TSP • @myTSPnet
Smart devices are almost getting a little too smart for our liking. With the abundance of apps available (2.2 million in the Apple Store and 3 million on Android’s Google Play), it can be hard to know which apps are worth the investment of both your time, and sometimes, your money. Luckily, we’ve compiled some of our favorite mobile apps below and a few we recommend ditching. If you see one missing from our list, please share — we’re always looking for the best and brightest in technology.
TO DOWNLOAD
Unroll.Me
We’ve talked about reaching Inbox Zero before and Unroll.Me is the app you need to do just that. This app has many features and uses swiping to make decisions quick and easy. Swipe left to unsubscribe, swipe right to save and swipe up to save an email subscription to the Rollup — a once-daily digest with your favorite emails all in one place. Download the app on Apple and Android here.
Flipboard
Flipboard is the app for news junkies. Similar to Apple News, Flipboard curates the best news for you based on your interests. However, our favorite thing about this app is the interface. Perfect for your smart phone, tablet or even desktop, Flipboard gives you a comparable experience to flipping through an actual newspaper or magazine. Download the app on Apple and Android here.
Things
For those in desperate need of organization, Things by Culture Code is here to make your life easier. The award-winning task manager recently went through a complete revamp which included an updated design, new features and more. While the app isn’t free, it is one of our favorites if you are looking to splurge money and save time. Start your 15-day free trial here.
Slack
Slack is the perfect team communication tool for businesses both big and small. The app makes it easy to communicate with your team, organize conversations, collaborate on documents and easily search past communications. Plus, the app can integrate with your other business tools such as Google Drive and Dropbox. Pricing depends on your team size — learn more here.
Duolingo
Looking to brush up on a language you learned back in high school or even pick up a new language for the first time? Duolingo is for you. This app makes “studying” easy through interactive sessions. Each lesson teaches you a new round of phrases while building on the last. Plus, the streak count motivates you to keep coming back daily for more. Download the app here.
Headspace
Meditation is probably one of the biggest trends to emerge during the last year. If you haven’t heard of Headspace yet, this app was created by Andy Puddicombe who spent over 10 years in meditation training as a Buddhist monk. Once this commitment was completed, he set out to educate everyone on meditation and mindfulness. This app requires a subscription (which costs a pretty penny), but it may be the perfect fit for those looking to make a major life change. Sign up here.
TO DITCH
Facebook
We know — how could you possibly delete Facebook? The social platform has been a part of society for years and, as of 2016, there were more than 1.15 billion mobile daily active users. But did you also know deleting Facebook could double your battery life? If you can’t make the commitment to delete your account completely, removing the app from your smart device is a happy compromise you can make to save your time and your phone’s battery.
Google Apps
For all you Android users, Google apps may be the top offender in draining the battery of your phone. A recent study by Avast included three Google apps (Talkback, Play Music and Doc) on their top resource drainers list of 2017. Delete the apps you never use to clear up space and save battery at the same time.
Candy Crush, Angry Birds or whatever your game-of-choice may be
There is nothing more detrimental to your productivity than getting sucked into a viral gaming app. For those of you who have grown out of these apps, good for you. However, this category continues to be the top earner for the U.S. App Store, with 80% of revenue generated from games in 2016.
Notifications
Okay, this isn’t technically an app. However, these little reminders pop up regularly to capture your attention and drive you to check your phone. You can either silence notifications completely or simply change what type of notification you receive. Apple users, learn how to update your notifications on both the iPad and iPhone here. You may even find that once you aren’t reminded of an app, you never really needed it anyway!
There are mountains of apps to discover, but not all of them are worth your time. By downloading those that will help increase productivity and those that drain it, you can rest easy knowing your time is spent in the right place.
