6 Productivity Apps to Optimize Your Time

Beshr Al-Khateeb
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Apps to organize, focus, and learn

The information age! This marvelous age of smart devices and the internet has completely changed the way we work. Studying and working nowadays basically means sitting behind a screen for hours on to get things done faster and easier, which is great. But the age of the machine also comes with its own downside when it comes to effectivness — it’s so freaking hard to focus now! If you don’t find yourself somehow reading about nuclear fusion on Wikipedia when your original intent was to do your history assignment, then you’re probably being bombarded by endless ads on YouTube and what have you, or scrolling aimlessly through Facebook or, at best, jumping from app to app in pursuit of the “right” productivity tool.

In truth though, tools don’t matter. Tool B can probably do the same thing as tool A, and you might even be better off without either of them. There’s only one ultimate tool, and that is your brain. Even if you have all the best tools in the world, but have bad self management or lack of motivation, you’re probably not going to use them right anyway. Tony Robins was very pragmatic, and rightfully so, when he said:

“The defining factor is not resources, it is resourcefulness.”

Now, with that out of the way, I still admit that, to someone with the right resourcefulness, resources — tools — can be so important in scaling your productivity by leaps and bounds… just like a real life machine.

From my experience with computers and smartphones, there are three hurdles that must be overcome to become electronically productive:

  1. Disorder: technology like the internet can help you generate and receive a lot of data like appointments, to-do lists and notes. But this data can be very overwhelming if not managed right.
  2. Distraction: there’s a ton of things to do on the internet that are honestly more thrilling than doing your homework or working on your project. Certain apps can help keep distractions at a minimum.
  3. Time-waste: taking a break from work/study while on your computer can be quite counterproductive if not intently controlled — “10 minute” breaks on YouTube, Facebook and 9gag, if you know what I mean!

So, here are my top 6 computer/smartphone apps to optimize your management, focus, and learning.

ORGANIZE

1. MS Excel

The first and foremost step to becoming productive is planning, because “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” That’s one area where apps come in handy. The best way to plan is using schedules and timetables, and the best way to design, edit and view tables is using Microsoft Excel. With the help of Excel, all my things were set in total order, as I was able to know every major thing I had to do for the week ahead. I strongly recommend you read my article, Secret Recipe, in which I explain in detail and with template example how I manage my week with Excel.

2. MS OneNote

Text books are just too expensive, and e-books are too digital; highlighting and writing notes in a pdf file is just not the same as doing it on actual paper. The good news is that Microsoft OneNote gets very close to the paper experience and even surpasses it in some aspects. I personally use OneNote to write my own summaries of text books in point-form with notes, diagrams, and highlights on the side. You are sure to retain more of what you learn by taking notes and using the many tools OneNote has to offer.

FOCUS

3. Tomighty

The biggest challenge to my productivity is distraction by boredom. 10 minutes after I start working one a project or assignment I’m not so interested in, I find myself magically on 9gag or YouTube and I end up spending more time there than I do on the actual job I set out to do. The solution? Trick your mind into focusing by using timers. What Tomighty does is to set a simple timer that distinguishes work time from break time, inciting you to focus on your work as long as the timer is ticking.

4. Ad Block

The next worse distraction after the internet itself? The ads on the internet! Some ads you can just brush off easily, but others actually do attract you and you end up wasting your time. One time, I wanted to watch a short video on YouTube during a break, but Wonder Woman trailer ad ran first and I ended up reading about all the upcoming Marvel and DC movies for at least half an hour. Ad Block literally blocks all this off so you can focus… it basically cuts the crap!

LEARN

5. TED

What is better than being productive at work? Being productive during breaks too! Prior to finding ways to invest in my breaks, most of them where spent on 9gag, Facebook and Unbox Therapy on YouTube. But then, I discovered TED. Watching short videos is a great way to have fun and learn about almost everything — emotional intelligence, hobbies, art, green tech, AI, God… you name it— and that’s exactly what TED does.

6. Medium

Another great way to learn is by reading. Yes, watching videos does get boring sometimes… or is it just me?! Anyway, what I usually do is bookmark Medium articles by batches so I can read them later one by one in my free time. It’s a great alternative way to turn short breaks into fun, learning experiences. But you should already know that, since you are reading this article on Medium, no?

By Beshr Al-Khateeb
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Beshr Al-Khateeb

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I’m a human, a writer, thinker, photographer, former rapper and beat-maker, and an engineer, of course!

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