Apps to Increase Productivity

On the last blog, I discussed the Pareto Principle, suggesting that 20% of your time accounts for 80% of your productivity. Today, I want to talk about ways to get more productive utilizing technology that most of us already own: smartphones and tablets. We will focus on using apps to increase productivity.

For iPhone users, the Reminders App, which is already on your iPhone when you buy it, is the single greatest smartphone tool for getting things done. It’s a simple to-do list with the ability to remind you of deadlines, set alarms, and prioritize your tasks. If you are behind the wheel, you can even use Siri to verbally input items.

If you spend a lot of time driving, nothing impacts your productivity more than traffic. While you can’t always avoid it, if you know ahead of time, you can potentially choose another route or rework your schedule so that you can schedule tasks like phone calls as you are commuting. If you don’t have the Waze app on your smartphone, you should download it. It’s a free GPS app that works as well or better than any I have used for directions (as someone with a horrible sense of direction, I’ve used many). It also gets input from its user base to warn about traffic backups, speed traps, and road closures.

Audio Note is a voice recorder app that allows you to record a conversation or presentation while simultaneously taking notes. As you type notes it automatically indexes the audio content you are listening to while you are typing. When you finish, you can simply touch the note on the screen and it will start playing the audio from the point you started typing.

If you still use a legal pad, and you own a tablet, check out Notetaker HD. It simply allows you to write on your tablet, while providing a framework that allows you to get as much on the page as you would if it were an actual physical legal pad. Instead of having to hold on to a lot of paper, this is a great way to have all your notes in one place in a form that’s easy to search and reference.

If you travel, the Tripit app will canvas your emails, pull your flight and hotel information, build your itinerary, input it into your calendar, track your flights, and even notify you of delays.

Whispersync is service offered by Amazon, that gives you the ability to read a book on your Kindle (or kindle app), then advance to the corresponding mark in the audiobook while you exercise or drive.

These ideas represent effective ways to tackle tasks that can be time consuming, but may not represent the most productive use of your time. If you already own the technology, why not spend a few dollars to install a few apps to increase productivity. You may just free up some time to focus on activities that truly drive revenue.