12 Juni PRODUCTIVITY APPS THAT DO NOT PRESSURE YOU.

    As time seems to be moving at an ever-increasing rate, we feel the need to be more productive. Get more done in less time. Reach more goals by the end of the year. As we make our plans and allot times to tasks that get us closer to those goals we quickly realize that doing those things might be quite a bit harder than first anticipated. Everything takes more time. We pressure ourselves more. And more. 
    This does work for a few days, maybe a few weeks but there will be a time where pressure itselfis not motivating enough anymore; we simply break, stop pursiung what we’ve been hoping to achieve simply because the path to get there seems too overwhelming. The path is not overwhelming if you’re wearing the right gear and if you’re mentally prepared – I will show you how technologica simplicity in a daily workflow  works wonders. For Everyone. 

GOOD VERSUS BAD PRESSURE.

    Constant mental pressure kills both creativity and flexibility which are incredibly vital for getting things done, reaching our full potential and finding new and exciting ways of solving a problem. Flexibility and Creativity are a must for good work. We need to build spaces, both physical and mental for them to exist in. We need to nurture them and see them as muses that reward the persistent. 
    We want a steady but relaxed focus that will set us up on a path to success; one that leaves space for exploration, flexibility and creativity. The following apps will be a first step,by fostering gentle focus in easy and understandable ways.

 
APPS.

+++ Headspace +++ 

    No (good) work is created when we are fearful of outcome, fearful of the number of tasks that lay in front  of us, fearful of not finishing. No (good) work is created without persistence and habit, without relaxed pressure  towards reaching a goal. Majorly important in creating good, creative work consistently is the right mindset.  We need to be grounded, open and free of distractions. Meditation helps. 
    It’s something worth testing for yourself – Headspace helps in making meditation that  much more accesible and easy. 5 Minutes of meditation every day will greatly improve your  mindset not only towards motivation, focus and clarity; it will help in all areas of life.  Relationships, negative thoughts, confidence. 
    Unique courses focus on different topics making it easy to pick out certain topics. For the  sake of this discussion I would recommend ‚Productivity‘ and ‚Creativity‘ as good places to  start. They introduce a gentle focus that you will then be able to bring towards your tasks. It’s not  seperate from work, it is preparation and pre-familiarization with techniques invaluable for  staying productive throughout the whole day, the whole week, throughout the month and your life.

+++ Things +++ 

    Now, how do you know what you have to do when you’re in the right mindset ? I use an app called ‚Things‘. It’s a pretty simple task manager that has been beautifully designed to focus you on your work and nothing else. With shortcuts accesible from anywhere on your Mac, (there are versions on Andriod and iPhone) this app connects and manages your to-dos in lists, projects and gropus complete with tags.
    Most apps have these features, the beautiful thing about Things is its simplicity. You will not spend  hours sorting, organizing, searching and relocating your tasks, there is no need to. Which is good. Because it will not  get you anywhere: planning is not doing. Things does everything it needs to do and eliminates all unnecessary parts. I love it.

+++ Forest +++ 

    When working, the smartphone probably accounts for more distraction than anything else. Forest is an app that cleverly keeps you off your phone. With Forest, you plant a tree for a specific amount of time, variable between 10 and 120 minutes. These are your work intervals. While working you must not leave the app in order to plant a healthy tree – making a virtual forest. If you DO leave the app within the set time your tree will die but still be planted in  your forest. Common sense tells me you do not want an unhealthy forest — placing a focus on actually completing the time you set out to work without getting distracted by your phone.
    Not only will you foster a healthy forest, there are also rewards for spending time off your phone; new trees may be unlocked. You have options to work with friends.     Reward is one of the biggest factors that need to be checked in habit creation, this app, with its simple gamification of productivity will gently focus your attention and reward you for being consistent and productive. 

+++ Screen Time +++ 

    So, how did you do today and how do you check progress ? The iPhone has it built in now; you can check how much time you’ve spent on your phone.  There are third party apps available doing similar things for Android.  This, once again, is one of those gentle (although sometimes shocking) little apps that will confront you with your phone usage – more importantly, with your app usage. Your social media usage.  We spend far too much time scrolling and far too little time reading good books or creating art,  content or whatever else might be much more important than scrolling.
    The non-forceful way of looking at your screen time every now and again will almost certainly keep  you more in check. It is very helpful to set goals for yourself – using your phone less than X hours.  (X hours for you just starting out may be 3h each day).  You will realize how hard it is to put your phone down and leave it alone. It will hopefully create an  urge to NOT pick it up even when not working in order for you to keep that number as low as possible. 

SIMPLICITY IS KEY.

    This is not a ‚Top 20 Apps To Keep You Productive‘ list. This is not even a top 5 list. It is a very very  condensed and practical suggestion that is in use by me every day. These apps are  going to give you a great start. One of the keys to productivity is to not let planning and sorting and  searching and making to-do lists and trying-to-find-the-perfect-way-of-working take up too much time – time you  could spend being productive. All these apps are interchangeable with similar ones. I have  specifically chosen these, because their design fits my philosophy; simple, useful, unique. You do not  want any single app to do too much. You do not want an organization system with 79 folders, each with 8  sub-folders. You’re not going to use that. No one is. 
    People who are productive design their environment in a way that lets them be productive. An environment  that encourages productivity over laziness. An environment that is relaxed in its forcefulness. An environment  that starts in your mind, lays out tasks in front of you, keeps you off your phone and ultimately lets you check your progress day by day. Sounds great, doesn’t it?