➤ 👨‍💻Top 21 Personal Productivity Apps for 2022 🎮

Increase personal and business productivity it is a crucial goal, but not easy to achieve. As an entrepreneur you are constantly busy between customer service, store management, accounting, marketing and everything in between. How do you make sure you're spending time on what drives revenue?

The solution is resort to applications that help you to respect priorities, delegate when needed and automate when possible. This way you will have time to focus on what matters most for growth.

Therefore, in this article we have compiled for you:

Top 13 Free Personal Productivity Apps.
And the top 8 free apps to boost small business productivity.

These resources will help you and your team increase productivity. And the best part is that they are free apps!

Top 13 Free Apps to Boost Personal Productivity

Use these 13 apps to boost personal and business productivity. They will help you minimize distractions and manage your time well, without losing sight of priorities.

1 RescueTime

Among the free productivity apps, the best for managing time.

RescueTime is the time management app that monitors and calculates the time you spend on different types of activities.

For example, do you think you only spend a few minutes on social media a day? RescueTime can show you exactly how much time you spend scrolling through your feeds. The results may surprise you and show you that you need to minimize this distraction.

Think copying and pasting data from one app to another requires minimal effort? You may find that your effort is more than you perceive, and that it's worth automating this task. RescueTime can show you how much time you would save with an automation tool like Zapier.

Do you feel like you work long hours without being able to do enough? RescueTime can help you identify which low-impact activities are taking up too much time. So you can find ways to delegate and automate them (or avoid them, if they are distractions).

2. StayFocusd

Among the free productivity apps, the best for avoiding distractions.

If you find yourself wasting too much time on social networks, news sites or other online distractions, you can use StayFocusd. It's a Chrome extension that allows you to completely block access to certain sites.

StayFocusd also has an option to block access to all websites globally — or to all but the ones you need to use (eg Google Docs). It's a great way to stay focused on a specific task. In short, StayFocusd is a useful tool for minimizing distractions, especially when you don't find the strength to do so.

3. Boomerang per Gmail e per Outlook

Among the free productivity apps, the best for not being distracted by emails.

If you find that email is one of your main sources of distraction, Boomerang for Gmail and for Outlook can help. Use the "Inbox Pause" feature to prevent new emails from arriving in your inbox when you need to concentrate. And when you want, uncheck the “Pause” button to go back to receiving emails.

What's great about Boomerang is that it doesn't just block your inbox, it blocks you allows you to create delivery exceptions. For example, if you need to concentrate but are waiting for an important email, you can add the address as an exception. Thus the message will bypass the block, still reaching your account.

You can also forward an automatic reply to someone who sends you an email while your mailbox is paused. For example, you communicate that the message will be received at a later time; and if you wish, provide an alternative contact number to contact you in an emergency.

4 Todoist

Among the free productivity apps, the best for managing to-do-lists.

5. KanbanFlow

Among the free productivity apps, the best for applying the Pomodoro Technique.

Start by setting up columns and adding tasks. When you're ready, click a couple of buttons to start a 25-minute work session. KanbanFlow notifies you when it's time to take a break. If necessary, it also allows you to record the work session in a timetable.

Another unique feature of KanbanFlow is that it asks you why you pause the timer if you pause before completing the current session. This can help you find out what distracts you most often when you're trying to focus. So you will find ways to minimize distractions.

6. Gmail

Among the free productivity apps, the best for managing email.

Gmail is an excellent free email tool, and thanks to its numerous functions it is also useful for business productivity.

Response templates

Do you feel like you always answer the same questions? Save time typing responses by creating response templates. These are preset text selections, which you can add to any email in just a few clicks. Here's how to create reply templates in Gmail:

1. Activate templates by selecting: Settings > Advanced > Templates > Activate > Save Changes.

2. Create and use response templates from the compose toolbar, via the More Options menu.

filters

Do you have emails that you always need to put in a reference folder or send to your accountant? Create gods smart filters to mark with a label or automatically send emails addressed to a specific person or with a specific subject (e.g. "Invoice").

You can also use filters to automatically archive or delete certain emails to keep your inbox clear.

Additional components

In addition, Gmail has numerous add-ons to carry out activities without leaving your inbox. For example, you can:

Create tasks in project management apps like Trello or Asana.
Send emails directly to Slack.
Add emails to Evernote.

Thanks to these automatisms it becomes easy to process emails as soon as they arrive and keep them where pre-established.

7. Evernote

Among the free productivity apps, the best for staying organized.

Each software you use has its own method of saving information. Computer files are stored on the hard disk. Google Docs are saved in Google Drive. Web pages that you mark as Favorites remain saved in your browser. If you need an email in the future, you keep it in a folder in your mail app.

The problem with this approach? It's hard to know where to look when you need to find something you've saved. Evernote solves the problem by providing you with a centralized source for every note and document you save.

Evernote lets you take text or voice notes on any device and save them in your account. Integration with Google Drive, Gmail and Outlook is also possible to save documents and emails you may need later. Or you can use the snipping tool to save full copies of web pages to your Evernote account.

That way, when you're looking for something you won't have to go crazy remembering where you saved it. Just look in your Evernote account.

8. LastPass

Among the free productivity apps, the best for managing passwords.

Using the same password to access each site is not recommended for anyone; especially for those who own a company and must prevent hackers from accessing documents, sites, current accounts and accounting programs.

But devising and remembering unique passwords is a real job. This is where LastPass comes into play. With LastPass, you can generate long, strong, and unique passwords for every site you log into. These passwords will be saved in your LastPass account. And you no longer have to memorize your login credentials or reset your password.

The LastPass Free Plan allows you to save login details for up to 20 accounts. Then, you can use Lastpass to secure your login details for your most important tools. Or you can upgrade for just €2,67 a month, so you can create and save secure login credentials for each of your accounts.

9. Zapier

Among the free business productivity apps, the best for automating your tasks.

Zapier is an app connector that makes it easy to transfer data from one app to another without coding skills. Connects with over 1500 apps to help you automate your workflows.

For example, Zaps (Zapier Automated Workflows) for resources4gaming allow you to:

Automatically add new orders to a spreadsheet.
Add new customers to your email marketing tool.
Create tasks in your project management tool for new orders.
Publish new products on social networks.

Basically, Zapier guarantees the completion of tasks without any activity on your part.

Any of your routine tasks of copying and pasting data from one system to another can be automated with Zapier. Setting up these automations takes just a few minutes and gives you free time to focus on more important tasks.

10. Google

Among the free productivity apps, the best to minimize the need for other apps.

Do you need to quickly convert an amount from one currency to another, check what time it is in a country on the other side of the world or perform complex mathematical calculations? You don't need separate apps for each of these tasks—just Google.

Google includes a ton of features, which appear at the top of organic search results. With them, you can quickly perform tasks for which you would otherwise need a separate app. For example, you can:

Type a calculation in the search bar to get the result in response.
Find out what time it is in Australia, or check the time difference between Australia and New York.
Convert US dollar to euro or yen.
Find the cheapest hotel in the city where you are going.
Set a timer or stopwatch to track time spent on a task.

These search tools limit the number of apps you have to keep open on the screen; and they also limit the number of times you have to log in and out of different programs throughout the day.

11. Language Tool

Among the free productivity apps, the best for error-free writing.

Writing takes time, plus you need to make sure your text is fluid and free from spelling and grammatical errors. Language Tool helps you with this, pointing out possible errors and showing you suggestions. It is available in 20 languages, including Italian.

You can write directly on Language Tool or better still paste the text into the editor once it's ready. You will no doubt find this tool useful if you need extra control over the shape.

12 Google Calendar

The best appointment and time management app.

Google Calendar is GSuite's time and activity management tool. Like Gmail and Drive, Google Calendar is a free productivity app.

Many consider it as a simple digital calendar. Actually, Google Calendar can easily be turned into an effective time blocking tool. Blocking time slots within your day such as "Focus Time" is useful for dedicating time to specific tasks and avoiding getting stuck in endless meetings.

13. Google Maps

The best app to optimize travel times.

Productivity means optimizing the time at one's disposal while minimizing losses. In this sense, Google Maps fully fits the definition of personal productivity app thanks to its real-time traffic information.

Reports of slowdowns or accidents from users allow you to always select the fastest route to reach your next engagement. This way, you'll spend less time on the road stuck in traffic and you'll have more time to devote to work or what you love to do.

Top 8 Free Apps to Boost Small Business Productivity

Once you've honed your time management techniques, you'll be ready to go increase the productivity of the entire company team.

Try these 8 free business productivity apps. They will help you ensure that everyone has access to the tools to work efficiently.

1. Trello

Do you manage projects that need to pass from one person to another (or from one team to another) before being completed? Trello is the ultimate app for project management productivity.

With a Trello board, you can create different columns for each step in the process. You can move tasks from one column to another as they are completed, and assign tasks to those who need to complete them. Also you are able to check the status of every pending activity at a glance.

Trello is ideal for content marketing workflows where writers, editors, and graphic designers are involved. Or even in the human resources area, where personnel selection and recruiting managers intervene in a process with specific tasks.

2. asana

The best productivity app for small teams.

The Asana board works exactly like the Trello board, leaving the team with the ability to manage tasks and projects on a Kanban board. But if this type of view isn't right for your team, you can also view tasks in a more traditional to-do-list or even on a calendar.

The downside of Asana is that its free plan only accommodates 15 team members; so if you have a larger team of collaborators you will need to upgrade. With Trello's free plan, however, there's no limit to the number of people you can add to boards.

3. Slack

Among the free business productivity apps, the best for real-time communication.

Slack is a chat app that allows teams to communicate in real time. Individual team members can instant message each other, communicating faster than via email. Furthermore, the various work teams can create autonomous discussion channels to collaborate more effectively with each other.

But when it comes to productivity, what sets Slack apart is its huge library of applications. You can connect Slack to almost any other app you use; for example, you can create support tickets from Slack discussions, save attachments directly to Dropbox or Google Drive or add tasks received on Slack to your to-do-list.

There are also Slack apps that help you automate the process of getting information from your colleagues. You can add an app that automatically collects updates for a daily task, takes lunch orders to order, or sends out weekly employee engagement surveys.

Some of these apps are free and some are paid, but the large library of apps available on Slack gives you plenty of options to choose from.

4. Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides

The best free apps for real-time collaboration.

Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides enable collaboration on text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Multiple users can work together on assets in real time, seeing where others make changes. This way, everyone can take into account the activity of the others.

You can also choose which permissions to grant on the resources you create, allowing you to view, comment or make changes. Use hint mode to offer the document owner changes they can accept or reject; or leave comments when there are questions or further explanation is needed.

The best thing about this suite of tools is that a history with all the versions of the resources created is saved and made accessible. So if someone makes changes you don't like, or you need to go back to a previous version, you can. Not only will you see all previous versions, but you'll be able to go back to them in just a few clicks.

5 Google Drive

The best free file and folder sharing app.

Many businesses use Dropbox, but Google Drive is more convenient if you want a free file sharing and storage tool. Dropbox's free plan offers only 2GB of storage space. Instead with Google Drive you get a space of 15 GB, even if shared with your Gmail account (if you have it).

Google Drive works even better when you use Google tools like Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Files created with these tools are automatically saved within Google Drive. By creating a shared folder in Google Drive, you give access to whoever you want to the folder and automatically to its contents as well.

The Google Drive Backup and Sync tool lets you easily and automatically back up files saved on your computer to Google Drive and access those files without having to open the Google Drive web application. It's another way to collect everything in one place, so you don't have a hard time finding files.

6. Notation

Among the free business productivity apps, the best for managing team knowledge.

One of the best ways to keep your team productive is to make sure everyone has easy access to the information they need to get their jobs done. It's a difficult feat when each team uses a different system to document and store their knowledge.

Notion solves the problem. In fact, it makes it easy for teams to build internal knowledge bases that are always available and accessible to anyone in the company. You can create separate workspaces for different departments (HR, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, etc.). Inside, it will be possible to carry out general searches, to quickly find the knowledge documented by any team.

With Notion's free tier, you can enter an unlimited number of team members and add up to 1000 items. It's a perfect solution for growing businesses that want to gather business knowledge right away, but don't have a big budget.

7. Wave

Among the free productivity apps, the best for managing corporate accounting.

Wave is a free, feature-rich business accounting tool. Enables business owners and their finance teams to collaborate by tracking sales, invoices, expenses, and profits.

With Wave's free tier, you get unlimited banking, billing, and receipt scanning. This facilitates the collection and consolidation of all corporate income and expenses. Add employees' corporate credit cards to capture their expenses and have them send photos of receipts using Wave's mobile app.

You can also accept payments through Wave (but transaction processing fees apply) and automatically convert payments into foreign currencies.

Finally, add your accountants and bookkeepers to the system so they are all working on the same data; and set permissions so that everyone sees what you want.

8. Cloud App

Among the free business productivity apps, the best for sharing screenshots.

Screenshots are useful for making internal and external communications clearer. But sharing them can be tricky. CloudApp makes it easy to capture and share screenshots or short videos, and share them with anyone via link. The app allows business owners to provide clear, viewable instructions to their employees. It also allows employees to do the same with customers.

To use CloudApp for free in your company, every employee who needs it will have to create their own free account. Business screenshots will not be collected in one place, but you can easily share them via links. These links can be password protected if they contain sensitive information.

Choosing the right apps to increase personal and business productivity

Undoubtedly using the right apps can help you stay focused on what makes you grow. But too many apps can also get in the way of business productivity.

So before you start downloading apps and sending them to your team, take the time to think. Try to identify the main obstacles that prevent you from being more productive.

Are distractions the biggest obstacle to productivity for you? If so, tools like RescueTime, StayFocusd, Boomerang, and KanbanFlow might be useful.
Is your business productivity affected by the fact that collaborators don't know what priorities are? Or don't know where to find what they need to work? If so, direct your teams with apps like Trello, Asana, Google Drive, or Notion.
Are you having difficulty collaborating effectively in your company? Tools like Slack, Docs, Google Sheets and Slides, Google Drive, and Wave can be the perfect solution.
Do you find it difficult to communicate clearly? Try Language Tool and CloudApp. Instead, if you struggle to remember too much information, rely on tools like Evernote, Todoist or LastPass.

Now you just have to identify what hinders your business productivity and choose the app that's right for you. Which of the free apps that we have indicated will you use to grow your business?

Original article by Jessica Greene, translated by Maria Teresa Cantafora.