As someone who likes to do too many projects and is a serial procrastinator, I need a system that will hold my creative ideas and to keep me accountable. I always find things to do because I can’t seem to just rest and stay still sometimes. No wonder I overwhelm myself constantly (and always say I’m so tired aka burntout >.<).
Because I don’t rely on my brain to remember every single task that I need to do, I have found tech products that will help to be my “personal assistants/accountability coaches”. Therefore, I rely on technology to keep me “organized”. Below are my favorite apps for note taking, productivity and timers that help me have some sense of productivity.
I have been using Evernote since 2013. That makes it 8 years since I’ve started using this app! Wow! Initially I signed up for this app because I was writing a small story or graphic novel with my childhood friends. We wanted a way to share notes and make changes online so we could all have access. Plus it was perfect that it has a chat feature.
Over time, Evernote has gone through many changes. Many of the updates are the home page, a calendar, tasks and scratch pad to help with projects. But at it’s core, its one that focuses on keeping all notes together within notebooks. Because of Evernote, I now have all my ideas on notes and notebooks in one place. I like that can add images or audio to my notes, add links, pdf, screenshots etca.
There are several notebooks for all the projects I am working on such as: Blog, YouTube Channel, freelance website, personal art projects/courses to complete, ideas for my Tumblr and business startup essentials. I don’t have to carry around all my paper notebooks because I use the mobile app as well. Syncing it has been the easiest way to help me navigate between mobile and web browser and desktop app. I have way too many tasks and notes on the Scratch Pad of things I need to complete. I dumped all my thoughts and ideas on that scratch pad and also take a bunch of notes when I get inspired.
Because I have a full time job and family, I need an online app that can help me take care of lifetime personal goals during my freetime. I highly recommend it to make lists and reminders to get your projects organized.
One way to block out time to get all those productivity projects done is to use an app that keeps you focused and accountable. I don’t remember how long I’ve been using Forest, but am glad I found it.
Forest shows you via graphs and timelines how much time you’ve spent on certain tasks/projects. You can even decide how much time you need to focus on every listed task. This app truly helps with focusing and blocking out the outside distractions. I have the app on both my phone and on the web browser. I like that once you receive a certain amount of coins, you are able to redeem them to have a donation given to organizations that grow trees.
The mobile version has features such as an overview of your ‘Forest’, Timeline, Tags, Achievements and additional pages. The Forest page will show you an overview of your how much your trees/plants have grown, focused time distribution, focus trend, tag distribution and favourite tree species. This can all be viewed per day, week, month and/or year.
With Tags, you are able to color code your tasks for easier searching.
The Achievements show badges of any accomplishments you’ve met within the app.
I really like that Forest gives you a purpose for both focus, goal setting and helping with the environment. It’s a win win.
Pomodoro Timer Online (aka Pomofocus) is a great timer to help you work on tasks quickly. The design is very simple and allows you to set a timer for them.I use Pomofocus when I am working on quick tasks like block out time to focus and not to mention to carve out time for breaks.
There are so many productivity apps and online services to help you stay on track and be productive. I find these apps to be helpful for someone like me who likes to be productive but not to the point of feeling toxic productivity. Which is why I added “some sort” of productivity in this blog post title. Although we all like to feel like we can get so much done in one hour, day or week, there is also a need to squeeze in as much rest and relax time as possible. I like to live slow as possible even if I have a to-do list or things that need to be completed by a certain time (like bills). Making time to have laser focus on some tasks or projects helps us to achieve goals even if you are not into hustle culture. We could all benefit from use small help from technology.
What are some sources you use for scheduling time for goals and tasks? Comment down below what helps you organize your life?