It’s no secret that we’re in a productivity crisis. The average worker is distracted every 3 minutes—and they take about 25 minutes to get back on track. It’s no wonder why it never seems like there’s enough time to meet your deadlines.
But there’s a way around this. Lots of productivity apps and tools are available to help you get more done. Some apps will help you manage your time better, while others can keep you focused and on task.
If you’re looking to be more effective at work, here are the 10 best productivity tools to help you work faster in 2022:
1) Evernote
Evernote is a free note-taking app that can jot down ideas, create to-do lists, or store images and documents. You can use Evernote on all your gadgets, and it syncs automatically across them all.
The only thing you’ll have to pay for is if you want to use Evernote Personal ($8 per month). It offers additional features such as offline notebooks and 10GB of monthly uploads instead of 60MB.
It has many unique features that make it stand out. For one, you can use it to search through the text inside images and PDFs. This is especially helpful when you need to find something in a scanned file.
2) Hootsuite
Almost 15 years in, Hootsuite is still a valuable tool for businesses wanting to maintain their social media presence. It helps you manage all your social media channels, schedule posts, monitor activities, and get other insights into your campaigns. You can stay informed about what’s happening with all your accounts in one place.
There’s a free plan that has all the essential features, including 2 social profiles and up to 5 scheduled posts a day. The premium plans start at $49/month for up to 10 social media accounts and go up to $739/month for 35 accounts.
3) Slack
Slack is a messaging app for productive employees.
It uses channels to organize conversations by topic. You can keep track of what’s going on in separate departments and not get lost in the noise of general chat groups. Slack also has an impressive integration with other apps, which makes it easier for users to get work done without ever leaving their Slack window.
If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution for communication at work, then Slack is definitely worth a look. The pro plan starts at about $7/month per user. You’ll have an unlimited message history and can add as many employees as you like.
4) Hive
Hive is a task management system that allows you to organize your obligations by project and due date. You can display your projects in any way that works for you. Gantt and Kanban are two of the many options.
Hive also offers integrations with other apps. For example, it allows you to import events directly from Google Calendar or Outlook 365, so they will show up on your Hive calendar automatically.
All clients receive a 14-day free trial. Afterward, pricing starts at $12/month per user.
5) Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage service that allows you to create and edit documents. You can also share your files with others. If you want to collaborate, simply email the document and get live feedback.
Google Drive is free for up to 15GB of storage. From here, you can upgrade to plans as low as $2/month for 100GB.
6) Todoist
If you’re figuring out how to be a good employee and stay on task, then Todoist is a great tool to help you feel less overwhelmed. It helps you organize your life using a proven time management technique: to-do lists!
The app allows you to create tasks, set deadlines, and assign them to projects. It’ll also inform you of each goal’s progress so you can stay motivated.
Todoist offers free and paid plans, which start at $4/month for 300 active projects.
7) Google Calendar
Efficient employees are always on schedule and that’s why Google Calendar is a must-have tool. It’s easy to use, it syncs with your other devices so you can access it anywhere, and it allows you to schedule meetings and appointments all from one place.
You can even share your calendar with others if you want them to see what’s on your plate or get their input on certain things (like meeting times). Best of all, Google Calendar is 100% free.
8) RescueTime
RescueTime is a time-tracking tool that helps you understand how you spend your time online. It tracks which websites, apps, and programs you use (and for how long) so that you can see where all of your hours go each day. You’ll be able to see which sites are distracting and what activities are productive, allowing you to make adjustments as needed.
RescueTime offers a 14-day free trial. After that, the service costs $12.99/month or $78/year.
9) Unroll Me
Unroll Me is a service that helps you manage your email subscriptions so you don’t waste 64 seconds on a promotional email that catches your eye. It automatically unsubscribes you from any unwanted lists and lets you roll the rest into one daily digest.
This way, when someone sends you an email link, it will be in the digest instead of clogging up your inbox with junk that doesn’t interest you.
10) Buffer
Buffer is a program that lets you schedule social media posts so they go out at the times of day when most people are likely to see them. You can link it with all the popular social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram. Also, you can team up with other digital marketers to create new campaigns from a beautifully designed dashboard.
The service is free, but you’ll have to pay if you want more than what’s offered under the basic plan. The prices begin at $15/month for 8 social media accounts.
Boost Your Output With Productivity Apps
Take a look at these productivity apps and pick out the ones that seem most relevant to your work. Try them out for yourself, and see if they can help you get more done in less time.
But don’t stop here! Productivity apps will only get you so far. It is by building efficient habits that we stay productive in our careers, and we’d be happy to help you with this.
Our blog is dedicated to helping you become a more effective person, and we have plenty of articles that address the topic. If you want to learn more about productivity and time management, have a read.