Look down the list of productivity apps below. If any of these tools are unfamiliar, it might be worth giving them a go. You may wonder how you have got by without them.
If you try any of our recommendations out, let us know what you think.
Also, a bit of a disclaimer: In this time of global difficulty, it can be hard to keep your productivity high, assuming that you’re lucky enough to currently in work.
Humans are not 100% productivity machines and a little bit of procrastination is healthy – you might even see reading this blog as procrastination. That said, if we can help you to keep your focus for a few more minutes each day, or to manage your work remotely a bit easier, everyone benefits.
So, how many of these tools do you currently use?
Focusmate
Virtual co-working helps you to get things done. When you’re working from home, a little bit of accountability helps you to make sure you’re spending your time effectively. Book in up to 3 virtual sessions per week, and you’ll be paired with a virtual partner to whom you’ll be accountable to for that session.
The science says you’re more likely to work hard when you’ve given them a promise to finish something. Definitely worth a go.
JIRA
JIRA is an application creation tool for designing and building items for teams. Used by the global design community, JIRA allows developers to track and coordinate projects, delegate tasks, control team progress. It’s difficult to see how you haven’t heard of JIRA if you’re a dev. It’s basically ubiquitous in the dev community – Dynamics or otherwise.
https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
Shift
JIRA is great, but one restriction is that it’s only accessible in the cloud.
Not anymore.
Thanks to Shift, devs can manage JIRA, emails and other essential apps from a since desktop interface. Keep your tabs clean with Shift.
https://tryshift.com/apps/JIRA/
FullStory
One for the product and project managers.
FullStory is like having access to unlimited live user studies, all day, everyday. FullStory advises you precisely which software upgrades to target, meaning you don’t waste time, and you can concentrate on what you do best: setting up stand-out digital experience.
Habitica
One for the gamers.
Over 4 million users are taking on Habitica to gamify their productivity.
Create a character, complete your daily workload and level up, find pets, collect coins and equipment and earn XP to help you keep your motivation. If you work in a group, try Habitica’s guilds and group quests, link your team together and if you procrastinate on your individual tasks, your whole team will take damage.
https://habitica.com/static/home
MusicForProgramming
Need something in the background to help you blur out the distractions? MusicForProgramming is a curated list of mixes specifically designed to boost concentration and productivity. It’s mostly ambient, field recording and drone-style music that gives you something to focus on without distracting you from your work.
It’s good for programmers, but whatever field you work in, MusicForProgramming is there for you in your hour of greatest procrastination.
http://musicforprogramming.net/
So try these productivity apps out and let us know which of these you think could make a difference to your day. Time sometimes feels like it’s standing still when you’re working from home, so hopefully one of these will make your work day that little easier.
Leave a comment below or get in touch with us here and speak to us directly. We’re getting very good at video calls!