My Top 5 Productivity Apps in 2024 — Issue #18
Peeking into my digital productivity toolkit.
Hi there,
Every week I send an email where I document my journey towards craftsmanship. I touch on subjects like personal finances, inspiring quotes, and investing.
Today I’m writing about productivity.
According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the outputs.
This principle applies to the vast majority of domains. In business, it's often observed that 80% of a company's sales come from 20% of its customers. Thus, the business should focus on keeping those customers happy. In time management, 80% of the results come from 20% of the activities. Therefore, one should prioritize and focus on the most impactful activities.
What I find more interesting is that the 80/20 rule can be observed even in the more trivial aspects of our lives, such as the apps we have on our computers. Of the 100+ apps I have on my Mac, I only use several of them regularly and only a couple daily.
These are my top 5 apps that account for 80% of my daily productivity.
Raycast
Raycast has been my most used app for a while now. It’s the all-in-one go-to app when I use my Mac. It replaced Spotlight and a bunch of other utility apps.
From opening apps and searching files to window management and clipboard history. It deeply integrates with the system and allows you to run Shortcuts or script commands, check your daily schedule, search emojis and symbols, create snippets and quick links, and even check your hair before that important Zoom call. And if all these are not enough for you, you can choose from over 1,000 integrations with 3rd party applications.
Oh, and it knows to pop confetti when you want to celebrate the completion of a task 🎉.
Notes
Apple Notes wins second place in my most-used apps top. I use it to keep notes on the projects I work on, the areas of my life, and the topics I resonate with or that interest me. You could call it my second brain.
Although there are more capable note-taking apps out there, I stick with Apple Notes for two simple reasons: simplicity and convenience.
The app is easy to use, has a clean interface, and includes the formatting features you would expect. Since I don’t want to be locked in a proprietary app format, I prefer my notes to be as close as possible to plain text.
From the convenience point of view, I like that the integration with my other devices is seamless, and I don’t have to think about it. It simply works.
Things
When it comes to getting things done, I prefer Things. I use it to manage tasks across all areas of my life and keep track of the projects I’m working on.
I am a sucker for beautiful UI and powerful features, and Things has them both. On top of that, it is simple, clean, and intuitive.
From a functionality point of view, it allows me to organize my to-dos in areas and projects, add headlines and checklists, integrate with my calendar, and many more.
Action items come from a wide range of sources, and Things acts like a central hub for all the things that need my attention.
Calendar
If Things helps me make sense of what I need to accomplish and prioritize my work, the Calendar is where I plan the execution.
First, I prioritize my work and then use the Calendar to allocate the time to complete it. This helps me have a bird’s eye view of what I want to get done and when I will work on it. Most importantly, it prevents me from overlapping commitments.
Grammarly
Most of my professional writing happens in English, from this informal newsletter you are reading to the more formal communication with clients and project stakeholders.
As a non-native English speaker, I sometimes struggle with grammar and spelling. Fortunately, Grammarly has proven to be the assistant I was searching for, and the best part is that it never complains.
The app runs at the system level and seamlessly integrates with text editors on macOS, providing excellent support for my writing.
What do you think of today's issue? If you enjoyed my content, I would be grateful if you could help spread the word by recommending my Substack to others.
Best regards,
Alex from The Craftsman Mindset
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