Six Apps to Monitor Time and Boost Productivity

Six Apps to Monitor Time and Boost Productivity

Being busy and being productive are not the same things. Anyone can look busy when the boss walks into the room, but a genuinely productive person achieves goals and meets deadlines with ease. It’s not because they work harder. It’s because they work smarter.

If you wish to boost your own productivity, there are a number of apps that can assist. Here are a few of our favorites:

1. KanbanFlow

KanbanFlow boosts productivity by helping to keep individuals and team members focused on project completion before starting a new task. Created with seamless workflow in mind, the digital Kanban board provides an easy-to-understand overview of projects. The column-style work board can be customized to track things such as to-do lists, in-progress tasks, and completed projects. This productivity app features a Pomodoro stopwatch that boosts focus and reduces procrastination by allocating work and break time into easily managed segments.

How to use the Kanban Pomodoro timer

Begin your workday by moving one or more to-do tasks into the Do Today column. Select a task, then start the timer. Focus on the task at hand for 25 minutes, then take a brief break for three to five minutes. Then, reset the timer and focus intently until Pomodoro says it’s time for another short work break. Every fourth break is longer, allowing the user to walk, eat, or power nap for half an hour.

2. Toggl Track

This productivity app comes with a Pomodoro timer, too. Ideal for solo freelancers as well as teams of all size, Toggl Track is a full-service productivity monitor that shows you where your time goes. Instantaneous reporting offers a clear, real-time view of billable and non-billable hours as well as idle time so everyone can stay focused, accountable, and on track throughout the duration of any project.

How to use Toggl Track

Click on the Create a Project tab at the top of the home screen, and give the project a name. Repeat for as many projects as you need to track. Each time you start work on a particular project, open the corresponding folder and click the green arrow at the top right corner. When you stop work, stop the timer. When you’re ready to see where and how work time was spent, open the dashboard to view graphs that reveal total work time as well as time spent on individual projects.

3. Hours

Freelancers and project teams analyze work time and create accurate invoices with the user-friendly Hours app. Features include a graphical interface that breaks down data into daily, weekly, and monthly chunks. Hours offers valuable insights that can be sorted by project, task, or individual person. Select a summary view to see all-over progress, or opt for a detailed view that allows project managers to reallocate human resources as necessary.

How to use Hours

First, find the Timers tab on the left sidebar and click it. Select Add New Timer, and give your project a name. Add new tasks to any timer or choose an existing task from the drop-down menu. Start and end timing by clicking the clock icon. Visit the Reports tab to view data sorted by project or date range. Distribute reports to one or more colleagues by clicking the Share Report button and copying the link provided. Removing a report is as simple as clicking the Delete button on the Hours dashboard.

4. Momentum

Manage your time while building positive habits with this simple and effective productivity app for Mac, iPhone, and Apple watches. Inspired by comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Don’t Break the Chain‘ philosophy, Momentum offers regular reminders along with colorful graphics that reveal how many consecutive days you’ve stayed with your plan to create a new habit.

How to use Momentum

Tell Momentum about the habit, ritual, or routine you wish to instill in your life. Set a goal for the days of the week you intend to practice your new habit. Follow daily reminders to perform your new habit, and be inspired by a visual chain of completion. With Family Sharing set up, up to six users can use Momentum to build new habits.

5. Productive

Set goals, craft new habits, and boost momentum with this personal productivity app from Apalon. Downloaded by millions, Productive helps users build and follow a customized plan with reminders that can be as simple as ‘brush and floss’ to nudges to complete complex, multi-part tasks.

How to use Productive

Start by visiting the Productive website and answering a few simple questions about procrastination, focus, and the goals you wish to achieve. Make an account and you’re on your way. For the first month, Productive will help you rid your life of productivity-draining distractions. In month two, the app will help you build a personalized routine to boost your personal productivity.

6. Engross

Create to-do lists, track work time stats, and block distractions with this lean, easy-to-use productivity helper from Engross Apps. Available for Apple and Android devices, Engross packs a lot of features into one streamlined app. Featuring a two-way timer, Engross lets you work smarter with the Pomodoro technique or employ a customized stopwatch to suit all your time management requirements.

How to use Engross

Start by setting daily work targets and the time you intend to spend on each particular task. Recurring tasks can be set to repeat without additional input. Subdivide large projects into smaller increments to be achieved. Integrate a Pomodoro timer or customized stopwatch to maintain focus and boost task completion.

When productivity apps aren’t enough

Time productivity and habit-creation apps go a long way toward organizing time and resources, but they’re no substitute for a great information technology team. In fact, any healthcare facility, law office, manufacturing plant, or business in the Northwest Indiana or Chicago area should consider adding Shilling IT to their quiver of time-saving productivity solutions.

To know more about how Schilling IT proactive managed security solutions identify and resolve cybersecurity and tech issues before they wreak havoc, contact us at your earliest convenience.