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Must-have productivity apps, round 2

I last wrote about my own personal “must-have productivity apps for 2013” in January. Since we’re approaching midyear, it seemed time to do some research and testing on any new and improved apps. Here’s what I found:

GTasks
GT logoI started the year using Any.Do as a task list. I still believe that a task list is critical to a working mom, however, I have since updated to GTasks. GTasks is a free application that syncs with my Google Calendar. GTasks is a simple and efficient task management app with both local and Google account modes. You can customize your to-do list; set reminders; share tasks with friends, family members, or colleagues; and sync with your Google tasks and Calendar seamlessly. With it, you will never miss a task and can focus more on what’s happening now.

TornadoTornado logo
It is tornado season, at least for us Midwesterners. As such, the American Red Cross has an amazing app called Tornado that is a complete solution to help us understand, prepare for, and be warned when a tornado may be in our area. And it’s my favorite app price– it’s free.

audible logoAudible
As the manager of Training and Development, I’m a lifelong learner and will never give up my love of reading. One of my favorite pastimes is sitting down with a good book.
However, Audible helps keep me “reading” in the car when there’s
something I want to listen to. They have more than 100,000 titles—from best sellers to classics and everything in between. The app is free (as are many of the titles).

SwiftKey
If you’re like me and can’t figure out how to type with big fingers and small keys on your smartphone (and don’t want to spend so much time rewriting and editing your messages [but you shouldn’t skip this step, see #2 here]), you may want to spend the mere $3.99 for SwiftKey.
swiftkey logo 120x120It’s the Winner of a Webby Award and a Global Mobile Award for Innovation (plus others). Here’s the skinny: SwiftKey replaces the touchscreen keyboard on your phone with one that understands how words work together, giving the world’s most accurate autocorrect – and predicting your next word before you press a key. It’s smart too: the keyboard learns as you use it to make corrections and predictions based on the way that you write. It can learn from your Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, or blog to make its insights even more personalized. You can also enable up to three languages simultaneously, for true multi-lingual typing.

Have you discovered any must-have apps lately? If you have, please share your finds in the comments!

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5 Responses to Must-have productivity apps, round 2

  1. Sam May 23, 2013 at 2:51 am #

    Thanks for the great productivity app suggestions, Dr. LaVoy. I travel a lot for my job at DISH, and I think GTasks and Audible might be handy apps while on the road. Sometimes my productivity dips a bit if I don’t take a break. That’s when I turn to my DISH Anywhere app. It streams live TV, DVR recordings, and video on demand, so I can always find something to watch to help decompress a little between tasks.

  2. Jeff May 31, 2013 at 3:09 pm #

    I would recommend adding Must Do Today to the list.

  3. DrLaVoy June 5, 2013 at 8:10 pm #

    Thanks for sharing, Sam. I’m glad you found them useful. I am certain someone will find a new nugget knowing that DISH has an app as well!

  4. DrLaVoy June 5, 2013 at 8:11 pm #

    Thanks for sharing, Jeff. I am not familiar with the “Must Do Today” app but I will absolutely look into it.

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