I was cleaning out my phone recently and I thought I should do an updated post of my post about the apps on my phone that help with productivity, which I wrote earlier this year.
I mentioned in my earlier post that I use Any.do but I don’t have Any.do anymore on my phone because it was slightly irritating me. It’s a great app but I only really use note-taking apps on my phone for jotting down blogging ideas and I didn’t really like how I woke up everyday with a “Let’s do something” kind of message. It’s great if you use Any.do for everyday use though! I personally enjoy Google Keep a lot more.
1. MightyText
Some people are Apple fanboys (and fangirls) but I’m more of a Google fangirl. I like my MacBook but it’s one of the only things in my life that is Apple. I like the simplicity of Google and I like Androids. The one thing I wish Android has that Apple has is the ability to text/message people from your computer. MightyText does that for me. You install the app on your phone and install the extension on your browser, voila! You can text and call (!!!) from your computer. You also have access to your contacts, too.
It’s really convenient for when I misplace my phone or leave my phone at home and still need to text people (ie. study sessions, plans later for the day, etc.).
2. Feedly
I used to only use Feedly on my computer but after getting it on my phone, it’s so much easier. I scroll through blog posts on the go and it all stays in one place. BEST READER (after Google Reader, but that died so…) ever.
3. Buffer (for mobile)
I’ve talked about Buffer before in my post about dealing with and managing social media but I can not stress more how much I love it. I read a lot of articles on my phone and it’s great for sharing content on the go. I don’t have to worry about scheduling posts and times since it already does it for me.
4. Google Voice
It’s not really an app per say but it does help me with my voice mail conundrum. The New York Times recently did a piece about how people under 35 hate are anxious about voicemail and it’s so true (at least for me). I see that little voicemail notification at the top of my screen and I just dread the moment where I have to press “1” on my phone to check my voicemail.
Basically you sign up for an account (I have the free version) and after setting up your account, you get a notification sent to your email (or phone) with the phone number that left you the voice mail and a transcription of the voicemail. It’s all done by machine so it’s not the most accurate thing ever but I can get the jist of the message most of the time.
5. Google Now (Android only)
I do realize that I have a lot of Google apps on this list but seriously, I do enjoy using them and I like them. I probably should be concerned about how heavily Google mines my data to create custom notifications for me (ie. when I should leave to get to the airport in time for my flight, weather cards for my destination, construction on my usual route someplace, etc) but I like how pertainable the information is. Basically a really great virtual assistant. I’m not quite sure if it’s an app you can “download” since I think it’s built-into a lot of Android phones already but I might be wrong.
What apps do you use that help with your life? Do you use mobile apps to help?
