Apps to help with productivity

I have been writing a lot recently, for both business and pleasure. It can be hard to keep track of everything as my day job requires a completely different type of journalism and scribing skills than my more shallow and considerably more fun websites. I am also writing a book, which is a completely different mindset.

Consequently, when I sit down to start every morning, I frequently draw a blank and just feel an urge to look at Facebook. That is where apps come in. Before smartphones and the internet (I am old), I used to have notebooks and post-its everywhere reminding me to do things. Now I have apps. For example, Wunderlist just reminded me to post on this blog. (It has been reminding me for a while, apologies.)

In case you are a similar procrastinator, here are some apps that help me to focus and get more done.

Wunderlist
This is probably my main 'To Do' list. It is what I look at first and notifications pop up throughout the day reminding me of things I have to do. Not just writing, but everything. It's an awesome app that pretty much runs my daily life. Wunderlist works and syncs across my MacAir, iPad, and Samsung phone.

Evernote 
This is where I keep all my notes, ideas, links to everything and everyone I write for. Like Wunderlist, it syncs across all devices and is superb for jotting down anything.

Habitbull
Because I am an idle bastard, I need more general prodding. Habitbull is where I set vague targets for the day - write 1000 words of fiction, write a website article, do some press ups, practice another language (I am learning Thai), and so on. It lets me know how well I am doing as a kind of overview.

Focus Keeper
This is great for bursts of work. It uses the Pomodoro technique where you turn off everything and just focus on one particular task for 25 minutes. For someone who is easily distracted, this is pretty essential.

White noise
There are quite a few apps that just block out noise and replace it with something less distracting and constant. My personal favourite is a blend of heavy rain and light traffic. Not sure what that says about me. I spend a lot of time in coffee shops and white noise combined with the Pomodoro technique help me be very productive.

I use a couple of other apps occasionally but these are my main ones. If you are an easily distracted person such as myself, I hope this helps. Now I am just going to- Look a squirrel!