As a designer/developer, I need an assortment of software to assist with my organization and help increase my productivity. Because I have a lot of devices, I prefer applications that are available on multiple platforms like Mac, iOS, and the web. I find it beneficial if these apps have the ability to sync via the cloud using services like Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive. Here are my favorite six productivity apps to save time and keep myself organized.
Fantastical
iOS, Mac
This calendar app makes entering new appointments and meetings a breeze by parsing natural language to create the new event. Fantastical provides a wonderful monthly or weekly overview of upcoming events which makes it easy to navigate and view events. It also gives you the ability to quickly edit or delete events with a swipe.
Wunderlist
Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web
This to-do list app has the ability to assign and receive list items from other users. Making it easy to create and delegate project tasks amongst a team. From there, tasks can be prioritized and organized by project. You can even add sub-tasks, notes, and images to a task.
Deliveries
iOS, Mac, Web
Deliveries is the easiest way to track your packages on all your devices. It’s integrated directly into the right-click contextual menu on a Mac, this gives users the ability to highlight a tracking number directly in the browser, right-click and choose “Add to Deliveries.” On iOS, copy the tracking number and launch the Deliveries app to add the package. That’s it. Just launch the app to get the current status, delivery date, and location at a glance.
1Password
Android, iOS, Mac, Windows
Keeping your passwords safe, secure, and available at a moments notice, 1Password uses a browser extension to autocomplete a website’s form once a master password has been entered. Giving you the ability to store multiple login credentials for a single page, generate strong passwords, and share passwords with team or family members.
Text Expander
iOS, Mac
I highly recommend text expansion software to everyone. I find it to be a big time saver for writing repetitive emails, text messages, and forms. You start by creating snippets which consist of a single line, a paragraph, or a highly detailed form which can be dropped into any document with a few keystrokes. A good example would be a detailed email signature which can be dropped into the footer of an email just by typing “eml”.
HootSuite
Android, iOS, Web
Perfect for managing all your social networks, Hootsuite allows you to schedule, respond, and segment your social feeds. It organizes your networks into tabs and columns which can be customized to suit your specific needs. For their pro members, they offer a custom URL shortener that tracks the clicks on your links to provide you with analytics on the performance of your posts.
There are many productivity apps available to simplify and organize your office. Share your experiences or the apps that you prefer to use to stay organized.