When it comes to sourcing productivity tools to make your work more efficient, it can be hard to find things that work well with your Mac. Luckily for Mac fans, there are some fantastic Mac-friendly productivity apps, despite most of the lists and resources online being geared toward Android and Microsoft. Here are the best Mac-friendly productivity applications to keep you on track during the day.
Forest
Forest is a simple app that helps you stay on track using the Pomodoro technique for maximum productivity. To use the Pomodoro technique, you set a timer for a predetermined interval of time, usually 20-30 minutes. During that time you focus solely on your work, knowing that after the timer goes off, you get a 5-10 minute break from your task.
Forest follows that same structure, with a fun twist that will appeal to nature lovers. To start your timer you plant a seed. As time ticks down on your computer, the seed begins to grow in the corner of your browser. If you work consistently, your seedling becomes a fully grown tree that you can transfer to your forest. If you veer away from your work to one of the sites on your blacklist, your seedling withers and dies. You would be surprised how emotionally daunting and ultimately effective it is to be responsible for the life of a pretend tree.
Qbserve
Qbserve (pronounced cube-serve) is a highly-effective time tracking app. Not only does it allow you to track billable hours and invoice clients accordingly, but it also helps you track what you do on your Mac. In doing so, you’ll be able to analyze how effectively (or ineffectively) you are using your time. Qbserve even breaks down your activity into easy-to-read analytics, so you can see what percentage of your time is spent on green sites (productive) versus red sites (unproductive).
Sometimes we don’t realize how much time we waste throughout the day. While we may think we’ve only spent a couple of minutes browsing Instagram here and there, in reality the average person spends over two hours each day on social media. That is approximately a month out of the entire year. Reflect on that for a moment.
IFTT
IFTT is a personal assistant right on your computer. The letters stand for “if this then that,” referring to a commonly used coding function. Luckily, you don’t need to be a software developer to benefit from IFTT. IFTT lets you create “applets” that trigger automatic reactions when something happens.
For example, you can create an applet that will notify you every time one of your interests appears in the news. If you have a home assistant, you can turn on the lights in your home as soon as the sun sets. You can also create automated tracking for your hours, expenses, and work projects. There are both preset applets and the option to make your own (which will require some tech savvy).
Just Press Record
Just Press Record is an app that not only records what you are saying, but will transcribe it into text at the touch of a button. Furthermore, this cloud-based application will automatically carry your recordings from one device to another. That means if you’re listening to an important lecture in class with your phone, the notes will be there waiting for you when you get back to your laptop.
Just Press Record will help boost your productivity by ensuring that you can focus solely on what is being said during an important meeting without having to take notes. It will save you work later when you don’t have to try and piece together things that you may have missed while note taking, avoiding time-consuming and often costly mistakes.
When it comes to productivity, willpower isn’t enough to keep you on the right course. To be effective, you need the right tools to help you build a sustainable habit. Now that you know which tools to use, fire up your Mac and get to work!
