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5 Productivity Apps to Make Your Work Life Easier

April Greene profile image

April Greene

Two Black hands hold an iPhone while reviewing a productivity app at work.

What apps do you find useful for managing your work? Let us know in the comments!

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If you work in the social-impact sector, you’re no stranger to wearing many hats. One of the best parts of our work is being able to dive into a variety of tasks, fields, departments, and duties when our colleagues need a helping hand.

Used to writing email and social copy but need to support a program that is low on volunteers? You’re on it. Offered to host a webinar on managing creative accounts because you’re the resident canva wizard? All it takes is a template to get started.

When the work piles up, one of the best ways to manage it so that nothing falls through the cracks—and so that you can keep your work-life balance sacred—is through technology. 

We live in an incredible time. Between advancements in large language models to productivity apps that help you get time back, there’s no end to how you can use technology for social good. Of course, with so many options, how do you know which productivity tool would work best for you?

We’ve done a little research on your behalf to find five productivity apps to make your work life easier. Whether you need to organize tasks, cross them off quickly, or update your team on when things are ready for review, these apps are here to help:

1. Evernote

It’s no secret that we’re Evernote fans here at Idealist—we’re been writing about it on Career Advice for years! Note-taking has never been easier with the productivity app’s organization system, letting you divvy up notes by day, topic, team, or whatever else works for you. 

2. Notion

Notion has become popular with users on Pinterest and TikTok showcasing the myriad ways to use the app. Create spreadsheets, calendars, planning guides, and more with their templates—downloadable straight from the app itself. Available on IOS and Android, it’s simple to move your tasks from work laptop to desktop to mobile phone and more.

3. Asana

Your workplace may already use a productivity app like Asana, Trello, or Airtable to easily manage tasks and keep everyone updated on project status. While all of these solutions are great, we’re partial to Asana for the customizable interface that allows you to switch from List View, Grid View, Calendar View, and more depending on your preferences or the project set-up.

4. Miro

Are you more of a visual thinker? Perhaps the projects you work on require a productivity app that allows you to see the big picture, or plan out the full roadmap of work from start to finish. If that’s so, then Miro is your best bet.The diagramming app allows you to collaborate with colleagues, draw an idea, create a slideshow, and visually plan out your tasks.

5. Akiflow

If you think about your day based on how many hours, minutes, and seconds you have to fill, then Akiflow may be a good productivity app to check out. The interface allows you to fit items from your to-do list directly into your calendar. Plan out how long tasks will take and make your calendar public to team members so they know when to expect an update from you.

If you’re a tech addict, don’t be afraid to combine the above apps depending on your work preferences. Maybe you use Evernote for tracking notes before you plug tasks into Akiflow, or perhaps you want to do everything using Notion’s existing templates. Whatever works for you is best!

April Greene profile image

April Greene

April Greene is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, NY providing superlative editorial services to noble nonprofits and righteous social enterprises.

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