Minor tweaks and shifts in ‘work culture’ have made lasting changes in this post-pandemic economy, marking 2023 as the era of a more independent work life. Many people are leaning out of top-down company work and opting for a freelance or entrepreneurial business strategy; and those who remain working in traditionalist companies have no doubt adapted to the double-edged sword of hybrid work.

For those of us who want to take charge of our skills, tasks, and general productivity, The Beat Asia has curated our top five productivity apps for all of your work and organising needs. When you can get your work habits in check, you get your life in check.

Focus Keeper

Ever heard of the Pomodoro technique? This technique, named after a tomato shaped kitchen timer, was developed in the 1980s as a way to help you organise your workflow. You set a timer for 25 minutes and work until the timer rings, when those 25 minutes have passed, you reward yourself with a short 5 minute break.

This process is repeated three times, where after you can take a longer 20-30 minute break. By using the pomodoro technique throughout the workday, you can easily dedicate time for work and rest, discouraging you from mixing work with downtime.

For those who’d like to incorporate the Pomodoro technique in their day-to-day work, Focus Keeper helps you implement this technique with ease – especially if you struggle with your attention.

Available on web browsers, iOS, and Android.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a great tool for task-management and breaking down workdays, workweeks, workflow, and projects – perfect for big teams and collaborative projects. If you feel like you need help visualising your workflow; the simplicity and flexibility of ClickUp will help you feel invincible tackling all that’s on your plate.

Coming in multiple interchangeable formats, view your work week as a corkboard, a calendar, or list. You can add cards with each project or event, noting down important details such as lists, notes, files, deadlines, and assigning tasks through the app to share real-time updates and statuses with collaborators.

Available on web browsers, iOS and Android.

Freedom

Social media is the bane of all productivity, whether its’ personal development or meeting work deadlines. Ironic that we’d need an app to defeat the other less favourable apps, but that’s exactly what Freedom does.

When you’re trying to be more productive, Freedom blocks social media, shopping, and streaming applications – as well as other distracting sites of your choice across all devices. This way, you can focus on the task at hand seeing as your go-to distractions are null and void. You can choose to block sites for a timed duration or set a personalized schedule during your most productive hours of the week, setting you free from the inescapable social media wormhole.

Available on web browsers, iOS, and Android.

Workflowy

Check, check, and… check. Who doesn’t love crossing out and checking things off a to-do list to gamify your productivity? If you’re the type to find satisfaction in tracking your progress with lists, Workflowy is the app for you.

If you find yourself overwhelmed with complex organisation tools and prefer a lighter touch to get a cleaner picture of what you need to do – Workflowy is a simple start to get you going. The app provides infinite nesting to develop your ideas without losing context, and can be expanded and collapsed whenever you like.

Available on web browser, iOS, and Android.

StickK

Developed by behavioural economists from Yale University, the StickK app encourages you to sign a commitment contract with yourself and the app to live in a way that aligns with you and your goals, to the point of betting real money on yourself. After all, you are your greatest asset, so why not invest?

While not designed for work-based productivity, general habit-tracking and habit building can be a complete game changer to become the best possible version of you – bringing a net positive to your career. For added motivation, you can assign a friend or family member to check your data and keep you accountable to your progress.

Available on iOS and Android.