You Don’t Need 10 Productivity Apps To Be Productive
A quick search on Google about productivity, and we get a massive 725,000,000 results. And to be honest, I’m not surprised.
Have you noticed how many articles and videos people are making about becoming more productive and what apps to use to stay so? If you haven’t, then you may have been off-grid for the past two years.
Writing (and even filming) about productivity became a hot topic, and that’s not something terrible. I mean, we all want to get more things done and feel like we have fulfilled our time with meaningful work.
But there is this misuse that I’ve noticed about the number of productivity apps one should use to stay productive. I’ve watched videos of people showing five different apps that do the same thing but the only distinguishable factor is a different layout.
And yes, you might find some functionalities in one application that you don’t find in the other. But do we really need to go over five different reminders apps just to plan out our day? Well, the answer is, as you may have expected, no.
And some may bring the argument that since a carpenter also needs a toolbox full of all kinds of screwdrivers, hammers, utility knives, etc., people also need multiple apps to plan their day.
Well, this argument is a bit out of place if you ask me. Yes, a carpenter needs all these tools to get his work done, but this is not because he likes having multiple screwdrivers with different colors. Instead, he needs those screwdrivers because each screw has other heads.
The one App you need to get your things done
Okay, you’re telling me to use just one To-Do List Application. But which one is the right one to use, you might be asking.
So what is the one App we should use to have all our tasks for the day planned out?
Good question, and that’s exactly what I will talk about in this article.
And don’t worry. I will not bore you with a couple of paragraphs before giving you the name of the App, so here it is: The App called Apple Reminders.
Pretty shocking, right?
But how is this App the one single software you need to become and stay productive?
That’s a good question, but before I answer it, let me first tell you why Apple Reminders is my favorite App when it comes to aligning tasks?
There is one answer to this question, and that is simplicity. I’ve used many To-Do lists Apps, and they all promise you all kinds of stuff. And don’t get me wrong, the problem isn’t that they don’t deliver on these promises.
As a matter of fact, they give you the To-Do functionality you’re looking for and even more. The problem rather, is that they lack the straightforwardness a To-Do List App should give you. And that my friends is where Apple Reminders excels in.
You just have to open Apple Reminders, and you know immediately what tasks you can start working on. So the only thing that’s stopping you from accomplishing those tasks is your procrastination — the number one killer of creativity.
The only thing that’s stopping you from accomplishing those tasks is your procrastination — the number one killer of creativity.
But don’t panic because, with the Apple Reminders app, there is little chance you will get the urge to browse on social media or watch a couple of videos on YouTube. Instead, you see your tasks staring at you, and all of a sudden, you feel like you’re able to concur the world.
And the best part is you can divide the number of lists into multiple lists. So let’s say you have some tasks that you need to finish on that day, but you’re also planning on grocery shopping and going to the Gym. Well, no problem Apple Reminders allows you to create for each activity a separate list with its own tasks.
The layout would then look something like this
So let’s say you’re a designer. You start your day very early, you grab your iPhone to glance over your Apple Reminders (but Not your Instagram and definitely not your TikTok), and your layout would then look like this:
To-Do
- Design mockup for a client
- Write important letter
- Design first website layout
- Working on a secret project
Groceries
- Broccoli
- Chicken
- Tomato
- Rice
- Bread
- Coffee
- Dark Chocolate.
Gym
- 50 Push-ups
- 50 Pullups
- 50 Situps
- 30 minutes Treadmill
- 10 minutes mobility
Now you have a complete layout of your day, and you don’t have to worry about not seeing the forest for the trees. Your Apple Reminders takes care of your day structure. You just need to follow the game plan you’ve laid out for yourself. You also need to polish your list every day to know how much time it takes you to finish any task on your list.
The reason why we can’t complete our entire To-Do List
See, this is where To-Do lists seem to fall short. First, we plan our day and stuff it with many tasks just to find out that we haven’t finished a third of it. Then we think that making To-Do lists is not meant for us, and we never use them anymore.
But we don’t realize that the main reason we felt completing our To-Do list is that we are taking too much hay on our fork.
So it’s not a big deal that you haven’t finished your To-Do list on that particular day. Just give it a second look, and extend the time for your most important tasks. The less important tasks can be removed for now. Doing this every day for 30 days straight, and you’ll find out that you’re much more able to plan and complete your entire list.
And that’s actually it.
So after all, I also gave you an article about how to be more productive and what App to use for this activity. Like there aren’t enough articles on the web about this subject. So for that I appologize. But please follow the steps I’ve laid out for you in this article, and you don’t have to use (or pay) for any other “productivity App” in your life.
And if you want to learn how to use Apple Reminders the correct way, here you have a tutorial that shows you exactly how this application should be used.
