If I look back at the “good old days” when I first dived into productivity, I was constantly searching for technical stuff. I wanted to go with the best productivity apps, discovered my very first podcast, and started to consume productivity blogs on a daily basis. It was Christmas morning every single day.
What I missed was a comprehensive list to start with. In this post, I want to deliver a biased list of apps and podcasts to kick start your productivity. Yes, my list is biased in a sense that it reflects my very own taste and learning curve. I hope you’ll find value in it though.
Let’s dive in…
Productivity apps I use recently
The three musketeers
- Nozbe: this is my all-time favourite task manager, which is built around the GTD framework. I use Nozbe each and every day for managing my to-do list both within and beyond my nine to five. Nozbe hosts a perfect productivity blog as well.
- Evernote: Evernote is a note taking
app that allows you to clip web pages, annotate content, scan docs, and take notes on all your devices. Evernote is a perfect example of how leveraging technology can change one’s life.
- iThoughts: my favourite mind mapping tool. It’s available for both the Mac and Windows but has a portable version as well. The guy behind the app delivers a perfect customer service in one person. (XMind is a nice alternative, which I use a lot as well.)
These three apps serve as the backbone of my productivity. You really don’t need to complicate things―a good task manager along with a note taking app and a mind mapping tool are more than enough to start with.
And the assistants (not an exhaustive list)
- Google Calendar: I use Google Calendar to schedule appointments, whether a meeting with myself or with others.
- MS OneDrive: perfect cloud service to store documents and photos; it comes with Microsoft’s Office package.
- PhraseExpress: it’s a text expansion tool that allows using pre-defined snippets for your frequently used phrases, links, email templates, etc. You don’t have to enter your address anymore, PhraseExpress will do it for you. Although there’s a built-in text expander in some email clients, a text expansion app works across all your applications and devices.
- Workflow: it’s an automation tool for iOS that lets you make some really good time-saving tricks on your iPhone and iPad.
- Feedly: I use Feedly as my feed reader. I subscribed to various blogs, so I don’t have to visit their pages anymore: Feedly automatically delivers the content to me.
- Overcast: my favourite podcast player for iOS.
- Night Shift function on iOS and on the Mac: you can customize the time when your screen turns into night mode, to block blue light. Blue light can disrupt your circadian rhythm and delay sleep onset. (Note: there’re apps for Android with the same benefit to your eyes.)
My favourite podcasts
- Biznisz Boyz (in Hungarian): this podcast features three smart guys focusing around their business, but you can get a lot more value out of it if you listen carefully.
- Lead to Win with Michael Hyatt: this podcast covers topics from personal development to team leadership with New York Times bestselling author, Michael Hyatt on deck.
- Legendary Life Podcast with Ted Ryce: it’s about health and fitness for people over 30 but Ted discusses topics on personal development as well. This guy delivers the best motivational speech.
- ProBlogger with Darren Rowse: ProBlogger is a podcast dedicated to bloggers; it features interviews with bloggers sharing their stories but it also delivers guides on how to start a blog and make money from blogging.
- The 5 AM Miracle with Jeff Sanders: although the name suggests it’s for morning people only, the podcast covers a lot of topics around productivity. Jeff interviews a lot of smart people as well.
- The Model Health Show with Shawn Stevenson: Shawn, the author of the book Sleep Smarter, hosts a perfect podcast for those who want to live a healthy life.
- The Paul Minors Podcast with Paul Minors: Paul delivers short yet powerful episodes on productivity and personal development, complementing his blog, paulminors.com.
- The Podcast with Michael Sliwinski and Radek Pietruszewski: this is a perfect podcast about productivity with Michael Sliwinski, CEO of Nozbe, and his fellow, Radek Pietruszewski on deck.
Although my master list is far from being comprehensive and changes over time, it’s an armour that helps to live a more fulfilled life. Today, sadly, there’s not much value either on the radio or television. I wish if some of the podcasts were featured on the radio or TV during prime time. But until then, I want you to pick up some inspiring content and keep playing.
What apps and podcasts do you find useful? Leave a comment.
Your one takeaway: choose a podcast either from my list or from your own and enjoy your time.
Image credit: Matt Botsford on Unsplash