3 Best Mac Apps to Boost Productivity
Struggling to be productive? These apps will help you get more done!
Cold Turkey
Free
Finding the discipline to get our work done without giving in to the endless distractions around us can be incredibly difficult, and worse— it can stop us from doing the work that will allow us to reach our goals. If you’re like me, you’re about one or two clicks away from opening YouTube, Netflix, or Reddit and essentially pulling you out of a state of flow and focus. In the long run, this may have some pretty devastating effects, and not doing something about it can end up causing major problems to your productivity and well-being.
Cold Turkey is a fantastic app that puts up a barrier between you and the websites that distract you. In the control panel of the app, you can set up “Blocks” with specified websites that you won’t be able to visit once the block is activated. The free version is sufficient if you’re trying to curb a focus problem, but the pro version offers some appealing features, such as application blocking and scheduled blocks.
A website blocker is essential if you’re struggling to stay away from time-wasting websites. Cold Turkey is one of the best ones out there when it comes to this, and if you decide to try it out you’ll definitely see an increase in productivity and flow.
Alfred
Free
If there is one app I think every Mac user should have, it’s Alfred. At first glance, Alfred might just look like a simple Spotlight replacement, but beneath the surface, it’s packed with interesting features that can shave off valuable time throughout the day. Not only does Alfred come with some fantastic features right out of the box, but there is a vast library of user-made workflows that cover a wide range of areas when it comes to productivity on macOS. Some of the features that I use on a daily basis are file search, clipboard history, and some great user-made workflows.
Alfred offers great value to anyone looking to make their Mac usage a lot more productive
If you’re not knowledgable when it comes to coding, you’re going to find great benefits by using all the built-in Alfred features. However, if you’re interested in delving a bit deeper into the Alfred app, you can create some very advanced and impressive workflows tailored just for your use cases. I’m not the least bit literate when it comes to coding, but managed to piece together a task-randomizer for the app Things 3. Alfred offers great value to anyone looking to make their Mac usage a lot more productive.
The app is based on “workflows” that in turn are based on an input or trigger source, an action, and an output. Utilities are powerful tools that you can use to customize your workflows to do pretty much anything. Some fantastic features, such as the “Random” tool are only available through the Alfred Powerpack, a one time cost of £29 (∼$38). I purchased the Powerpack about a year ago, and have been loving it ever since.
Things 3
$50
There are few to-do list apps out there better than Things 3. Its fantastic features and clean UI makes it stand out among its many other competitors. At first glance, it looks to be a native macOS app — it’s that well made.
Tasks are grouped in Projects that are then grouped into Areas. Each Project shows a small pie-chart of the progress you’ve made getting through your tasks and offers a quick way of seeing what you need to do to keep up. The Inbox is a folder where you can dump any tasks you might come up with throughout the day. I sometimes use the Today folder if I have a lot of tasks that need to get done ASAP, and Upcoming shows any tasks that are scheduled for certain days. Things 3 syncs with your iCloud calendar to offer you the most up-to-date view of what you need to get done.
What I appreciate most about Things 3 is its simplicity. Most other to-do list apps are too crowded, something that feels like a huge faux pas when it comes to apps that are meant to make your life easier. Things 3 hits the sweet spot of being just advanced enough to satisfy the essential needs of any person striving to be more productive, but is also simple enough to not feel cluttered. Things 3 is the only to-do list app you’ll ever need.
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