Favorite Productivity Apps

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

- William Penn

Sometimes I'm thought of as a very busy person (perhaps mistakenly) as a result my generally scheduled lifestyle in which I account for school, work, leisure, and everything in between. As a result, I often get the question from others of how I find the time to get things done.

Well, as much as I'd like to take credit for all of this productivity, I've eventually come to depend on three essential apps that manage my life for me. I'd like to share these apps with you today.

Workflowy

Workflowy works on both desktop and mobile clients.

The app in/on which I spend the most of my time, excluding my inboxes, is Workflowy. At its core, it's an app that makes lists which can be easily created, shared, and completed. While I use Workflowy to record actions items throughout the day including the outline for this blog post, I've seen others use the app for recruiting and even wedding plan. I find that Workflowy's inherent simplicity permits use by even the most lay-user.

To not only try the app but unlock some additional functionality, I recommend you click here before going straight to the website to set up your account.

Asana

Asana works on both desktop and mobile clients.

When you're looking for a powerhouse team communication and task management app that is functionally compatible with Google Drive, Dropbox, and a host of other web services, Asana just might become your best friend. I use Asana to remind me of daily routines like taking my vitamin, less timely but more important personal projects like finding an apartment in Charlotte, NC, establishing timelines for completing my course assignments, and managing tasks among my teams within Student Government Cabinet and the Greater Gator Conference.

While some people aren't a fan of the regular email reminders that come with the service, they can be easily switched off and push notifications to you only when appropriate. Asana may be losing ground to other team-focused apps like Slack, but I prefer the simple interface that more closely resembles a to-do list than a social media feed.

Sunrise

Sunrise works on both desktop and mobile clients.

Although the iOS platform provides a speedy native calendar app that works with Google Calendar, Exchange, and their peers, it fails to support some of the the customisability that many users favor on the respective desktop apps.

And that's where Sunrise comes in. As my preferred calendar app of choice, it not only connects to my Google Calendar and supports the colored appointments from the desktop calendar, it takes one leap further by communicating with my Asana Tasks, Facebook Events, Evernote Reminders, and more. When I initially began using the app, I thought I'd struggle with departing from the iOS calendar app updates and the built-in notifications on the slide-down Notification Area. But with iOS 8.0 support of third-party widgets, there's no reason not to upgrade to Sunrise now.

Some Final Thoughts

No matter how you manage your time and energy, the end goal of any productivity tool is ultimately getting things done. While there's been a learning curve with using some of these apps, I've been able to automate tasks and reminders while capturing thoughts big and small so that I can interact with those around me in the present here and now without any worry as to what's next on the agenda.

I highly encourage you check out these apps and continue getting things done.

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