As we shift how we live and work, we’re discovering that working from home doesn’t always result in a dip in productivity. One company in California even suggested that workplace productivity is up 47%.
Understanding how to recreate an office environment in your home is crucial in your professional success, but so is learning how to create boundaries and effectively make use of the features found in productivity software.
But is productivity software worth it? It depends on your job and your working environment. Here’s a review of the top productivity apps along with an alternative that’ll help you achieve work-life balance now and long after the pandemic is nothing but a distant memory (oh, we’re dreaming about that day).
Top productivity software in 2020
Productivity apps cater to a variety of organizational needs. Whether you need tools to help you collaborate with your colleagues or are searching for a tool that helps you organize your inbox, the best productivity software will allow you to work smarter, not harder.
Evernote
Evernote is a note-taking app that allows you to organize your thoughts and projects all in one place. Upload photos, PDFs, and audio to help you remember key points during a Zoom meeting or your workday.
Everything on Evernote should sync across all of your devices. Since you’re able to search for documents and notes using keywords, it works great when used to organize work receipts, audios from meetings, or even photos to use in future marketing campaigns.
Todoist
Need help staying on top of that to-do list? Listen, we’re not all visual learners and workers; those of us who are, however, need to physically cross things off our to-do lists to feel accomplished. Todoist allows you to do just that.
Create tasks, reminders, and events then organize them according to activity or importance. If you’re a freelancer or work with lots of different clients at work, Todoist should be your go-to productivity software. You’re able to leave project comments and sort tasks by client or company.
RescueTime
Not sure where you’re losing hours during the week? Install RescueTime on your computer to access a comprehensive overview of where you’re spending your time and how to increase your productivity.
Just as health and fitness apps and money management apps allow us to gain insight into our habits, RescueTime does the same with your productivity. Track your time to see how much of your day you’re devoting to working. Then, adjust accordingly.
Alternatives to standard productivity software
BusinessWire published a study revealing that telephone calls are up 230% in 2020. So while a time-tracking app or productivity software that allows you to create in-depth to-do lists are great tools, you’re going to need help managing all of those phone calls.
To ensure you’re functioning at maximum productivity (whatever that looks like right now), you’ll need to organize your phone too. Burner can help with that.
Instead of having a second business phone, Burner allows you to connect a second phone number (or more) to your existing phone. The best part? Your privacy and identity are protected at all times, ensuring that, if you don’t want that freelance client having access to your daytime phone, they won’t.
You choose the number you want, decide what you’ll use it for, and then begin contacting clients and colleagues like normal without having to give out your personal number. Not only is this safer for workers, but it also increases work-life balance. At the end of the day, turn on Do Not Disturb for all your Burner work numbers and continue browsing your phone like normal.
Using Burner’s organizational features
Aside from using Burner as productivity software in order to create a second phone number for work, you’re also able to take advantage of our numerous organizational features.
Burner business features include the ability to create a custom voicemail, color-code your inboxes, and more, such as:
Connecting to Googe. Backup your contacts and messages to Google Sheets to keep professional records of everything.
Connecting to Slack. Post a line’s messages directly into a Slack channel at work to efficiently man a line straight from your desktop
Connecting to Evernote. Via Evernote, you can use a text responder that will automatically send a pre-set message to anybody who messages you while the feature is turned on.
Organize your work with Burner
Productivity software can be key in helping you transition into a successful work from home routine. From time-tracking to to-do lists, these types of software help you organize your mind and schedule.
Adding Burner to your list of productivity apps can help set you up for even more success. Sign up for your number today and discover all of Burner’s business benefits.
