15 Must-Have Productivity Apps for Improved Workflow

15 Must-Have Productivity Apps for Improved Workflow

Imagine transforming your daily grind into a seamless, productive experience using just a single app. In this article, top CEOs and founders reveal their must-have productivity tools. Discover how the first insight from a CEO highlights centralized task management with Notion, while the final expert, a COO, discusses the benefits of using Google Suite. With fifteen expert insights, this post promises a wealth of knowledge to optimize your workflow.

  • Centralized Task Management with Notion
  • Streamlined Workflow with Todoist
  • Enhanced Task Management with Asana
  • Efficient Organization with Evernote
  • Optimized Projects with ChatGPT
  • Organized Client Information with OneNote
  • Content Creation with Jasper
  • Efficient Code Management with Sourcery
  • Unified Collaboration with Lark
  • Error-Free Writing with Grammarly
  • Real Estate Management with HouseCanary
  • Productivity Boost with Microsoft 365 Office
  • Visual Task Management with Trello
  • Streamlined Workflow with monday.com
  • Integrated Productivity with Google Suite

Favorite Productivity Apps for Workflow

Centralized Task Management with Notion

One must-have app that has greatly enhanced my productivity is Notion. Known for its flexibility and multifunctional design, Notion has transformed how I organize, track, and execute tasks. By combining note-taking, task management, and collaboration in one platform, it has become an essential tool that supports both my day-to-day activities and larger project planning.

1. Centralized Task and Project Management

  • Benefit: Notion allows me to consolidate all my to-dos, projects, and notes into a single workspace. With customizable boards, lists, and calendar views, I can track tasks by priority, deadline, and project, eliminating the need to switch between multiple apps.
  • Impact on Workflow: Having everything in one place has significantly reduced the time I spend searching for information or toggling between platforms, allowing me to focus on completing tasks more efficiently.

2. Enhanced Collaboration and Information Sharing

  • Benefit: Notion’s collaboration features enable me to share projects and documents with team members and clients effortlessly. I can assign tasks, leave comments, and update project notes in real-time, making it easy to stay aligned on shared goals.
  • Impact on Workflow: This has streamlined communication, reducing the need for long email threads and ensuring that everyone has access to the latest information in one accessible location.

3. Customizable Templates and Automation

  • Benefit: Notion’s templates and automation capabilities help me quickly set up new projects, track progress, and create repetitive workflows with ease. I’ve customized templates for recurring tasks, weekly reviews, and meeting notes, which saves me time and keeps processes consistent.
  • Impact on Workflow: These templates have made routine tasks faster to initiate and less error-prone, ensuring that I spend less time on setup and more on high-impact activities.

Notion has made a significant difference in my productivity by centralizing tasks, improving team collaboration, and optimizing recurring processes. This all-in-one app continues to support my efficiency, helping me achieve more with less effort.

Vaibhav KambleVaibhav Kamble
CEO, CloudOptimo


Streamlined Workflow with Todoist

One of those applications that are necessary for increasing productivity is Todoist. In itself, it’s really a so-called task management tool, which has really helped me in terms of workflow organization and prioritization.

I tested Todoist for a month by integrating it into my daily routine and using it for personal and professional work. The app helps to categorize tasks according to the projects to be undertaken, sets deadlines, and assigns priority levels, which forces me to focus on urgent tasks only. The recurring tasks feature is also so invaluable in terms of managing tasks continuously, as it saves me from the trouble of reinputting the same tasks every time.

I noticed high productivity improvements because I was actually doing things much faster and not with as much mental clutter. By visually seeing the load I was given and breaking it into smaller pieces, I felt less overwhelmed and more in control of my time.

Concisely, Todoist has streamlined my process of managing tasks and keeps me organized and focused on my goals.

Sheraz AliSheraz Ali
Founder & CEO, HARO Links Builder


Enhanced Task Management with Asana

I learned that Asana isn’t just another to-do list when I started juggling multiple development projects and content deadlines. The ability to create recurring tasks and set dependencies between different coding phases has probably saved me 5-6 hours every week, plus it catches those small details I used to forget.

Tyler HallTyler Hall
Developer, TROYPOINT


Efficient Organization with Evernote

I actually swear by Evernote for keeping track of all our sustainable fashion initiatives and supplier details. Just last week, I was able to quickly pull up fabric certification documents during a supplier meeting that I’d scanned six months ago, which saved us from a major headache. The way I can organize everything with tags and notebooks helps me keep our sustainability goals and design ideas in one searchable place, making it easier to maintain our eco-friendly standards.

Mats StigzeliusMats Stigzelius
Co-Founder, Good Guys


Optimized Projects with ChatGPT

I discovered ChatGPT has become my go-to productivity tool, helping me break down complex IT projects into manageable chunks and quickly find solutions to coding challenges. Just last week, it helped me optimize a game development workflow by suggesting better documentation practices and providing clear examples of efficient code structures, saving my team hours of back-and-forth discussions.

Christian MarinChristian Marin
CEO, Freezenova


Organized Client Information with OneNote

I trust Microsoft OneNote daily as a real estate agent and business owner to keep everything in check. It’s amazing for organizing client notes, property specifics, meeting agendas, and brainstorming marketing strategies. What I really love about OneNote is the ability to set up separate notebooks for different projects and clients. This keeps my information well-organized and easy to find. I also share notes with my team to stay on top of our listings and manage tasks for the deals we’re working on. Plus, since OneNote syncs across all my devices, I can pull up any information I need no matter where I am—if that’s at the office, out showing properties, or on a business trip.

Bringing OneNote into my daily workflow has really ramped up my efficiency and really improved how I communicate with clients and my team. I can quickly capture important points in meetings and refer back to them later without the mess of paper notes. It also works perfectly with other Microsoft tools like Outlook and Teams, which makes it super simple to schedule follow-ups and share details on properties.

John GluchJohn Gluch
Owner, Gluch Group San Diego


Content Creation with Jasper

I’ve found Jasper to be absolutely game-changing for my marketing workflows—it helps me generate fresh content ideas when I’m stuck staring at a blank page. Just last week, I used it to draft social media posts for our new product launch, cutting my writing time in half while maintaining quality. While it’s not perfect and needs human editing, it’s like having a brainstorming buddy who’s always ready to help me overcome writer’s block.

Yarden MorganYarden Morgan
Director of Growth, Lusha


Efficient Code Management with Sourcery

I’ve found Sourcery to be a game-changer for managing our agency’s code projects—it catches redundant code snippets that I would’ve missed during our busy client rushes. Just last week, it helped clean up a messy landing page project, saving me nearly 2 hours of manual code review and letting me focus on client strategy instead.

Kevin PikeKevin Pike
President, Rankfuse


Unified Collaboration with Lark

One must-have app I’m using for productivity and workflow improvement is Lark, an integrated collaboration platform. By integrating various tools including instant messaging, cloud documents, schedule management, and video conferencing, Lark provides our team with a unified workspace. This enables our team to communicate, collaborate, and manage tasks more efficiently, ensuring smooth workflow.

In addition, Lark’s document collaboration feature is particularly helpful. Team members can edit documents in real time, and all changes will be automatically synchronized. At the same time, the powerful search functionality allows employees to easily find past discussion records, files, and tasks, reducing the possibility of information loss or duplicate work.

My personal favorite is Lark’s schedule management and task tracking features, which help me better arrange work. Automatic reminders and integrated schedules allow each member of the team to have a clear understanding of their own responsibility and overall progress, ensuring tasks are completed on time and reducing omissions and delays.

Eve BaiEve Bai
International Partnerships and Operations Manager, StudyX.AI


Error-Free Writing with Grammarly

I use Grammarly to improve my writing and craft successful marketing campaigns. As a small business owner, I prefer multi-tasking apps that maximize my productivity and minimize resources.

This AI-powered writing assistance app eases our content production process and streamlines our marketing efforts by creating error-free content according to our brand’s voice and audience demography.

With its collaboration features, I can work with my marketing team in real time, assisting them in designing a successful content strategy to produce high-quality content that aligns with our marketing goals. Also, with its generative AI capabilities, we can craft emails for our clients, balancing personalization and professionalism.

Businesses of all sizes and specialties can include Grammarly to maximize their marketing efforts. It’s more than just an editing app; it offers various solutions ranging from error-free writing to social media to email marketing.

Soubhik ChakrabartiSoubhik Chakrabarti
CEO, Canada Hustle


Real Estate Management with HouseCanary

I swear by HouseCanary for managing my real estate workflow—it’s been a game-changer in how I evaluate properties and present data to clients. Just last month, I used their detailed market analysis reports to help a hesitant seller set the perfect listing price, which led to multiple offers within a week.

Judy MichaelisJudy Michaelis
Real Estate Broker, Judy Michaelis


Productivity Boost with Microsoft 365 Office

As the founder of a legal process outsourcing company, one must-have app that has drastically improved my productivity is Microsoft 365 Office. I initially adopted Microsoft 365 to streamline our document management and collaboration processes, and it has become an indispensable part of our workflow.

For example, during a recent project where we had to prepare extensive legal documents for a client, I utilized Word for drafting,

Excel for tracking data, and Teams for real-time collaboration with my team. The ability to work on documents simultaneously in real time meant that we could provide feedback instantly, significantly speeding up our review process.

One feature that stands out is the cloud integration with OneDrive, which allows me to access our documents from anywhere, ensuring that I can work efficiently whether I’m in the office or on the go.

Since integrating Microsoft 365 into our operations, we’ve seen improved efficiency and communication within the team, leading to quicker turnaround times for our clients. It’s a powerful suite that has truly enhanced our productivity and organization.

Aseem JhaAseem Jha
Founder, Legal Consulting Pro


Visual Task Management with Trello

One must-have app that has significantly improved our productivity is Trello. This project management tool allows us to visualize tasks and projects using boards, lists, and cards, which helps streamline our workflow and keep everything organized. With Trello, our team can easily assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress in real-time, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

The flexibility of Trello has been particularly beneficial. We customize our boards to match specific projects or teams, incorporating checklists, due dates, and attachments to keep all necessary information in one place. This centralized system has reduced the need for back-and-forth emails and meetings, allowing us to focus more on execution. As a result, our collaboration has improved, deadlines are met more consistently, and we can adapt to changing priorities quickly, making Trello an indispensable part of our productivity toolkit.

Shehar YarShehar Yar
CEO, Software House


Streamlined Workflow with monday.com

For me, monday.com is an absolute must-have for productivity. It’s been a game-changer for streamlining our workflow, especially as a remote team. We use it to manage everything from client projects to internal tasks, and the visual layout makes it so easy to track progress at a glance.

One specific improvement? It’s completely transformed how we handle project deadlines. Before, things sometimes got lost in the shuffle, but now, with automated reminders and clear task ownership, nothing falls through the cracks. Plus, it’s a great way to keep everyone aligned and accountable without constant back-and-forth emails. It’s made us faster, more organized, and a lot less stressed!

Tom JaunceyTom Jauncey
Head Nerd, Nautilus Marketing


Integrated Productivity with Google Suite

Google Suite is the productivity app that I recommend every professional in any capacity to start using. More than just storing and enabling access to files from the cloud, you are connected to the whole Google Suite. This makes it easy to collaborate with my team in real-time on documents and get essential work done faster with a simplified workflow.

Having my email, notes, calendar, and contacts in one place means I do not waste time shifting from one platform to another. I can communicate with teammates, set up meetings, and brainstorm new ideas in one place. Since I started using Google, I’ve noted that my productivity has increased almost two-fold. I can get more things done in a shorter time and rarely miss any appointments.

Steve YangSteve Yang
COO, Channelwill


 

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