Top MacOS Productivity Apps, Tips and Tricks
There have been so many instances where I’ve felt like this expensive machine should improve my productivity by leaps and bounds but why isn’t is happening? Then I realised that a powerful beast of a machine should be accompanied by the right set of apps/tools to make it a productivity beast. So on my quest to find the best Productivity apps I stumbled upon these cool apps. Please clap your hearts out if this helped you.
Apart from the basic apps like, Google G Suite including Google Calendar, Slack, Microsoft Office 365, TeamViewer, etc.
The Do not disturb button on macOS is very powerful, once you click on it, all the notifications are disabled, a shortcut is to click on the hamburger button on the top right of your screen while holding the option button, this will disable all your notifications so that you can go on with your work totally uninterrupted a.k.a. DEEP WORK.
1. The default macOS Suite of default applications
If you have more than one Apple Device (iPhone, iPad etc), this is just a blessing in disguise just for its sheer convenience in syncing between all the devices and it’s simplicity and minimalism. If you have never given these things a shot, now is the time to try it out.
a. Notes
Do not underestimate the default notes app, it hands down beats all the note-taking apps just for its sheer convenience and feature set. You can categorise notes into a folder, underline, bold, strikethrough etc. To get its full set of feature set just RIGHT CLICK inside your note and then you can see a plethora of features.
b. Reminders
You do not need Todoist or any other tasks app. This has all the required functionality.
c. Calendar
The default calendar app is surprisingly really good, it syncs between different accounts seamlessly and does the job perfectly.
d. Mail
Multiple accounts and spam detection are all pretty well handled in the default app. You will not be needing any other app anytime soon.
2. Notion — All-in-one workspace
Write, plan, collaborate, and get organized. Notion is all you need — in one tool.
1. Notes & Docs
2. Knowledge Base
3. Tasks & Projects
4. Spreadsheets & Databases
Supports markdown. The learning curve is a bit steep. You need to spend at least half an hour to one hour trying to figure out everything possible with this tool by watching a few YouTube videos/reading a few blogs. But once you know the ins and outs of this amazing tool, it’ll be really difficult for somebody else to convince you to switch over to any other tool. It is that good.
3. Procrastination eradicator Motivate — How old am I? [$1.99USD]
Simple yet very effective. The productivity tool I didn't know I needed (yeah seriously). The only motivation app you’ll ever need. Basically it’s a constant reminder of our age, shown on the status bar, incrementing every millisecond. It keeps me engaged by reminding me how precious time is and that I have a lot to achieve in life, it instantly beats my procrastination. Added to that is that it displays a new quote every day when it’s clicked on, keeps me really motivated. Download here.
4. Serene App — One-click to block all distractions
This app helps your block all distraction and enter a distraction-free environment with a single click. It blocks distracting websites like Facebook, twitter etc. Some days when we want to do nothing, we just keep checking Slack and Reloading emails and then at the end of the day we question ourselves what did we do today? To not feel bad at the end of the day, you can enter sessions where you specify the one goal you’re trying to achieve today. Surely give it a shot, because it’s so damn good.
5. Password Managers — Lastpass(free) & 1Password(paid)
When it comes to productivity, a password manager saves a lot lot lot of time. You don’t have to remember hundreds of password on all the sites you’re visiting. Safari’s inbuilt password manager is at the best very mediocre, also no multi-platform support. Credit Card info, secure notes, etc also aren’t great on the inbuilt one. So here comes to our rescue Lastpass and 1Password. You just need to remember one password for all your sites. I personally use Lastpass because it’s free whereas 1Password comes at a premium subscription cost. I’d recommend not storing your Apple Account Password and primary Email Password. But store all your other passwords from LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter to all banks. It’s completely secure and safe. I’ve saved so much time while signing up on new websites, due to password recommendation and also never having to remember all the useless passwords. Must try.
5. Clipboard History
Unless you have photographic memory and your typing speed is a billion words a second or unless you never Cut, Copy, Paste (R.I.P. Larry Tesle) you need an app which has a history of all the items(text) you’ve copied so that you do not have to go back to the source from where you’ve copied. It saves a lot of time and removes that irritation from your head. Great for writers, authors, bloggers, students (:P) and definitely developers.
6. Tasks/Todo Lists -> Todoist, TickTick, Google Keep
Sometimes you want multi-platform support and the default Reminders app is not enough for this. Todoist, TickTick, Google Keep come to your rescue. Todoist is my favourite amongst these. I just love how the app looks and it has an insane set of features, natural language processing and is just overall very convenient and fast. Others are really good too, based on personal preferences.
7. Note Taking -> Bear, Evernote
There’s a high chance you’ve heard of the recent trend of a lot of popular note-taking apps supporting Markdown. Markdown is a language which makes it very very easy to write notes which look visually pleasing. It’s super simple to learn. For example, if you want a Heading, then you just type “#” and then that line converts to a Heading. If you want a smaller heading “##”. It couldn’t get simpler than that, could it? The indentation and lists are also very visually pleasing. That’s markdown simplified. Bear allows you to make visually pleasing notes for a small price. Another notetaking app Evernote doesn’t support Markdown but it’s still very good. Evernote supports multiple platforms(Mac, iOS, Linux, Windows, Android), unlike Bear which only supports macOS and iOS.
8. Timer & Stopwatch
It’s really surprising that even after sooo much for a device, we get no Timer & Stopwatch Functionality. Very bad Apple. To get over this catastrophe, I’ve found this Timer for Mac, which has a free version which should be more than enough for all the basic Timer and Stopwatch stuff.
9. Mind Mapping Tool
When it comes to productivity, without a mind mapping tool the list is definitely incomplete. For all those who haven’t ever tried any Mind Mapping tool before, now is the time to give it a shot. Use it for some time and let it features settle in your mind. It’s definitely great for jotting down your ideas in a naturally organised and visually pleasing manner. Both these have a free version with sufficient functionality.
10. One app for all — Station
Your WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Trello, Notion, Todoist, Telegram, Medium, Gmail etc all in one place. It’s very convenient for quickly accessing everything on a native-like web app. One place solution for most of your frequently used websites.
11. Grammarly
If you haven’t heard of Grammarly, it’s the best grammar checker which helps you in writing Emails, Articles, Stories, etc. It’s very accurate and very convenient. It definitely saves you from all those silly and embarrassing grammatical mistakes.
12. Itsycal — Menubar Calendar
I’m still surprised by the fact that clicking on the clock doesn’t show a tiny mini calendar. For all those Windows/Linux Users you know what I’m talking about. This app comes to your rescue. This app stays on the menu bar and displays a small tiny mini calendar when it’s clicked on. Very handy and helpful.
13. Some more miscellaneous apps
a) Another website and app blocker. — Focus
b) Keyboard Maestro — Automation app for almost everything
c) Magnet — Best MacOS Window/Workspace management
d) Clockify — time tracker and timesheet app for ultimate productivity monitoring
