Best Productivity Apps for Mac in 2024

There are all sorts of things that can interrupt you these days. An email, a phone call, remembering something else you need to do, checking social media, and so much more. One way to reduce these interruptions and stay on track is with productivity apps.

Productivity apps are tools designed to help you stay organized, collaborate with team members, monitor progress, and get more work done. If you’re a Mac user, plenty of productivity tools and Mac apps are available for you to try. Whether you’re a manager, an employee, or just someone looking to be a little more organized, you’ll likely find some benefits from installing one of these best productivity apps for Mac.

Best Productivity Apps for Mac

There are so many productivity apps for Mac that it’s hard to choose just one. Below, we’ll highlight some of the best productivity apps in different categories.

Task Management Apps

• Todoist: The main goal of Todoist is to help you develop new habits. With it, you can quickly enter and organize your tasks and decide if you want the app to send you reminders. Todoist also comes with natural language processing (NLP), which allows you to use voice commands. If you’re looking for a simple to-do list app that can help you be more productive and collaborate with others, Todoist is a great option.
• Things 3: Things 3 is a simple to-do list app with many powerful features. With Things 3, you can create to-do lists, integrate calendar events, divide tasks into subcategories, sync with your Apple Watch, and more. This app won numerous awards, including the Apple Design Award, thanks to its simplicity and design.
• OmniFocus 3: The third option is OmniFocus 3, which makes storing everything you need to do in one place easy. OmniFocus is noted for how easy it is to add new items, which you can do with a keyboard shortcut from your smartphone or other apps. Once you’ve added your tasks, you can easily organize them and see what’s coming in your Forecast.

Note-taking Apps

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• Evernote: Evernote is a versatile note-taking and organization app for Mac users. It allows you to create, store, and access notes, documents, web clippings, and images across various devices. With features like tagging, searching, machine translation, and syncing, it’s a popular choice for individuals and professionals seeking to streamline their digital note-keeping.
• OneNote: OneNote is the note-taking software from Microsoft that’s now available on Mac computers. It differs from other note-taking apps as its design is for free-form note-taking. The note pages grow as you need them to. If you have a touchscreen, you can jot down notes by hand. OneNote also includes features like tagging to help you find specific notes and sharing to help you collaborate with others.
• Notion: Notion doubles as a note-taking app and a collaboration app. With it, multiple people can work together on a single note, adding updates or making changes as they go along. It also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) writing to create reference pages or tables automatically. 

Project Management Apps

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• Asana: Asana is a well-known project management app suitable for teams. It comes with features for creating tasks, assigning priorities, and tracking progress. Through Asana, you can also set due dates for team members and share files, giving you an all-in-one space to collaborate on a project.
• Trello: If you prefer strong visuals when organizing your project, take a look at Trello. Trello uses a card-based system for your tasks, which you can then drag around based on how you want to organize your project. Other features of Trello include team collaboration, file attachments, and task assignments.
• Monday.com: Monday.com is a work management app that’s ideal for large-scale projects or company-wide goals. It provides a high-level view of your ongoing projects while allowing for smaller actions like task scheduling and file sharing. If you’re looking for a tool to help your company streamline its workflow and improve efficiency, Monday.com is a great choice.

Time-Tracking Apps

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• Toggl Track: For a simple time-tracking app, check out Toggl Track. One of the best features of this desktop time tracker is that you can keep it in the corner of your desktop, where it won’t distract you from your work. Toggl Track can also give you reminders to track your time, let you know when you’re inactive, and set timers based on the Pomodoro method.
• Harvest: This app lets you track time across various projects. It also allows you to quickly create invoices, making it a great choice for independent contractors. Harvest has features for report generation, budget monitoring, expense tracking, and integration with other tools, such as QuickBooks, Asana, and Slack.
• Time Doctor: Time Doctor lets you track the time of your employees. Through it, you can analyze how your team spends its time and recognize which employees work efficiently. Time Doctor also integrates with other popular software applications, including Trello, Salesforce, and Office 365.

Other Productivity Apps

• Alfred: Alfred is noted for its ability to create keyboard shortcuts. For example, you can open applications, search your computer, find something online, or perform other system actions, all with a designated keyboard key. If you want to streamline repetitive actions and move through your Mac faster, check out Alfred.
• Bartender: Bartender is an app that gives you more control over your Mac’s menu bar. It allows you to customize what’s displayed, where it goes, and when to show it. Through features like custom hotkeys, triggers, and search, it can help you streamline your workflow to exactly how you want it.
• Magnet: Magnet is the ideal app if you need help multitasking. With Magnet, you can divide your screen into sections based on the applications you’re using. This makes it easier to have everything you need in front of you at once rather than switching between windows all the time.

How to Choose the Right Productivity Apps for Mac

With so many productivity apps available for Mac computers, you may need help choosing the right ones. The first thing you’ll want to do is consider your specific needs and workflow. Think about what features you need in your productivity apps, such as collaboration tools or the ability to integrate with other apps.

From there, you can explore the different types of productivity software. There are project management applications, to-do list applications, collaboration tools, and much more available. By knowing the different types of productivity apps available, you can more easily narrow down your options.

Once you know the type of app you want, start reading reviews for some popular software options. See if they have a strong history of success with previous customers and a good rating on the app store.

After you find some apps with good reviews, you can then compare their features against one another. It’s a good idea to make a list of the features you want and then see which apps offer them. Some possible features you might want could include:

• Task scheduling
• Note-taking
• Collaboration
• Voice commands

Finally, make use of free trials. Many productivity apps for Mac allow you to test them out for free before purchasing them. This is a great way to see if an app fits your workflow needs. Try out any apps that fit your specific criteria, and choose the one you like best.

How to Set Up Your Productivity Apps for Mac

After you find a productivity app that you want to use, the next step is to set it up. Install the app on your Mac computer, then try out the different features. Play around with the app until you’re able to create a system that works for you. For example, you can try different reminder settings in your to-do list app until you find an effective approach.

Besides the various features, try different settings within the app. Many of the productivity apps available for Mac are highly customizable. Go through the Settings or Preferences menu to see what you can change.

Finally, integrate your new app with any other productivity apps you use. Syncing your apps is one of the best ways to get the most from them. For instance, sync your project management app into your time tracking app so that any task tracked immediately gets added to the project info.

Getting your productivity apps set up can take some time and will involve some trial and error. However, you’ll likely find the time investment worth it, as your apps can save you time going forward.

How to Use Productivity Apps on Mac to Get More Done

To get the most from your Mac productivity apps, there are some steps you can take.

1. Set clear goals. Know what you’re trying to achieve with your productivity app. When possible, also set up a metric that will track your progress. For example, measure the time it takes to complete a project before and after implementing a project management app.
2. Prioritize your tasks. One of the key things that productivity apps help you do is prioritize. Use your apps to figure out which tasks are the most important so you can focus on those.
3. Break large tasks into smaller ones. Create subtasks for any of your larger goals so you can track progress. This will help keep you heading towards your goal and feeling motivated as you check items off your list.
4. Take breaks. Even the best productivity apps can’t help much if you burn out. Schedule some breaks into your day so that you can approach your tasks feeling fresh.
5. Review your progress. Occasionally, review how things are going with your productivity apps. Decide if you need to make changes to how you use the app or if you need a new app to help you get tasks done better.

How to Use Productivity Apps on Mac to Collaborate With Others

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One key feature of productivity apps is they enable many users to collaborate on projects. If you want to take advantage of this ability, there are a few things you need to do.

First, you need to make sure you have an app with collaboration capabilities. Learn about the sharing and communication features available within the productivity app you’re using.

After that, make sure the others you want to collaborate with are also using the app. Once everyone is set up, you can start sharing tasks, working on projects together, or uploading files within the app. 

Some apps also allow you to communicate with your team members. Use this function to share notes or to discuss the project you’re working on. Finally, see if your app has real-time syncing. With real-time syncing, when someone makes a change to a file, task, or project, everyone else will see those changes immediately. This ensures users have up-to-date information when working on the project.

Tips for Using Productivity Apps on Mac Effectively

Once you’ve chosen your productivity and organization apps for Mac, there are a few things you can do to make them more effective. First, ensure that you remain consistent with your app usage. You’ll only get out of your apps what you put into them. The more consistently you use them, the more benefits they’ll provide.

If you’re using multiple apps, it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to organize them. Then, you’ll have an easy time finding the app you need at the right time.

However, make sure you’re not using too many apps. Downloading more apps in the hopes that they will help you be more productive may end up overloading you. Instead, focus on finding the right tools for your job rather than using as many tools as possible.

Finally, see if your productivity apps have automation features. These can be a great way to reduce your workload and perform routine tasks. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Productivity Apps on Mac

There are a few common mistakes people make when getting started with productivity apps. The first mistake is not setting a clear goal. If you don’t know the specific reason you’re using the app, it’s hard to get the most out of it. Before starting, write down what you want to achieve. Then, keep this in mind as you test out features and configure your new app.

The second mistake is trying to do too much at once. The new productivity apps you download will have a ton of features. However, you don’t need to use them all. Start with the most essential features for what you’re trying to accomplish and focus on those. Then, once you are an expert in those features, you can explore what else the software offers.

The last mistake is not taking time to review the helpfulness of your new app. By reviewing your progress, you can ensure that you’re using the right tool for the job. The whole point of getting a productivity app is to better optimize your time. If your current app isn’t getting the job done, you’ll want to discover this sooner rather than later.

Alternatives to Popular Productivity Apps for Mac

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If the popular productivity apps aren’t providing you with what you need, you’re in luck. There are plenty of alternatives to the popular apps that you can try to see if there’s a better fit. 

A few options include:

For Task Management

• TickTick
• Any.do
• Microsoft To Do

For Note Taking

• Bear
• Ulysses
• Simplenote

For Project Management

• Wrike
• Basecamp
• GanttPRO

For Time Tracking

• Clockify
• Timecamp
• Hubstaff

For Other Productivity Apps

• LaunchBar
• BetterTouchTool
• PopClip

New and Emerging Productivity Apps for Mac

There are also some newly released productivity apps that might better suit your needs.

A few apps to explore include:

• Craft
• Sunsama
• Super Productivity
• TickTick Premium
• Priority Matrix

Download Productivity iMac Apps Today

There are a lot of options when it comes to Mac productivity apps. Plus, they are easy to set up. Whether you need a to-do list app for MacBook Pro or a team collaboration app, you have plenty of choices. Start exploring your options today and then invest some time integrating them into your daily workflow. Once you do, you’ll likely find that you’re able to get more done in a smaller amount of time.