Every day, we are all bombarded with diversions. They reduce our productivity and raise our stress levels. You need the correct tools to identify and overcome distractions and enhance your productivity, whether you’re working alone or with a team, to help you stay focused despite the constant distractions. It takes discipline, timing, rules, and technology to avoid procrastination and stay productive while working. 

 

We’d all like to be more productive at work or elsewhere during the day, especially considering today’s distractions, and it’s a conundrum that many people have been attempting to solve. There is currently a multitude of mobile and desktop tools ready to aid us in staying focused. There are apps that operate as a schedule tracker to keep track of how we spend our time, software blocking apps to keep us from being tempted even when we want to be tempted, and specially made music to assist the brain concentrate.

 

In my previous blog, I listed 4 of the best software productivity tools according to worldwide users. Check out the rest of the list here and see which ones help you overcome distractions and get more work done.

 

5. SelfControl

SelfControl is a free Mac app that helps you avoid distracting websites wherein you are authorized to block your own access to websites or mail servers for a pre-set length of time that distracts you in your work. It is a free and open-source website blocking application for macOS. 

 

Because of its restrictions and self-control initiative, this software is extremely challenging to use. All your distractions are restricted even if you close the app. The problem will not be solved by uninstalling the software or restarting your computer. When it comes to limiting distractions, none of the other tools in this article come close to this level of permanence. If you’re the type who wants to shut everything out for a while, this app is for you.

6. Zapier 

Zapier is a productivity tool that lets you manage routine things. You can set up a “Zap” to give you SMS notifications when you get emails from senders you’ve designated as important. This eliminates the need to manually check your email at regular intervals and avoid being sidetracked by non-work-related messages. You may also make a Zap that sends out automated birthday and holiday messages.

 

These are only a few instances of what Zapier can do, but don’t be deceived: there’s a lot more to this useful app. In fact, Zapier allows users to connect over 2,000 apps, allowing you to create Zaps for nearly anything, including feedback from customers, tracking and reporting, e-commerce apps, invoices, and more. Unless you turn it off, once you’ve generated a Zap, it will continue to run automatically. Even now, this productivity software is adding apps and Zaps to its library, so the number of workflows and processes you may automate is practically limitless.

7. Todoist 

Todoist is a highly regarded productivity tool for organizing and optimizing your workday. This simple to-do list app lets you keep track of personal projects while working with friends, family, and coworkers. There are subtasks, subprojects, recurring tasks, notifications, varying priorities, and more.

 

Todoist is a simple task manager that allows you to keep track of and group activities into projects. Consider this a more sophisticated version of your typical to-do list. In addition to documenting and organizing your own duties, you can use the app to collaborate with others by sharing and assigning assignments.

 

The basic edition (limited number of projects) is free; the premium version is $3.99 per month or $35.99 per year.

8. Serene

Serene is a macOS all-in-one productivity solution. Serene was created to make profound work more accessible. Serene can make the process easier whether you’re writing a long-form blog piece, finishing a project, or building software by integrating three proven techniques:

Breaking up your day into focused work sessions with regular breaks

Once you’ve entered Serene sessions, you’ll be able to block out distractions.

Creating a plan for each day

 

Serene allows you to combine your work plan from the apps you use to plan your day, create daily routines, monitor your performance with the reporting feature, and get into the area with the focused soundtrack feature. It’s your all-in-one productivity tool that will help you focus more quickly and stay productive for longer periods of time.

9. Trello

Team tasks in Trello are turned into interactive ‘Cards,’ which can be transferred from board to board. Within each card, several tasks are allocated to team members. Trello did this by emphasizing the user’s visual experience of the software rather than procedures and techniques, which was a departure from the traditional approach of organizing projects online.

 

Instead of sticky notes, users interact with Trello’s cards, which are supposed to resemble the conventional office layout of a whiteboard with pinned assignments. As a result, the software’s visual aspect is reduced to an at-a-glance manner of working that divides tasks into manageable chunks across several teams. Cards are transferred from one column to the next as tasks are accomplished.

 

10. LeechBlock

You may plan times for apps to be blocked outright with LeechBlock, which is reasonably simple. Additionally, you can set restrictions to limit your time spent on distracting apps. For example, you may set aside 20 minutes each day for YouTube or four minutes every hour for Twitter. If you want to become even more particular, integrate time restrictions with a schedule—for example, five minutes of Instagram every hour between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.or between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. You can also set a one-time “lockdown” schedule if you don’t want to bother with schedules.

 

It’s a valuable tool, especially for a free one, and you can even lock down the settings during block sessions. The only drawback is that because this is a browser extension rather than an app, you can get around it by simply switching browsers. LeechBlock, on the other hand, should function effectively if you can avoid that temptation.

 

The redirect page is one of Leechblock’s best features; you can choose which site you’re forwarded to whenever you try to access a blocked site, and this can be a surprise motivation. Imagine attempting to access Twitter only to be redirected to a music video you despise. Returning to work will appear to be a lot more appealing.

 

Written By: Frances De Guzman