Best Productivity Apps

A good productivity setup needs one trusted app for each job, not ten apps for everything. These are the picks we would install first, grouped by the job they do best. All but one have a free way in: Google Calendar is free, Things 3 is a one-time purchase for each Apple platform, and the rest have free plans with paid upgrades.

For tasks, Todoist captures a to-do in plain language in seconds and runs on every major platform, Things 3 is the calm, GTD-style choice if you only use Apple devices, and ClickUp suits teams that want tasks, docs, goals and time tracking in one place. For notes and documents, Notion combines docs and databases in one flexible workspace, Obsidian keeps plain Markdown files on your own machine, Craft makes documents that look finished as you write, and Bear is a quick, tag-based Markdown app for Apple devices.

For time, Google Calendar is the dependable place to block out your day and Toggl Track shows where your hours actually go. For speed, Raycast turns your Mac or Windows PC into a keyboard-driven command palette, and Raindrop.io keeps saved links organised and searchable. Pick one app per job, give it two weeks before you judge it, and only add another when something is genuinely missing.