Do Productivity Apps Work?

App stores are saturated with productivity apps that promise to make your life easier.  They will help you track your spending, create checklists, edit documents, create recipes with 4 ingredients, and much more.  The question is, how much do these apps really help?

The ONE App

First and foremost, there is not one app that will change your habits and make you more productive.  There is not an all-in-one app that will get you to stop wasting five hours watching Netflix every night.  If you need to make a grocery list, sure, you can use Wunderlist, Alexa, Evernote, or Google Keep and you can make a list for the ages, but it still requires you to do something.

Analyze Your Needs and Habits

If you really want to be more productive using tools such as apps, pay attention to your habits.  Using a productivity app to its potential requires you to create the habit of using it.  If you need to store your notes throughout the day in one place, get an app such as OneNote and us it every single time you need to save a note.  Creating habits like this is a great way to be more productive.

Be Selective

One of the worst ways to be productive using apps?  Using too many.  If used correctly, a productivity app should be used naturally.  There is nothing worse than being paralyzed because you cannot remember which app performs the task.  Figure out which daily challenges you would like help with and focus on those until using the app becomes second nature.

This Is All Great, but First…

Before you should consider which tools to use to improve productivity, create better habits without them.  Make your lunch at night.  No app is going to make pack your lunch in the morning when you are running late for work.  Get organized.  After getting yourself organized, you may come to realize you don’t need an app at all.  Resolving chaos by keeping a detailed calendar or meal prepping for the week can free up space in your attention span and allow you to relax.