5 Apps That Help Me Stay Productive In Quarantine
During the beginning of quarantine, I found myself being very unproductive and lacking in my usual motivation. I wasn't scheduling my time well and found myself spending a large amount of the day binging Netflix and napping. I realized that things had to change, but I needed a bit of help doing this. I decided to investigate apps that can help with productivity and ways I could use the ones I already had to their full potential.
These are the 5 main apps that I use to help me stay productive right now, and can even be used once we are back learning in the city!
1. Outlook
Outlook is the most important app on my phone hands down. I prefer it to the Gmail app. This is where I view my emails, mark things in my calendar, and handle calendar invites. This app makes it easy to communicate with people, especially my professors. It organizes my emails by default, and I can view my personal and LIM emails at the same time. Since I downloaded it during my freshman year, it has simplified my schedule and I spend less time reading emails and juggling my calendar.
2. TimeTune
This app is great for planning your day because you can easily view your to-do list. You can view one day at a time and see in specific detail the breakdown of your day. It will tell you if events overlap and how many hours you spent on one task. My favorite part is that you can see how much time is between events. You can assign an event a label or tag so that you can easily see what tasks you have planned. You can also create routines with repetitive events, which could be a class.
3. Forest: Stay Focused
This app is great for those who get distracted by other all the other apps on their phone, like me.In this app, you are growing a virtual forest. When you want to start to work on a project, you set a timer. The longer you work, the larger the tree grows. The catch is if you leave that screen, the tree dies. That dead tree then goes into your forest. I like this app because at the end of the week, you can tell how productive you have been based on the forest. I like that I am able to see how focused I was. I think feeling like you have been productive will make someone want to continue to get more done.
4. Any.do: To-do list, Calendar, Planner & Reminder
This app is a three-in-one organizer. The app allows you to set a to-do list, sync your calendar, and create reminders. It makes it easy to view what you must do that day in terms of tasks. The feature I like the most is the reminder section. It is a basic layout. You can select when you want the reminder so that it is easy to find. Once you have your to-do list for the day, you can use the “plan your day” option. This is choosing if you completed the task, want to postpone it or when during the day you want to complete that task. I like that you can choose when you want to complete the task based on what day and time. I think that this is a great replacement for a physical planner. Go sustainability!
5. Samsung Health
I have a Samsung phone, but I assume many of the features are the same as an iPhone. I use this app to make sure that I am remaining physically active during the day. Productivity is not just about schoolwork and internships. It is about feeling good about what you are doing and positively spending your time. When I was in NYC, I was walking all the time and this sedentary life back home is a big decrease in activity. Being able to record what exercise I am doing makes me feel more in control of my body and how I feel.