your social media channels into one simple page where management is made easy.
Hootsuite is a social media management app and productivity planner that allows you to post and access all your social media profiles from one user-friendly interface.
Specs: Hootsuite works on most platforms including iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Free for personal use with three integrate social media profiles. Pro plans start at $29 per month. Google keep desktop app mac.
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9. Discord
It’s been compared to Skype and even Slack, but Discord is quickly making a name for itself in the gaming community as one the best productivity boosters and organizers around. While video games and productivity usually aren’t found in the same sentence, serious gaming communities use Discord to organize communication and streamline community interaction.
Use Discord to set up user-specific channels and appoint moderators while discussing the latest news with text, image, voice and video communication. Best of all, create invite-only Discord channels to keep the rabble at bay for an enhanced online multiplayer experience.
Specs: Discord works on most platforms including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Free
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10. Just Press Record
A single-button recording app that’s easy to use on the go and syncs easily between your various Apple devices, Just Press Record is great for taking audio notes or conducting interviews. Use Just Press Record with all your Apple devices like your iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch.
Files can be saved, named, and accessed from all your synced devices. Even better, Just Press Record offers built-in transcription software that can help you transcribe your audio into text. This app is great for students, journalists, and anyone who likes to take notes and other recordings.
Specs: Just Press Record works on iOS and watchOS. A separate version is available for macOS.
Price: $4.99
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11. Google Drive
No productivity app list would be complete without Google Drive. Cam window teamview control mac teamviwer. One of the most versatile and universal tools, Google Drive is chock full of its own apps, like Docs, Sheets, Gmail, Calendar, and much more. One of the best perks of using Google Drive is that files can be stored on the cloud for free, meaning that you can log into your Google Account and access your work anywhere, anytime.
Unlike other word processors, Google Docs saves your work automatically at regular intervals. Ensure the survivability of your important documents with Google Drive, even when your computer crashes.
Specs: Google Drive works on most platforms including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Free
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12. Evernote
Evernote is a premier note-taking platform. Used by university students and professionals alike, Evernote allows you to easily write, format, save and share your notes with others. Create cloud notebooks that can be synced across devices or shared easily between friends and colleagues. Better yet, use Evernote to spice up the notetaking experience with added content such as pictures, audio, and short videos.
The best part about Evernote is that it is totally free. With up to 60Mb of free cloud storage, users have tons of space to store their latest creations. Acura mdx 2011 user manual pdf.
Specs: Evernote works on most platforms including Web, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android.
Price: Free
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Best Ios Productivity Apps
If you want to work on your productivity (who doesn't?) and manage to do many more things in your life and achieve goals, we encourage you to check out all the productivity software solutions mentioned above to choose those that fit your needs and requirements. Now that you have these options why not go for a test drive and see what's the best for you?
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Working from home (WFH, also called telecommuting or telework) is becoming an increasingly common practice. In 2020, the necessity to effectively work remotely is crucial to productivity more than ever. Here at Parallels, we refuse to pretend as if remote work is a new trend. In 2019, the Business Harvard Review proved that remote employees are found to be more productive, have a lower chance of turnover, and are healthier in both their mental and physical well-being.
However, there is a delicate balance between working from home and effectively working from home.
This delicate balance boils down to the applications an individual could use to stay productive.
For macOS users, there is a nearly never-ending list of native features and apps to help stay on task. The team here at Parallels has researched far and wide to narrow down the most useful macOS apps for everyone who is working remotely.
Normalize and fix mp3s with izotope rx. Here are the best macOS applications to help stay productive when working from home in 2020:
Utilities:
Project Management:
Knowledge Workers:
Communication:
Mood-Boosting:
Breaking down our list into categories makes it a bit easier to find the app you’re looking for considering the vast landscape of available macOS apps. Now, let’s deep dive into how these macOS apps can make your work from home experience more productive.
Utilities Must-Haves for macOS:
Parallels Toolbox
Parallels Toolbox is a suite available of macOS of one-click tools that make everything easier. We do mean everything. While there are dozens of tools within Parallels Toolbox, I want to outline the specific tools used to help make my work from home life more productive. The tools Alarm, Stopwatch, and Timer are all fantastic for time management. During meetings, the Alarm Tool has found to be wildly helpful to stay on task – individually, and I can present without continually looking at the clock and becoming distracted. The Stopwatch tool in Parallels Toolbox is excellent when managing a large meeting. This tool gives each presenter the same amount of time, making it helpful to be respectful of everyone’s time and collective voice. The Timer tool has become necessary when it comes to time management because I give myself an allocated time for a task before moving to the next item on my to-do list.
There are a few more tools hidden in Parallels Toolbox that makes working from home a breeze. The tool, Energy Saver, can be used automatically when disconnected from the charger or when you enable it manually. Energy Saver consists of several different options to prolong a computer’s battery life by optimizing resource consumption such as pausing non-essential processes such as Spotlight indexing, AppStore updates check, and macOS updates check. Additionally, Energy Saver is intelligent enough to eject external devices, pause Time Machine backups, and hide non-active (idle) apps. It makes the hidden applications go to the built-in macOS App Nap mode, where they consume very little energy.
Pro tip: Parallels Toolbox tools Hide Desktop or Presentation Mode are game-changers during presentations. The Hide Desktop tool hides all the files, folders, and other icons on your desktop when you’re doing a presentation, sharing or recording your screen, or taking screenshots with one click. If you’re worried about push notifications that you may have enabled, your Mac going to sleep, or distractions from bouncing icons in your macOS Dock, check out the Parallels Toolbox user favorite, Presentation Mode. This endlessly helpful tool disables distractions for a better presentation experience. The Presentation Mode tool can automatically detect external displays and turn them on, too. Also available for Windows 10, but more Parallels Toolbox tools are available on macOS.
Alfred
Alfred for macOS is an award-winning app that can seriously boost productivity with efficient hotkeys, keyword shortcuts, quick text expansion, and so more, based on your needs. Similar to macOS Spotlight, Alfred enables an intelligent search through macOS and the web and encourages users to be more productive with custom actions to extend and automate the efficiency of your work on your Mac.
The team at Alfred also offers an additional add-on, the Alfred Powerpack. You can instantly enable more profound control your Mac with the Powerpack’s third-party app integration such as iTunes, 1Password, Shell. Plus, endless workflows and themes that make staring at your computer screen for 8-hours a day more enjoyable.
Google Chrome
Readers may laugh at a suggestion of a web browser to help boost productivity. Still, there’s a lot of power in Google Chrome that some primary users may not know about or be utilizing. While I was researching the best extensions for Google Chrome, I came across a supremely helpful article from Kyle Pearce over at DIYGenius. Kyle has an extensive list of useful Google Chrome extensions to stay productive, and I urge you to check it out ASAP.
My absolute favorite extension to Google Chrome was UBlock Origin, a free and open-source, cross-platform browser extension for content-filtering such as ad-blocking. However, the ad-blocker Kyle mentioned Ghostery is next-level and I believe it performs better on Google Chrome than UBlock. I’ve already made the switch, and I suggest you do, too!
Snag-it
I first stumbled upon Snag-it back in 2018 when a coworker here at Parallels suggested it to me for a presentation. It felt like just another tool to create a screenshot. Wow, I was SO wrong. In 2020, Snag-it is outperforming any other screenshot tool I’ve tried and has the smoothest user experience I’ve felt in a long while.
To summarize, Snagit lets you quickly capture a process, add your explanation, and create visual instructions without any frustration. Truly, I cannot emphasize how excellent Snag-it is at transforming your communication. You can save hours of your time to help visualize your ideas in ways other people can easily understand. Not to mention, my favorite feature of Snag-it is the panoramic capture. Capture wide, horizontal scrolls, scrolling webpages, and everything in-between.
Project Management That is Easy to Use:
Task Paper
TaskPaper is a plain-text to-do list that’s surprisingly adept and thoroughly modernized. Since 2006, TaskPaper has delivered an excellent and easy to use to-do interface. This tool makes keeping your lists, searching with palettes to filter your never-ending lists, scheduling future dates/events easier than ever.
Not to mention, the clean UX makes for a distraction-less experience. While the minimalistic UX makes Task Paper look a bit bare-bones, this intelligent to-do list is packed with much more than just a simple interface.
Todoist
Todoist is used by over 20 million users to organize, plan, and collaborate on projects, both big and small, since 2007. While Todoist isn’t exclusive to macOS due to support via a mobile and web interface, it’s been a favorite of mine for years now. Why? Well, they also have a Google
Chrome plug-in that has enabled next-level multitasking habits.
With extensive access to over 60 integrations with some big hitters like Google Drive, Dropbox, Zapier, Evernote, and Slack – Todoist will quickly become your hub for getting work and life organized. Plus, their Wunderlist importer can help you switch tools and get started in just a few minutes if you’re looking for a change. If you’re working across multiple Macs or devices, Todoist makes it easy to pick up and continue crossing your tasks off your plate!
Asana
Asana is a widely adopted project management system that allows project managers or individuals to map out each step and organize all the details of your work in one place. Many small, medium or large enterprise companies utilize Asana, Parallels included. Here at Parallels, we love Asana! With the ability to create tasks that are dependent on other tasks, it makes coordinating with your team a breeze.
Truly, Asana has quickly become one of my favorite collaboration tools. Simply because of the ability to visualize multiple stages of projects quickly, easily, and the beauty of the UX makes this for a refreshing project management system. Simplifying workflows means reduced errors, and ultimately, saving time for solving more essential problems means I can get to work quicker. Every day, I log in, see my projects, and act accordingly. Asana has vast integration across many systems such as JIRA, Salesforce, PowerBI, Slack, Tableau, Adobe Creative Cloud, and they’re adding new features often.
Knowledge Workers Need the Following:
Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktop for macOS has been used by millions globally to run Windows, Linux, or other popular OSes on Mac without rebooting. Virtualization serves healthcare to accounting, IT, CAD, creativity, and every industry in between. Parallels Desktop supports users to utilize the software they need on the hardware they already have to ensure you can get your job done faster without buying a second or third computer.
Since 2006, macOS users get the best of both the Mac and PC worlds on one device while you’re working remotely with virtualization. The best part? Parallels Desktop has thousands of supported applications within Microsoft Windows so that every industry can be supported. Plus, a free 14-day trial makes it easy to see if your specific needs are served with a virtual machine in Parallels Desktop. Not to mention, 24/7 support and our 30-day money-back guarantee.
BBEdit
BBEdit has one of the best marketing slogans, “It doesn’t suck.” And the reason why it’s one of the best slogans is that the product rings true and serves a consistent level of quality that is hard to match. While this specific suggestion is more particular to those who need HTML or plain-text editors for macOS, it is powerful because of everything else it can do for you.
BBedit has been crafted to serve the specific needs of writers, devs, and provides endless features for editing. For a power user, the advanced search, manipulation of prose, source code, managing bash data, and textual data is all wrapped up in BBedit. To be clear, BBEdit is not a word processor. However, it can replace several apps on your Mac to become one of the most invaluable macOS apps in your arsenal.
Grammarly
Grammarly is easily in my top five favorite apps of all time. Why? Simply because of the copious amount of time it has saved me during my writing process.
Grammarly is the best writing assistant available that goes much deeper than surface-level grammar to offer you comprehensive feedback on your writing. On the technical side, Grammarly is simply a digital writing tool that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Read: it makes the writing process more comfortable and much less painful.
Communication with Your Friends or Work Team:
Discord
Consider Discord to be my macOS guilty pleasure of choice. While it’s also available for Windows PC, the macOS app is clean. It allows me to connect with friends or coworkers without frustration. Creating my private server or linking to my friend’s server makes everything separate and easy.
Discord lacks the messy UX that most other chat services offer. Sharing your gaming, your work, or whatever you need to share on your screen, is also cleaner than most other communication apps. Not to mention, it’s cheeky copywriting within the app makes me smirk every time I launch the app, making it easy to want to continue to use it.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the professional-grade communication tool that my team wanted but didn’t know we needed until we had it. The ability to chat, meet, share, call, and collaborate from anywhere as a global team has increased our productivity ten-fold within the first couple of weeks we started utilizing MS Teams.
It’s not just a communication tool, either. Microsoft Teams is robust enough to support calls, workflows, and meets industry-specific compliances such as healthcare or education. With our world evolving to a fully global digital landscape, Microsoft Teams is here to save the day with endless productivity. Microsoft said it best, with Teams you can work remotely without feeling remote – and it rings true through my personal experience.
Mood-Boosting to Keep Your Brain Productive While Working.
Note: While this blog post is explicitly surrounding the topic of productivity while working remotely, it’s imperative to mention the balance that goes behind productivity. Working your brain without breaks for fun is an expressway to burnout. Let’s avoid burnout by taking fun breaks with these following apps:
Spotify
Spotify has always been my music-platform of choice due to release exclusives and social components, but Spotify is a secret weapon to a productive day for several reasons. Firstly, Spotify’s market share is massive, so that you can listen everywhere. From speakers to tv’s, cars, gaming, smartwatches, smart displays, and all the best personal assistants. Secondly, their licensing options are fantastic. Of course, Spotify comes free with ads.
However, if you’re looking to ditch the ads for a distraction-free listening experience, Spotify has several subscription options. Spotify Premium has several levels to the membership: Premium, Premium Family, and Premium Student.
What are the differences in Spotify Premium memberships?
Spotify Premium:
Premium Family:
Premium Student:
Swift Playgrounds
Swift Playgrounds from Apple is an un-matched method to learn how to code. While it is available to both Mac and iPad, taking a break from your day to day to build with Swift Playgrounds adds a fun dimension to your overall productivity. It’s perfect for new-to-coding beginners and utilizes gamification to grasp the core basics of Swift – Apple’s powerful programming language.
The best thing about Apple is their curiosity for innovation and Swift Playgrounds continuously releases new integrations such as robotics, LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3, and even augmented reality (AR) to master our real 3D world. Apple is smart and understands as you learn, you’ll want more to play with. Because of this, Apple offers a variety of fun devices to shop.
Yack
Yack hasn’t quite hit the market yet. However, if you sign up for the beta, it’s clear why Yack is a must-have for macOS Redditors. Without opening your web browser, you can explore your favorite Reddit communities from a single elegant desktop app with a unified user interface.
Best Productivity Apps For Mac And Ios
Also, if you spend the day scrolling through YouTube, Yack also allows you to browse YouTube using the same beautiful, intuitive UI you use to browse Reddit. It’s an excellent and refreshing way to take a short break and check in on what’s going on outside your remote working space.
The remote workday is envisioned with multiple hurdles of obstacles without any allowance for sanity. macOS users need flexible apps that are easily managed, quickly absorbed, and serves the need of the moment.
Android Productivity Apps
The best macOS apps for productivity during remote work should consistently serve the everchanging needs of the digital worker. It is not always easy to craft the best environment for productivity during working remotely. Still, I sincerely hope this list has helped you sort through the hundreds of thousands of macOS apps that are available.
Please, let us know what you think or if you have any suggestions for our list of the best macOS apps for productivity when working from home. Reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below!
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