10 Essential Productivity Apps for iPhone and Android

Want to use that magical plastic light box in your pocket to be more productive? Here are 10 apps that'll help you do just that.
We're covering both iOS and Android this week, so there's almost certainly something here you'll find useful!
Get a College Info Geek shirt!
store.dftba.co...
APP LINKS HERE:
collegeinfogeek...
My book "10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades" is completely free, so check it out if you're interested in improving your grades!
collegeinfogeek...
----------
Videos you might want to watch next:
iPhone Setup for MAXIMUM Productivity: • iPhone Setup for MAXIM...
20 Useful Websites for Students: • 20 Useful Websites Eve...
----------
If you want to get even more strategies and tips on becoming a more productive, successful student, subscribe to my channel right here:
buff.ly/1vQP5ar
Twitter ➔ / tomfrankly
Instagram ➔ / tomfrankly
~ created by Thomas Frank
Music via Broke for Free: brokeforfree.com/

[@SprinkleOfStyle22]

WHY DO I ALWAYS END UP WATCHING PRODUCTIVITY VIDEOS WHILE PROCRASTINATING? 😂💖

[@altidudx]

Well , you are not alone

[@XBlockAcah]

So you don't feel bad for procrastinating.

[@D-PauloYT]

wow i never expected i'll see you here

[@Vgang101]

Hahahahha we're in this together

[@mufaddalalazher2381]

sprinkleofstyle You're not alone!

[@Kaleogriffith]

Thomas Frank is so productive he only breathed 3 times during the filming of this video.

[@harshpatel105]

😂😂

[@jordanmercier3616]

Thomas Frank the author is also very productive.

[@jasoncsdiary82]

would youtube count as a productivity app if you're finding a productivity app from it?

[@Thomasfrank]

Ooh that's meta

[@DekiruKun]

explosion_sfx.exe

[@irrelevant5820]

Sure but lets face it.For most of us it turns out to be a procrastination app.

[@rickyanderson5713]

Jasoncsdiary korrek 👉😩👉

[@pulilinda]

No.

[@craigfreeze2975]

The productivity app that I use every day is "myHomework". I am a freshmen in high school and I use it in place of my planner provided by the school. The app automatically sends me reminders of what homework is due and reminds me to do those pesky assignments that I inevitably forget about. The app is clean and is very intuitive! Love your videos Tom! Keep it up! Your channel's only getting bigger! I know I'm not in college yet but all the information in the videos are great for all ages! I think it would be cool if you had some tips specific to high schoolers or maybe have have a video delicates to you as a high schooler! I love all of the video game references and geek comments in the videos they always me make me laugh! Either way, love the videos and I'm going to be a long time supporter! Thanks, Craig

[@TheStrivetoFit]

Great list of apps Tom! Would you recommend the Apple Watch?

[@Thomasfrank]

I really like mine, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to most people just yet. While I have several uses for it, the main benefit is the Workout app - and there are definitely cheaper fitness trackers.

[@alissa0715]

OMG I can't believe you didn't include the most productive app of all time, flappy bird

[@protaxhd6322]

Alissa715 Ik you're are joking but if not if you call breaking all your furniture wall your family phones and tablets productive then totally

[@alissa0715]

ProtaxHD Did you watch till the end of the video bro? 😂😂😂 I was actually quoting what he type at 4:35 haha

[@saloni.sharma]

I was looking for this comment!! LOL XD

[@fsaczb]

Forest is my pomodoro timer.

[@AhsenJabbar]

mine too

[@MarcoTabesGil]

But they haven't come up with any good updates lately :C

[@AhsenJabbar]

Shing Ye Leong like what?

shon That's what I'm thinking to do, I was using for a couple of days the ClearFocus, but it's boring

[@imtiazuddin6257]

Brain Focus on Android is the best.

[@Dezdem0na]

Did no one else notice the "Pick up fake watches from mafia at West shipping docks at 2 AM"?

[@vadaschneider1979]

Miranda Hess I died as I was reading that. 😂

[@ieelliott]

Or “knitting class with Mike Tyson” 😂

[@ladyecks613]

Really love your channel! I've gone back to school as an adult and they really helped quell my anxiety and helped me feel prepared, motivated and focused. I'm also a fan of the Sweet Setup blog and their interview posts when people show their desk set ups and list their "can't live without" apps. Would love to see a collab between you and them.

[@Mythologoumenon]

wow. in literally 5 minutes 26 seconds you solved about five app problems I've been grappling with for months and years. especially Forest, Clear Focus and Wunderlist sound like what I've been looking for forever. thanks a bunch!

[@Mrchstav]

I agree with you! You could try also www.fluxty.com it is a pomodoro web app working on browser and smartphone.

[@FrodeOsen]

I've also used Evernote as my second brain this last year, and it has proven tremendously helpful. I just can't imagine what my life would look like if I hadn't started using Evernote. I never wrote down anything before. Now I write down EVERYTHING, and it's so much more effective than just "remembering" it in my head. Also, I'm enjoying a lot of inspiration from your way of making videos, Thomas! It really shows that you spend a lot of time to create such valuable content for us, and I want you to know that I'll be forever grateful. :)

[@ryanquinn817]

Great to see a app round up video which doesn't bore

[@followyourideas]

Productivity challenge is the app I've been using for studying with the Pomodoro method. I highly recommend it.

[@followyourideas]

Highest rank I've gained so far is Competent Operative. What about you?

[@ArbaazKhan-wb2dt]

@@shadowofthenighthawk r/niceguys

[@chloesutton361]

How was that knitting lesson with Mike Tyson?

[@Thomasfrank]

He's way ahead of me on his cardigan

[@spoon170]

Chloe Sutton lmao

[@nitehood108]

45 billion views, maxed out likes, subscriber count "More than Pewds", and an Indiegogo for a spork. Thomas you are amazing.

[@JohnSmith47534]

ikr, I laughed way too much

[@027betz]

that's Mr. Thomas "Bone Saw" Frank.

[@Wallow28]

Hey Tom, I was wondering what your view was on the best way to combine Anki with the Flow method for learning science (specifically neuro). Understanding is key but so is knowledge of minutiae. Also, please do a video on how to write essays for sciences!

[@pheela]

I got really, really overwhelmed halfway watching this video :( my brain has too many tabs open and watching this made it much worse

[@pheela]

maybe you spoke too fast in this one..... yeah, definitely too fast.

[@pheela]

Biancaviolin it's like I could feel myself getting dumber as I was watching it. but I just couldn't keep up. there's a study that found that like only 20% of the material taught in class could be new or listeners would get overwhelmed and zone out entirely.

[@Thomasfrank]

Sorry about that! I usually try to keep the speed at a reasonable rate, but sometimes it still comes out faster than it should. There a cool Chrome extension you can use to change the video's speed: chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/video-speed-controller/nffaoalbilbmmfgbnbgppjihopabppdk?hl=en - while KZbin's normal speed controls only let you slow a video to 0.5x, this one will let you do 0.9x, 0.8x, etc.

[@kevinyang8320]

lol I sometimes think you're going too slow and thus switch it up to 1.5x or even 2x ... XD!

[@pheela]

kevin yang just goes to show how different people can be. even on different days my preferences vary tbh

[@Thomasfrank]

Since people have been asking, here are the links to my wallpapers! Desktop: www.reddit.com/r/wallpapers/comments/3npdce/1920x1080_october_forest_variant_in_comments/ iPhone: i.imgur.com/n8FX1hc.jpg The Android phone belongs to my friend Martin and I think the wallpaper on it might have been stock.

[@DMRVR]

Thomas Frank I have a question. How do you add those ending pop ups on your videos? The subscribe button, the video and the link to your book at the end? How do you add those?

[@abhirajkumar8147]

plz tell me how i am supposed to get an iphone when i have an 80 000 dollar tuition to pay off

[@malvinganzhh836]

Thomas i want to say i love your tips and vid without you i think i might be failing my class so thx for giving people tips to study

[@DeanaDuquesne]

loop is great on Android for Habit-tracking

[@Alarmedy8]

Which wallpaper are you using on you're iPhone?

[@naomiburrows9124]

You are the first person I've ever seen talk about Forest!! I love it, I used it all through my GCSEs and not only did it help me focus, it also helped me track what I was doing and how long it was taking me. I also found it super motivating, especially towards the end when I realised I'd been too preoccupied by my 21 other exams to revise properly for the last three. Let's just say some SERIOUS cramming went down. And forest really helped me! It costs 69p but it was the best 69p I've ever spent in my life - I can't think of another paid app I've used more than this one. It's really great.🌲

[@Esuberante]

I use most of them. Keep is my thing, tho. It's fast & easy, and the design is on point. Also, thanks for your videos on note taking. Evernote has completely changed my life after I learned about it in your videos.

[@Thomasfrank]

Yeah Keep is pretty cool. I initially thought it'd be an Evernote competitor, but it's completely different.

[@Esuberante]

Both work very well for me!! Thanks for the good work, man! You inspire and help me like nothing did before, and I show your videos to all of my friends! Big fan here ahahha

[@mariofloresrivera9920]

Do you mean Google keep? cause there is another app called Keep

[@Evija3000]

Love the message of the shirt. Design too. Sadly, being a part of the target audience - a student - I can't really afford it. :D

[@mathildelonborg]

As a habit tracking app I use "Today" and it's design is really great and there are some cool features.

[@satyadevmahalingashetty4951]

The School productivity app which I use is called "Class Manager" for iOS it has different type of schedules Time, Block Period. You enter your schedule & it makes a visual timetable. It also reminds you of when ur assignment or homework is due

[@narutorandomness457]

This video should have been more like 10-15 minutes. A lot of the apps could have used more description, that being said, the apps you decided to discuss were great and very useful. Thanks Thomas for another great video!

[@aishahm647]

your next video should definitely be about that knitting class with mike tyson 😂

[@mitchellkjohnson]

This is the best list of productivity apps I've seen. Really happy that you included both iOS and Android. For habit tracking on Android, check out 7 weeks. The widget is prime for checking off daily habits. Great vid!

[@12345aminahh]

Great recommendations! For a pomodoro style app I would definitely suggest using 'Productivity Challenge Timer'. It follows the pomodoro technique but also allows you to create projects so you know exactly how much time you've spent on each project. It also provides an incentive to do well by allowing you to upgrade to a different status the more pomodoros you do. You start off as 'unrepentant slacker' and must consistently work hard to upgrade - missing a day will make you go back a level. It also consists of trophies and achievements as a form of incentive. What makes it stand out is it genuinely makes you feel bad for not working and is really affective. This got me through my A-Levels, 10/10 would recommend!

[@OneUnifiedHome]

Dang this is a great list! I suddenly feel like I need to be a lot more streamline! Thanks for the suggestions!

[@kevygmusic]

This was super informative. Some I already had but some I never have even heard of. Definitely going to be a life changer. Thanks Thomas!!!

[@sumkin5]

Google calendar is now a good allrounder. For tasks, habits and obviously your events. Moreover, I find it really good how it schedules goals for instance, to read, meditate etc. around your other activities automatically.

[@FlagshipFighter]

Great selection, I would highly recommend 'swipes' for day-to-day tasks management, the widget makes adding tasks painless and it's very simple and intuitive while having more advanced features like tags + free sync.

[@waynewilliams343]

I would also highly recommend Office Lens to scan stuff. Amazing app.

[@brazuno]

Thanks for great video! I never heard of half of these applications, so gonna check them out. Last couple of years I'm using "Priorities" and "google calendar" apps for my tasks, and evernote for notes.

[@Nihit]

One of the best videos that i have been waiting for a long long time. Please make some more in this genre.

[@sofina8797]

I like that you talk fast, very good for easily distracted people such as myself

[@LLLadySSS]

I already have half of these. Nice. Thanks!

[@0DaAZNKing0]

Great list! Have been waiting for a video like this for a long time :)

[@craigfreeze2975]

The calendar my family uses is "calendars" by readdle My exercise app that I use at the gym is by far the best exercise app I have ever used and that is "strong" I would highly recommend that app.

[@satyakoppu7974]

What's ur exercise app?

[@craigfreeze2975]

The app name is "strong" it's a great way to record you exercises

[@soulcutterx13]

Strong is iOS exclusive, worth noting. There are a ton of Android options though. FitNotes seems to be the best of the bunch at this point, for me anyways.

[@KidMFeng]

Love the video! That Miranda Sings face tho haha 3:50

[@joaonovo4725]

Great video Thomas! My choice app for task management is Tick Tick ( for Android) just cause I find it more minimalist and less distractful.

[@Static27o]

I found this helpful. Better quality info than other videos.

[@AndyKrollTX]

good video! I might have to try some of those apps. I mainly stick to the Google Apps... inbox, drive, keep. calendar and it seems to work pretty well for me with the occasional use of OneNote

[@ibrahimsarker4673]

Awesome list! I already have 8 out of the 10.

[@Rollsatroyal]

I WAS LITERALLY SEARCHING FOR THIS VIDEO AND I WAS MAD YOU DIDNT HAVE ONE BUT NOW I CAN SLEEP TONIGHT YAYY

[@Rachelperreau]

Rooster Calendar + Tasks all the way. Makes staying on top of everything effortless! Best calendar app

[@JeppeEbbesen]

I believe that the Google Calendar app does natural language input as well - It's actually a pretty solid app imo :)

[@JohnSmith47534]

wow I donno how I made it here but I just discovered your channel and I loved this video, its helpful, funny, well made and the quality is amazing! I just subscribed ! You'r amazing bro

[@dragonzxzz]

I recommend Notability, you can hand write or type notes and record at the same time. Not sure if it's the very best, but it's what I'm currently using on my Ipad for my University.

[@qn565]

Thank you for your recommendations, this is extremely useful. Pomodoro timer app is the real revelation for me! And now my smartphone has become a productivity machine =)

[@jacobkent9061]

My new pick up line: Hey, wanna help me do a seven minute workout so i can stay SUPER productive?

[@abhijani97]

Thomas, if you want a habit tracker like Momentum for the android and without the game aspect like Habitica, I'd recommend Loop over HabitBull cause it's completely ad free and also a free app :)

[@Draconicrose]

You can use natural language with google calendar as well, either in the app itself or by using google now. To do it in the app you either need to write it down or use a keyboard that lets you speak to it.

[@CrisRaul25]

Please do a video like "10 Essential Productivity Apps for iPhone and Android", in this case for the apps that you were using in 2017. Thanks for your videos, really are helping me.

[@howtoandroid3461]

Can you please do a video on planners, or do a giveaway for one :)

[@abilashvarghese4108]

Would you consider making a video on compartmentalization and how that pertains to balancing various aspects of your life?? I think that would be a neat video

[@abdulazeez.98]

The video quality was great ! and surely the contents too.

[@luancosta7256]

Very nice apps, I recommend "Quip" as evernote alternative, I really like it and I think the UI a waaaay better and less confusing than evernote.

[@kachin-senpeinaudios6520]

this is greatest channel that i have ever learnt and hope you have a new app for the creation

[@eugenvataman3279]

Awesome list of apps, man. Just downloaded 5!

[@mohamadhosseinzeinali9847]

My Choices for productivity apps: 1- Evernote 2- Todoist 3- Fantastical 4- Pocket 5- Mind Node 6- IFTTT 7- Spark (Email Management)

[@melaniereeder2349]

Definitely want to try Forest. That's a really cute idea!

[@battleshits]

I use App Usage by Sam Lu. Relatively unknown but it's great. It's free (with some ads) and keeps a detailed time and usage record of every app on your phone. It has a timeline that will show when and for how long you were using an app. It also includes customizable alert features so it'll warn you when you've been on a certain app or your phone in general. Another alert feature is optional daily notifications with app statistics. It has some app management features too (e.g. uninstall capability) but I haven't used those to their full extent.

[@riar3092]

Another very good habit tracking app is strides. I personally like it more than momentum since it allows more habits and features in the free version

[@fahmyboy1]

For easily digitized notes you should check out the wacom bamboo spark and also the boogie board sync

[@Thomasfrank]

I've heard of that! Might have to give it a try at some point.

[@TheOnePath570]

that forest app is so awesome! thanks for this! will you do a desk set-up video?

[@flaviagrinberg6229]

Hi Thomas! Really nice video. I love productivity apps and I'm always trying to find new ones because I usually start to get bored with the ones I'm already using :P For scanning documents I reaaaaally love Office Lens. It has a feature dedicated to scanning presentations, so when I'm at a class where the professor is showing us some ppt slides it really is useful to take a really good quality picture of a table, graphic or anything.

[@Thomasfrank]

That sounds cool! I'll have to check it out.

[@flaviagrinberg6229]

Hope you like it!

[@hokk1119]

this channel is the best just what i needed!!

[@bluegrey52]

Even though i'm seeing this 2 years later these apps seem like they are up to date. great vid

[@katgeo7186]

Thomas Frank, you are my inspiration! Just wanted to let you know.

[@RohanMadhale]

Loop - habit tracker is a good alternative to momentum

[@lissinha04]

Most of the apps you said, you can download the Google apps. Like the calendar(with to do list), and Google drive. just a tip! the ones you said it are good too :)

[@tweety97kapo]

Great recopilation. Keep it up!!

[@f1ip4]

Nice kicks, these are extremely helpful. Thanks!

[@julianfbeck]

Forest is awesome! I used it to study for my finals and it worked great!

[@teenadahiya04]

Hey thomas am one of yours 1.1 million subscriber's truly love what you do best wishes for your future ❤️

[@lidiasecret3310]

I love the forest app! It helps me get a lot of work done

[@raulshah77]

I recommend IFTTT. If you set up the right recipes it increases productivity a lot.

[@Kyle-no1dd]

Productivity Challenge for Android is great. You get ranks according to how much time you've spent working. It also allows you to record time spent on up to 5 projects (free) and 99 projects (premium)

[@veronikae220]

Thank you for taking the time to show us all this good stuff :)

[@rodrigobrechard2999]

My favorite app is UniSchool, definitively worth trying!

[@Midotaha1234]

I don't know if you heard of it , but a great pomodoro app that I use is 30/30 , and thanks for the video, really helpful :)

[@micaelaramallo559]

Hello! Thanks for making videos, I'm having such productive days :)

[@IrishinAsia]

Great choice of apps here! Thanks!

[@fianistudios1897]

Great video man, thanks for the shares!

[@NewBeginner27]

Great apps. Looking forward to test them.

[@motylanoga5705]

I really like your wallpaper

[@_yuki_VT]

I've recently replaced forest with coldturkey. When you're lazy and almost phone addicted as I am, you don't care about killing the cute little tree. With coldturkey you can't do nothing with your phone. You can't even turn it off!! Nothing at all. I love it(and hate it ;) )

[@digitald0m]

I love this.... I'm saving this for sure. I. I. I might share this with a few slackers I know. 🔑🔑🔑

[@brace110]

Google Drive is far better than Dropbox now. They really caught up. Not only can you sync any file, but you can create documents, export then in pdf, docx and ppt. Also it has a feature to upload your camera photos and of course the biggest of all. You can share anything with anybody, you can make it public, unlisted or just invite certain people and they can comment, suggest or even make edit changes to your files.

[@tanzeeltim9864]

Well... I as a die hard android fan recommend knot it and tasks (astrid clone) for task management and material notes for note taking. All these apps are astonishingly good looking with material design and feature packed 🎨📝

[@lightblckknight]

You also have Onedrive. it is free and covers about 3 of your apps. Scan in, Ever/One-note, and Dropbox.

[@Sutailja92]

so damn fast :D perfect really, however could you please write all the apps in the description box? would be amazing :)

[@Thomasfrank]

The link to the blog post (which has all the links) is up now!

[@MrsSheena91]

I simply use Google Drive: I can write notes, scan papers and I always have everything with me :)

[@Ariesoetomo]

Forest is a paid app now and I try to search for alternative and I found you recommend the focus keeper app. Thanks!

[@incredibletoms1]

All I got was "peanut butter jelly sandwich" 😍 Just kidding, wunderlist is great. Ill have a look on the other stuff. Thanks for the video! 💪🏻

[@FajorMuckup]

I use Toodledo for most of this It does Tasks, Habits and Notes It's cross-platform, has teamwork, and works with Zapier

[@craigfreeze2975]

For storing passwords "eWallet" is a good one

[@joebetplomes3096]

Thanks man really helpful. Godspeed

[@EB-dk8hb]

For the Pomodoro Method i love an app called Tide :)