5 Fant-APP-Ulous Solutions to Make Your Work Life Smoother

Working in an excessively competitive work environment requires a few basic survival preliminaries, like being organized and highly productive. And with all that constant pressure to better, sometimes, you accidentally come up with great ideas to resolve issues. Being a product manager for a highly competitive company, my instincts forced me to look for a fant-App-ulous answer to get more work done in less time. For that, I have literally used every app that promised to be a productivity booster. But over time, only 5 of them were able to make it to my favorite apps list.

I think that it's time for us to embrace the success of smartphones and tablets by treating ourselves with apps that could boost our productivity and make us more competitive. Check out these 5 apps that are worth trying to improve your performance at work.

1.Any.do

If you have a work routine that has different facets; for instance, a full-time job plus a startup, this would mean taking care of a lot of things simultaneously. To-do-list is a crude necessity, as it allows you to keep your busy schedule aligned with your daily targets. But not every to-do-list app is created equal.

I needed something minimalist and fast to get accustomed to; Any.do got onto my smartphone 8 months back and its still an essential app on my list. Why? because with this app, I have been able to amalgamate all those things that need my time attention, and sift those, that don't.

2.Xnspy.com

Much of my managerial headache has been reduced down to nothing because of this app. Xnspy is an employee monitoring tool that has helped me achieve a better control on my staff's cell phone activities that wasn't possible previously. This app has been installed onto all of my employee's company-provided cell phones. Rather than getting up from my desk on regular intervals to monitor my staff's performance, I just have to open XNSPY's online control panel at the end of a day to check how each employee has used his/her cell phone.

Not just that—the app also gives me a complete breakdown of my employees' cell phone usage. With so much on my plate, it's very convenient for to remotely monitor my staff's call logs, SMS, emails, internet browsing history and even social media. The app truly helps you save time and be more productive all around, because if you have kids at home, you can also manage their smartphone activity with the app's remote commands, like you can lock/unlock your kids' iPhones and iPads according to your discretion, or you could also take a remote screenshot off their devices and see what they are doing on their cell phone. Lastly, if your child has a habit of losing their stuff, you can also use XNSPY to wipe off their phone's data in the case of an emergency.

3.Focusboosterapp.com
When you aren't working 9-5, and you plan to achieve more from your day, reminding yourself of the essential breaks is necessary. For someone like me, who even needs a reminder to take meal breaks, Focusbooster is pretty helpful. With this app, I can set different length's sessions. However, the main feature on this app is to use the Pomodoro technique that perpetually alternates between 25-minute working blocks and short breaks.

The Pomodoro technique is certainly helpful in improving your concentration, and inevitably, productivity. You can get different Pomodoro timer apps, but my personal favorite is Focusbooster, because it's a free download and has a very clean and simple to use interface—minimalistic, I must say!

4.Mailbox
I truly believe in de-cluttering to make the most out of my time, and because most of us have a mail box that's no less than a mess, I use Mailbox to simplify my emails handling. The app works much like a messaging system where you can swipe left or right to archive or trash your emails. The email app is also able to scan text out of my emails to present them in the form of a text message, making it easier for me to read them.

If sorting out emails had been a big issue for you, and if you are failing to deliver response to your emails in time, get Mailbox ASAP.

5.Wunderlist

The most interesting part with using Wunderlist is that it's literally available on every platform (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Kindle Fire and the Web). The app's name is self-explanatory; it allows you to create a wonderful to-do list that you can share with your co-workers, friends, and family.

I use this app when my day starts, to the time, I go back to bed; it's that important for me. With Wunderlist, I can create recurring subtasks and to-do lists that I can even print or synch to other devices. And because I have to work on stringent deadlines, Wunderlist also helps me achieve that.

Making your life smooth and more productive doesn't mean that you start using every app that comes across you. It's about managing your time, and that's what you should have in your mind before using these apps—only then they would benefit you. Don't overwhelm yourself by trying too many things. These aforementioned apps are worth trying, but I would still suggest you to have a fair trial of each one of them, because it's totally up to you to understand what's working for you in making you more productive.

Do we need to connect or disconnect to become more productive? Leave your feedback in the comments section.