3-APPS-A-WEEK, issue #1: productivity
When we are on our phones, we don’t usually notice the fun and interesting stuff that is put in the apps we use. We have a goal in mind, we come to achieve it and then leave the app open in the background for eternity. Maybe it’s not you, but it’s totally me.
So allow me to introduce myself. I’m Sofia, I do product management and design @ Aaply. I’ve decided start a weekly series of articles where I review 3 apps a week, hence the naming.
Welcome to the first issue where I review 3 apps made for productivity ✌️
*Side note: the order apps are presented in doesn’t depict my personal rating
App #1: note (note to be confused with Notes!)
To start it all off, I’ve decided to plan out my Monday with note.
First, they greet you this way, which I find hilarious. Having good copywriting with a human touch is a great addition to a product!
When I was planning out my tasks, I found the process clear and simple. Even though you don’t really put the time you like would do in a calendar, the time estimate category was useful. The “area of life” and “priority of a task” tags were pretty useful too.
It is really nice that after you added all your tasks they are divided into priority groups. This is what my plan looked like on Monday:
Basically, as it says, it’s basically a notes app. I really enjoy seeing products existing for one purpose, not trying to be everything imaginable in the existence. The design is clean, the human touch is there, the animations are pleasing. I had a good time using it and it felt like this app always was on my phone.
App #2: Meraki
Tuesday’s choice was Meraki. Their onboarding was pretty lovely and the dictionary quote was an impressive detail to me.
Setting up tasks was quick and simple and I loved the time setting detail. The little popup window is not annoying at all and the shortcut buttons are pretty useful. I’m all in for a product thinking about something before I do!
What my plan turned out to look like:
When you want to delete or mark the task as done, you just swipe them like you do it on Tinder. This is THE first time I saw those liquidy dribbble animations in a real app. It was pretty fitting. Nice, 10/10!
So yeah, it was a nice one. The app has more cool details, recommend checking it out just to play around!
App #3: Aikoa
Saving the most interesting one for the desert. It didn’t get points for the usability (a bit too weird for my taste), but most certainly wins in the creativity department. This is the main screen of the Aikoa app:
The process of creating a task is pretty simple and clear, nothing too crazy. The fact that there are a few fields is nice, everything is pretty minimalistic. You can also take notes here.
The creative & crazy part is the scheduling. You basically set the task’s start and finish time on the little ring. I found this to be a pretty unique and unusual approach, similarly to setting sleep time in the iPhone clock app.
Another cool thing I want to point out is the shutdown function. So you hit the little button at the end of the day and set up a schedule for tomorrow. This one was totally a fun experience.
This was the first issue of 3-Apps-A-Week where I observed some personal productivity mobile apps. Tune in next week to see which 3 apps I will review. Have a good one!
