Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and consistent effort. These are the words of Paul J Meyer – a renowned personal and professional development expert.
I would like to add another element that is helping individuals to be more productive is – productivity apps. As the times have become a little too much competitive, it makes sense to take help from a myriad of productivity tools available in the market.
What are productivity tools?
Productivity tools are the software that facilitates users to work on tasks efficiently and easily. These tools streamline operations, reduce manual efforts, automate repetitive tasks, organize information, and improve collaboration.
The purpose of using this type of tool is to save energy and time to improve efficiency, resulting in enhanced productivity.
43 best productivity tools [2024]
Here’s our list of the 43 best productivity tools that you can start using right now.
Project management
1) ProofHub
It is quite common to feel overwhelmed and disorganized when working on projects or managing projects. ProofHub is an all-in-one project management andtask management software to keep things organized, increase accountability, communicate more efficiently, and keep everyone on the same page. It is one place for all your projects, teams, and work-related information.
Top features:
- One place to manage work from start to finish
- You have complete control over tasks
- Communicate and collaborate with your team in real-time
- Get a quick overview of progress and ensure teams stay on track
- Keep track of time spent on each step
- Simplify and organize your workflow by uploading files and documents.
2) nTask
With so many elements of a project to keep track of, sometimes staying productive throughout the process can be overwhelming, but having a project management tool like nTask can help.
nTask is a team productivity tool that can help you keep all the elements of your project in a centralized platform to ensure you are on top of project tasks, visualize your progress, get status reports, and more.
Top Features:
- Time tracking and employee timesheets
- Meeting tools with the ability to create meeting agendas, discussion points, and follow-up actions
- To-Do Lists
- Team Collaboration
3) GanttPro
Another great team productivity tool is GanttPRO. With GanttPRO online Gantt chart software, you can be sure all of your team members keep track of tasks. A visually appealing Gantt chart timeline provides project participants with an immediate picture of how the plan is progressing. Thanks to collaboration opportunities, no detail will be lost.
Top features:
- Task management and assignment
- Team collaboration with comments, files, and notifications
- Time log for personal tasks, personal calendars
- Deadline management
- Export and Sharing via Public URL
- Resource workload
Scheduling & Calendar
4) Calendar
While using a digital calendar or other time management tool to become more organized and better with your time, you may feel like you are actually spending too much time entering and revising information across your tools. Calendar has created an AI-enabled solution that learns your schedule and takes over organizing, booking, and updating meetings and events on your calendar. It also syncs across multiple calendar tools and devices, saving you time and letting you focus on high-priority tasks.
Top features:
- Share calendars and designate who sees what on your calendar
- Analytics for your Calendar so you can see where you’re opening your time each day.
- Automatically invite and schedule meeting attendees
- Leverage analytics tools to assess calendar data and reveal how you spend your time with people and in meetings
- Integrates multiple digital calendars like Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal as well as another email, project management, and collaboration tools.
Marketing Tool
5) HubSpot’s Marketing Hub
HubSpot’s Marketing Hub is the best team collaboration software to launch, manage, and sustain your marketing efforts and campaigns. Since the Marketing Hub is connected to HubSpot’s all-in-one CRM tool, your team can control your customer’s journey from the moment they visit your site to when they sign-up for your tools. Each customer’s interactions are stored and shared among your teams to ensure every member can view, engage, and connect with any potential customer and coordinate with your team.
Top features:
- Data sync between Marketing, Customer Service, and Sales teams
- Contact database and contact management
- Shared conversations for each contact
- Automation software for email, social media, and more
- Tool integrations with no code required
Email Management & Email Finder
6) Clean Email
Clean Email provides an effective antidote to one of the biggest productivity roadblocks we’ve all encountered at some point in our lives: a cluttered inbox. Its recipe is the ability to intelligently group similar emails and provide users with an assortment of tools to manage them quickly, easily, and efficiently—delete multiple emails at once, block unwanted senders, or unsubscribe from any email subscription. To ensure that your inbox won’t become messy ever again, Clean Email can perform common inbox organization actions automatically with its Auto Clean feature.
Top features:
- Convenient, bulk email organization.
- Smart categorization of email messages.
- Block unwanted senders
- Unsubscribe from noisy marketing newsletters.
- Automated rule-based inbox management.
7) Email Finder
Email Finder is a tool created by Hunter that can help you find email addresses in seconds. Just add the first and last name of the person you need to reach out to and the website’s domain. You’ll get the result in seconds. This tool also comes with a Chrome extension that can find the email addresses of a website in a single click.
Top features:
- Instant verification
- Access to 66 million website data sources
- 25 free email lookups per month
- Can perform bulk email lookups for a list of people
- Available in the API
8) Right Inbox
Right Inbox is a Gmail extension l that offers 10 different features to users, from email scheduling to email tracking. 250,000+ professionals added Right Inbox to Gmail for next-level email productivity. Right Inbox saves you time on repetitive tasks and helps you to send better emails, in less time consistently.
Top features:
- See who opens your emails with email tracking
- Send sequences with follow-ups that automatically send if a recipient doesn’t reply
- Set email reminders to not lose track of important conversations
- Schedule emails to be sent later
- Add notes to emails, for your eyes only
9) Sanebox
If you need an app that cleans up your inbox then Sanebox is the app for you. It automatically sorts your emails and declutters your mailbox. It sorts your emails into different folders depending on each email’s importance so that you can focus on what matters.
Top features:
- Prioritizes your email with smart filtering
- Saves your attachments into the cloud
- Snooze email until a time set by you
10) Unroll.me
The best thing about Unroll.me is that it is as simple as it can get. It cleans up your inbox by categorizing your subscriptions in the form of a virtual roll-up. You can access it whenever you have some free time.
Top features:
- The roll-up allows you to read emails at the time chosen by you.
- Makes your mailbox clutter-free
- Secure and easy to access
11) Boomerang
Boomerang is a dedicated email management application for Gmail that schedules and set email reminders. The coolest thing about it is that it allows you to ‘boomerang’ a message back to your inbox to remind you about it at the set time.
Top features:
- Get the ultimate control when to send and receive an email message
- Remove interruptions so you can finish important tasks
- Block off times for deep focus work
12) Inbox
Inbox by Gmail is the inbox that works for you. It saves a lot of time by preventing any need for you to dig through emails by showing you the highlights directly.
Top features:
- Add reminders to the top of your inbox
- Snooze emails and reminders
- Use bundles to group messages and get the clutter out of your way
13) Airmail
It was designed from the ground up to provide you a consistent experience whether you have single or multiple accounts. It is a lightning fast mail client for Mac and iPhone.
Top features:
- Modern and easy-to-use interface
- Get to your emails without any interruption
- Powerful and customizable email app
Communication
14) Slack
It is the perfect team collaboration software that unifies your entire team’s communications. It integrates with the apps you use every day such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box to name a few.
Top features:
- Chat and team communication
- Set up reminders
- Highlight words to be notified as they appear in a conversation
15) Shift
Shift is the desktop app for streamlining your accounts, apps, and workflows. Tired of switching between accounts, and logging in and out? Shift is a logical & beautiful solution for managing everything better. Toggle between multiple Gmail, Outlook & Office 365 accounts without the hassle. Connect all of your email accounts + your favorite web apps and tools to Shift. Then, customize your workstation so it’s just right.
Top Features:
- Cross-platform support (MacOS, Windows, Linux)
- Manage all of your apps and accounts in one place
- Custom desktop notifications
- Unified search across all your Google accounts to find exactly what you need
- Focused browsing web tabs
16) Fleep
Fleep acts as a flexible messenger that integrates with email and lets you share and store files easily. Give it a try, if you are tired of those endless email conversations.
Top features:
- Truly flexible communication
- Everything is in one place and easy to keep track of
- Contact anyone, anywhere, and on any device
17) Chanty
Chanty is a simple and fast team chat app to boost communication in teams of all business segments. With Chanty, you can easily get in touch with your colleagues in private, public, group and one-on-one conversations. The Teambook menu allows you to keep all your messages, files, links and tasks in order. You can also achieve a new level of productivity with third-party Apps in Chanty. Integrations turn a team chats into a command center, giving you control over the information from the apps you use.
In addition, using Chanty voice messaging and calls you can instantly communicate with your team and deliver important information ASAP.
Top features:
- Free unlimited message history
- Built-in task management
- Audio/video calls and voice messaging
- Integrations
- File sharing
18) Bit.ai
One of the biggest productivity killers in the workplace is coincidentally the various productivity tools we end up using in the first place. Messaging someone on Slack, finding content stored in Dropbox, Emailing clients, Collaborating on Google Docs, etc. drains our productivity as we keep shuffling between apps and don’t seem to make any progress with the actual work.
This is why we all need Bit.ai, document management and collaboration tool that helps teams to collaborate, share, track, and manage all company documents, files, and other content in one place. No more juggling around apps and tools! The bit is the ultimate productivity tool as it brings all your company documentation, media files, and knowledge under one smart roof.
Top features:
- Real-time collaboration on work without the to-and-fro email and chat messages
- Documents can go from personal notes to team research, to coordinated documents and client-facing material that can be shared and tracked to get intelligent engagement insights.
- Store all media files- videos, images, PDFs, logos, etc in one central location for easy access.
19) Google Docs
With Google docs, you can create write, access, edit, and collaborate wherever you go – from your phone, tablet, or computer – even when there’s no connection. It is a widely used document storage and work management software that allows individuals to collaborate.
Top features:
- Smart editing and styling tools
- Choose from a variety of resumes, reports, and pre-made documents
- Create a document through a browser or mobile app
20) Skype
One of the most popular software in the world, Skype has made communication over video calling more collaborative than ever. The Skype you know has recently had a fresh design and a ton of new features to help you stay connected.
Top features:
- Take your conversation to a new level with rich video features
- Share messages, photos, emoticons in real-time
- Call mobile and landline numbers at affordable rates
21) Zoom
Zoom provides remote conferencing services using cloud computing. It is a real powerhouse tool that can accommodate up to 500 participants to collaborate seamlessly.
Top features:
- HD video and high-quality audio
- Screen sharing and a full suite of collaboration features
- Easy to start and join
22) GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting allows turning online meetings into conference calls. It is an online video conferencing tool for users to schedule meetings and share screens. No matter where you are, your personal meeting is now just a few clicks away.
Top features:
- Simple answer calls – no codes or PINs needed
- Dynamic video conferencing
- Screen sharing without the hassle
- 6 HD video feeds per session
- Highlighting tools to mark up what’s on the screen
Time tracking
23) Toggl
It is an ultimate time-saver app and is insanely simple to use. Toggl’s time tracker is built for speed and drives a stake in the heart of timesheets. This time tracking software can integrate tens of other tools to increase its functionality.
Top features:
- Instant overview of your billable time and team progress
- Offline time tracking and mobile functionalities
- Reports directly delivered to managers
24) Harvest
Known as one of the best time-tracking software, Harvest lets your business ticking. Whether it’s from the web, your smartphone, or another application, time tracking was never so easy.
Top features:
- Simple and intuitive interface
- Get insights of the project with powerful reporting
- Create and send invoices online
25) Paymo
If you are looking for an app that takes away the pain of planning, scheduling, task management, time tracking and invoicing, then Paymo is your answer. Bringing all the important elements under one roof, it makes easier to get an overview of your team’s performance.
Top features:
- Accurate tracking of the time spent on tasks and projects
- Detailed project reports
- Categorize all time entries and automate
26) Everhour
With a comprehensive range of features, Everhourㅡ an intuitive time tracking software is for teams to reach goals faster. It keeps you precise with your project estimates ensuring you are with your tasks all the time.
Top features:
- Manual time entry
- Seamless integration
- Reporting
- History of entries
- Multiple time formats
27) Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a time-tracking software trusted by more than 8,000 remote teams. Its time tracker runs as software on your desktop or as a mobile app making it easy to track time. Once the time is tracked, you can invoice clients, pay employees, see in-depth reporting, and much more.
Top features:
- Randomized screenshots enable you to keep a track who is working on what
- Tracks the number of mouse movements and keyboard strokes by employees
- 30 plus integrations
28) Time Doctor
When you want to know where is your team spending their time while working even when they are hundreds of miles away from you, Time Doctor can help. Time Doctor is a complete time-tracking and productivity tool designed specifically for remote teams.
Top features:
- Screenshots recording
- Web and app usage monitoring
- Alerts to avoid distractions
Note-making
29) Evernote
Evernote acts like your second brain that enables you to remember everything. It’s a reliable note-making app to stay organized and get more done. With Evernote, you can capture, organize, and share notes from anywhere so that your best ideas are always with you and in sync.
Top features:
- Collect everything at one place and make it more accessible
- Add attachments, links, and audio recordings
- Scan and search information from business cards
Read more: Evernote alternatives: 15 best note-taking apps for 2024
30) Microsoft OneNote
It is a digital note-taking app that works on any device or platform be it laptops or smartphones. It has got you covered to type, write, or draw with the free-form feel of pen to paper. It comes handy while taking impromptu notes. You just have to pick a notebook, a section and create a new page and you’re good to go!
Top features:
- Real-time collaboration
- audio/video recording
- Optical character recognition from images
31) Simplenote
It offers the simplest way to keep notes – light, clean, and free. It eliminates the need for wasting time while locating files, just type what you are looking for, and your list updates instantly. The best part – your notes are backed up. Just drag the version slider to go back in time.
Top features:
- Your notes stay updated on all your devices
- Find notes quickly with instant searching and tags
- Backup, syncing, and sharing – it’s all free
32) Box notes
Whether it’s brainstorming with coworkers or the meeting notes you share with others, it is all about real-time collaboration. And, Box Notes is an online note-taking app that makes it easier for team members to work together. Just create notes and never worry about security.
Top features:
- Easy to create meeting notes, share ideas, and track status updates
- Live editing enables real-time collaboration
- Every note you create or share is secured by enterprise-growth security
33) Dropbox paper
It’s an online word processor where teams can bring ideas to life in a single place. Taking a little casual approach to work, Paper lets people be themselves with stickers and emojis to make the conversation more connected and alive. It provides an interface that is ultralight.
Top features:
- Anyone can see and update Dropbox files in a Paper doc
- Changes are automatically saved
- Seamless presentations
34) Google keep
Google Keep is a full-featured notes app known for its simplicity to jot down reminders, capture ideas, create checklists, take meeting notes, make to-dos, and much more. You get digital sticky-notes and as a part of G-suite, you can integrate your notes with Google Docs. It works well on Android-phone, iPhones, Google Chrome, Firefox or even Smartwatch.
Top features
- Two kinds of reminders ― time and location
- Audio notes by using Google’s speech-to-text engine
- Sync with Chrome and Web app
- Color-code your notes
- Location reminder when you are in a certain area
Distractions and focus
35) Freedom
improve focus and productivity.
Top features:
- Block whatever and whenever to be more productive
- Sync blocks across Mac, Windows, iPhone, or iPad
- Plan out sessions that recur daily or weekly
36) Self-control
It is a free and open-source app for macOS with which you can block your own access to distracting websites, mail servers, or anything else on the web. Just set a period of time to block the website and click ‘Start’. You won’t be able to access it – even if you switch off or delete the app.
Top features:
- Limits your social media addiction
- Enables focus
- Better work-life balance
37) Focus booster
Based on the Pomodoro technique, the Focus booster empowers you to maintain focus and keep distractions at bay. Sessions are automatically recorded in your timesheets so that you don’t have to recall where your time was spent.
Top features:
- Instant focus
- Encourages betterwork habits
- You can use it on any computer, on the web, or on your mobile
38) Forest
It’s a great tool that allows you to put your phone down and focus on what’s important. Here, the idea is to build a forest of trees where every tree symbolizes your task. Whenever you want to focus, plant a tree and it will be killed if you leave the app
Top features:
- Stay focused in any scenario
- It partners with a real-tree planting organization
39) Brain.fm
Brain.fm is a popular productivity app that uses music as brain stimulation. It unlocks music’s potential to influence cognitive states. The team proactively works with leading auditory neuroscientists to validate their findings.
Top features:
- Beneficial to boost focus, meditate, and sleep
- Designed for noticeable results in less than 15 minutes
- Better work-life balance
Health
40) MyFitnessPal
It’s essential to be at your optimum health level to do your best work. MyFitnessPal is a popular and easy-to-use calorie counter app. Along with this, you get free access to the world’s largest nutrition and calorie database.
Top features:
- Helps you to lose weight the healthy way
- Promotes better eating habits
- The web and mobile apps sync automatically
41) Yoga Studio
This one lets’s take your studio wherever you go. It includes 65 ready-made classes. Choose your level (beginner, intermediate or advanced), duration (15, 30 or 60 minutes) and focus (strength, flexibility, relaxation, balance, or combination) to find the perfect class for you.
Top features:
- Yoga classes by Rodney Yee – a renowned yoga instructor with 30+ years of experience
- 25 hours of ready-made HD video classes
- Perfect for beginners, awesome for experts
42) Map My Fitness
It’s a fitness tracking app that enables you to own every workout backed by world’s digital health and fitness community. You can create challenges for yourself and your friends, or even join a community challenge.
Top features:
- Track your fitness with any device
- Adaptive training plans
- Create challenges and train smarter
Email marketing
43) Litmus
Litmus is a highly versatile tool that makes your email management easier, faster, and better. It is the easiest way for teams to create a great email for every subscriber that could be opened across many different apps and devices conveniently.
Top features:
- Build, edit, and instantly preview your emails
- Get full visibility into every aspect of your email program
- Test critical elements that could impact email performance
- Work more efficiently and get more done
Conclusion
In conclusion, the array of 43 productivity tools highlighted in this article offers a diverse set of solutions for project management, communication, marketing, email, time tracking, and overall well-being.
Among them, ProofHub stands out as an all-in-one project management and task management software, providing a centralized platform for efficient collaboration, progress tracking, and streamlined workflow organization.
As professionals strive for excellence, ProofHub emerges as a valuable ally, offering a comprehensive solution to elevate project and task management. The 14-day free trial makes it a practical choice for those seeking enhanced productivity without immediate commitment. Embracing ProofHub is a strategic decision in the quest for success in the competitive landscape of today.
