Productivity Apps to Help You Stay Organized - Gamified Task Manager
Saturday, September 15, 2018
So Procrastination Day was two weeks ago… Gamify missed the deadline for our list of the 10 Best Productivity Apps. So, as all the procrastinators say, "better late than never".
Do you find that you have goals, aspirations and objectives but you simply don’t make the strides that you hope to in order to achieve them? Well, you’re not alone. There are numerous studies and theories regarding procrastination, each with their own hypothesis as to where procrastination stems from. However, what can be agreed upon is that putting healthy habits in place, helps pave the way for a more productive lifestyle.
Whatever the root cause of your procrastination is, it can be overcome with the help of perimeters and guidelines that come in the form of apps. After all, if using technology can be a catalyst to distraction, it only seems fitting that it can be wield as a goal achieving tool also.
The list below will cover both individual and group beneficial apps, whether all or just one of the following apps is of benefit to your situation, I think we can all agree that these apps are genius in both their User Integration and Experience.
1. Wunderlist
This list of productivity apps will contain several versions of to-do lists, they’re essential for direction and something to shoot for. Each option listed has its own approach and feel but to get things started, why not go for a free, user-friendly, fully featured, platform supported to-do list.
Wunderlist is a one-stop shop for all your task oriented features and requirements. Any or all of your lists can easily be shared with others for streamlined collaboration on complex projects. You can assign tasks to others as required, and a comments system allows your team to discuss the latest issues.
With apps for Windows, Android, iOS, Mac, Kindle Fire and more, as well as a web interface, you can run Wunderlist just about anywhere.
2. Write!
Have you ever been given a writing task that seems too daunting to ever take on? You know yourself, you know you will put in a little work and then before anytime has passed you’re checking your emails, seeing what people are up to on social media, surfing the web with no agenda.
Write! is for you, as it offers a distraction-free solution for jobs that require a lot of writing. It’s an app that blocks out every other part of your screen, allowing you to focus on the document in front of you. We’re talking everything, every pop-up, notification, icon etc. is removed from your sight to allow for you to focus on the task at hand for a set amount of time. This is just what the doctor ordered, an app which acts as blinders while at your computer in order to power through a task.
3. Habitica
This app is a gamified task manager, helping you to complete tasks and build habits in an engaging and fun way. When you create an account, you also create your own custom avatar which you can level up and upgrade through achieved unlocks when you complete daily goals and to-do list items. It definitely has a lot more appeal than your standard scribblings of a task list due to the motivational sciences behind gamified tasks.
4. Evernote
If you’re at all like me, you have creativity strike at the most inconvenient of times. Ideas and inspiration pass you by and you quickly jot down in your phone notes, on any nearby napkin or child’s forehead whatever information is necessary to hold onto that idea.
However you now have a messy spread of ideas accumulated across several mediums that cannot be neatly calibrated and filed away for when you need them. Enter Evernote, this app ties together all your loose ends into one designated location, collecting and organising your thoughts into a comprehensive document.
Whether it's a quick to-do list or a lengthy essay, you can add it to your Evernote workspace. Grab photos, screenshots, links, the interesting bits of a web article – anything that can help with your current projects.
5. Trello
At Gamify we’ve been using Trello as our collaborative operations tool. It has allowed for us to create boards for the team to view regarding game campaigns in the pipeline, articles under construction, what each individual is currently working on etc.
Trello is an easy to use app to help with project management, organising collaborations and sharing general purpose documents and announcements. With its colour coding and smartly designed card system layout, Trello is an easily adaptable app to any work environment.
Trello’s ability to link third-party services along with its visual boards that decay from neglect, makes Trello a hub for accountable collaborative work environments.
6. Forest
Forest is a perfect example of a task manager platform that allows for your productivity to have a positive outcome beyond your immediate environment.
Forest is a productivity app that when opened motivates you to focus through a virtual tree which will begin to grow when the app is opened. If you close the app while a tree is growing, you’ll watch it deteriorate.
The app works well for group projects too. It has a feature where the trees can only grow if everyone in the group is on task. As you continue to use Forest, you collect virtual gold coins. When you decide to spend a gold coin, Forest will work with its partner organisation, Trees for the Future, to plant a real tree
Over 273,000 trees have been planted thanks to Forest users. This app is great for people who need a little bit of visual stimulation and the motivation that comes from knowing that your focus can literally help the environment.
7. Strides
This app says it all in the title. Are you trying to kick a bad habit or retain a positive one?
Strides wants to make sure you’re progressing towards good habits and away from bad ones with its SMART tracker, holding you accountable with reminders and charts to keep you motivated and focused on achieving your goal.
Strides taps into the motivational science of gamifying tasks through visual stimuli, offering colour coded progressive pace line systems to help you track your progress. This free app is a perfect visual daily reminder of where you’re at with your goals.
8. Buffer
This day and age, both individuals and businesses have to maintain multiple social media accounts or get left behind. The thought alone is rather overwhelming but have no fear, Buffer is here.
Buffer is a one-stop social media manager which enables professional users to create, schedule and track the performance of all their social media posts from one place.
Having all your accounts funnelled through a scheduling app allows for you to take a step back and see where each social account is heading, taking the stress out of appearing omnipresent across platforms.
Buffer's comprehensive analytics allow for tracking metrics including clicks, likes, shares, comments, retweets and more, helping you better understand which posts work for you, and maybe indicating how to improve your social media reach in the future.
9. Taskful
This free app’s progress bar takes completing your to-do list to a new level. The bar moves forward as you continue to check off your tasks throughout the day, giving you a sense of accomplishment. The app even tracks your steps so you can stay in line with both your work and health goals.
Taskful’s progress bar is another example of motivational science. Those small victories help individuals snowball in their energy and can-do attitude, before they know it there is a whole line of completed tasks behind them.
Users can create an inbox in Taskful that syncs with other devices and sends email reminders. The app even pushes encouraging messages throughout the day to your device to keep users motivated. If you’re a fan of bright colours, you’ll enjoy the app’s aesthetic as well.
10. Focus
If you’re anything like me, my biggest issue with focusing is trying to make a marathon out of it. You begin to feel lethargic and uninspired, before you know it your punches carry no wait.
Focus is an app that utilises the Pomodoro Technique, placing individuals into “Focus Sessions” of 25 minutes at a time, followed by an intermediate break. Making focused work more realistic and achievable in increments.
Having a small work window makes the workload more consumable, if you can put your head down and work as much as possible in 25 minutes, you will be rewarded with a short break to maybe take a walk, listen to some music, check your emails, or send a text.
Once an individual completes four 25-minute sessions, they get a 15-20-minute break to do whatever they want.
This task manager also allows you to keep track of the work you have completed throughout the day, so you know what still needs to get done. This is a great option for someone seeking structure and motivation.
Now stop procrastinating, download whichever of these apps you feel will best help you to get back on track and go make stuff happen.