Productivity Archives

Some great apps you need to try

Today, by popular demand, I’m sharing some of my most-used apps and a few other great ones you might not know about. Most of these are free with in-app purchases.

Apps I use

OpenTable: Use it to book restaurant reservations. You can plan ahead or grab last-minute tables. (iPhone | Android)
AllTrails: Get walking, running, biking and hiking routes, and filter them by distance, views and dog friendliness. (iPhone | Android)
Instacart: Shop online and have your groceries delivered. Pro tip: Choose stores that say, “Online prices are the same as in-store prices.” (iPhone | Android)
Google Authenticator: It’s a more secure, time-based code to replace two-factor authentication and keep out hackers. (iPhone | Android)

Libby: Access thousands of e-books and audiobooks from your local library, all for free. (iPhone | Android)
Hallow: This Catholic app has Fr. Mike’s Bible in a Year, homilies, the rosary, daily prayers and reflections. (iPhone | Android)
Merlin Bird ID: Perfect for birdwatchers or nature lovers, this app provides instant identification with photos and bird sounds. (iPhone | Android)
Amazon: Get notifications when a delivery is coming and order right from your phone. You can also take a pic of what you’re looking for and search using your photo. (iPhone | Android)
NYT Games: I take 10 minutes a day to play Spelling Bee, Connections, Wordle and Mini Crossword. (iPhone | Android)
Virtual Keypad: It combines all your security systems in one app. I use it to control the alarms at my house in Phoenix, my studios and my home in Santa Barbara. (iPhone | Android)

5 more worth checking out

Too Good To Go: Buy surplus food from restaurants, cafes and bakeries at a discount. The other day, I picked up a loaded bag of bagels and rolls at Whole Foods for $3.99. (iPhone | Android)
Capo: My friend, Chris, raves about this iPhone app. It’s designed to help musicians learn songs more efficiently by slowing down tracks and providing chord detection. For Android, check out Chordify.
Oko: Winner of Apple’s 2024 Design Award, this AI-powered iPhone accessibility app helps individuals who are blind or have low vision safely navigate pedestrian crossings. For Android, try Lookout.
Crouton: This iPhone app lets you organize recipes from the web, books or handwritten notes from Grandma. For Android, check out Recipes Home.
Facetune: It’s what celebs use to touch up their pictures. Whiten your teeth and smooth your skin with zero Photoshop skills. (iPhone | Android)

And one more: MyRadar is Barry’s favorite weather app for hyper-local forecasts and notifications. (iPhone | Android)

😂 Speaking of … I meant to download a calendar app for my phone, but I downloaded a colander app. Now, my battery just keeps draining.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Best AI tools for search, productivity, fun and work

In the past week, I’ve used AI to analyze a loved one’s health care records, create replies for a bunch of emails and map out two weeks in Europe. I used it to make a pic of me look better, too.

I know the wide world of AI tools is overwhelming, so I’m breaking it down today. Consider what’s below your primer on where to start if you’re brand new to the AI game or want to try out some new tools.

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Productivity life hacks

🫡 These will help you get your shlife together.

Ever heard of “text neck?” Staring at a computer can cause it, too. Get a monitor stand riser and fix your posture.
The sun is off partying in Cabo for the winter. Use a sunrise lamp (18% off) to help you wake up.
This cube timer is gravity-sensing so you can just flip it over to start it. How cool is that?
Save some trees and get a reusable notebook (15% off). Take a damp cloth to the pages and it’s like nothing ever happened.
Pop these mop slippers on and clean your floors “Risky Business”-style.

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Work time-saver: Stop filing emails into endless folders and master your inbox searches. Advanced options let you filter by an email’s sender, subject, keywords or date range. In Gmail and Outlook, hit the three-line icon at the right side of the search bar. Combine keywords with operators like “from:boss” or “has:attachment” for even better results.

Atlas doesn’t need lunch breaks: Boston Dynamics just dropped a new video of its humanoid robot Atlas. The bot does factory work, like moving engine covers between supplier containers and a mobile sequencing dolly — complete with full-motion bending and turning. The big deal is that no human needs to tell the bot what to do after training.

50 to 80 bpm

Will boost productivity. Studies show music with 50 to 80 bpm can enhance creativity and learning. Check out this playlist. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is 72 bpm! After watching “Bohemian Rhapsody” three times in a row, I feel a little sick. It must be the high Mercury content.

Master Excel with these 5 genius tricks

You can’t keep track of everything on paper. Excel can play a significant role in your daily workload. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro user, there’s much to learn — like these five useful Excel tricks.

Want to become an Excel expert? It’s a good strategy for small business owners who want to grow this year. After all, you’ll generate tons of data. Speaking of which, here’s how to stop third parties from selling your data.

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How to rock a remote interview: Tips for shining over the phone or on video

Remote interviews are the present and the future. Why? The pandemic forced many companies nationwide to move to a remote system nearly overnight.

Now that we’ve been operating remotely for a while, many employers have seen the positive benefits of having remote employees. Increased productivity is one of them.

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Stop creating the same proposal from scratch: In Google Docs, create a template with placeholders like “[client name]” or “[date].” To reuse it, go to File > Make a copy. In Word, create your doc, then select File > Save As > Word Template. Open it for future proposals, fill in the placeholders and save it like normal. Genius.

Drowning in emails? Stay afloat with custom email filters in Outlook. Open Outlook on the web and click the Settings (gear icon) in the top right corner. Choose Email > Rules > Add new rule, then click Name to name your rule > Add a condition > Add an action. For example, Newsletters > The Current > Mark as important. Aren’t you smart?!

🔎 FYI, Google users: Next time you need help, there’s a search box where you can type what you want to do in everyday language. It sure beats digging around in the tool menus. In Sheets, you can type Remove column, or, in a Doc, try Who last edited this? Handy!

🤝 Teamwork makes the dream work: If you’re working on something like a grocery list or vacation plan in your iPhone’s Notes app, you can get other people to work on the same note with you. In a note, tap the share icon (top right), then Collaborate.

⏰ The clock is TikTok-ing: A three-judge panel just heard TikTok’s argument against splitting from ByteDance, a company with direct ties to Communist China. They say 170 million Americans use TikTok (think of that loss of productivity!) and questioned why other Chinese-owned apps like Temu and Shein aren’t being targeted the same way. I hope Mr. Wonderful’s idea of letting everyday Americans buy TikTok comes to fruition.

Human-trafficking scammers: What a sad story. A Ugandan man was lured to Thailand with the promise of a $2,500-a-month data entry job. In reality, he was trafficked into working as a pig-butchering scammer. He made $400 a month working 17-hour shifts, seven days a week (paywall link). If his productivity dropped, he was punished with hundreds of push-ups and forced runs around a parking lot. After seven long months, he escaped and is now telling his story to warn others.

Boost your company’s productivity with this AI-powered documents solution

Accountants, real estate agents, construction companies and marketing agencies — pretty much everybody is using Tungsten document automation to streamline workflows.

Dealing with documents in the digital age can feel like a throwback to an earlier, less efficient era. You’re buried in paperwork, navigating tons of files, and manually inputting data. It’s time-consuming, error-prone, and let’s be honest, a bit outdated.

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No-Wi-Fi productivity hack: You’re on a flight, there’s no Wi-Fi and an annoying person is using your armrest. Great time to organize your apps and delete the ones you don’t use. Another great use of time: Organize your photos. Here’s my simple method.

⏲️ Productivity boost: When you need to focus, a phone timer is not the way to go. Too tempting. Try E.ggtimer.com. It’s not fancy, and you won’t find a ton of bells and whistles. That’s why I like it! Fewer distractions.

Tech how-to: Set up multiple desktops to keep work and home separate

Multitasking can feel overwhelming when working from home. You’ve got work and personal tabs open at once, not to mention all the new work-related programs you must use. Worse still is if you share a computer with family. But you can separate work-from-home programs by using multiple desktops.

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Inbox a mess? Here’s the surefire way to keep your email in check

I have a rule: If discussing something via email takes paragraphs and paragraphs, I pick up the phone instead.

Another way I keep my inbox clean is by archiving all my messages at the start of the year. Who says you can’t do the same thing in summer? Tap or click for my quick and easy fix to get a clean slate.

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10 productivity apps for your smartphone to make you more efficient

Have you ever tried to balance a dozen tasks and burned yourself out? If you use your smartphone or tablet for work or just want to stay connected to your team, you already know how much of a hassle it can be. Mobile isn’t always the best choice.

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