Let’s be honest… Productivity isn’t always what comes to mind when we think about our favorite mobile apps. We spend more time on Facebook and Audible than we’d care to admit. But the great thing about apps is there’s one for almost everything – even for making up the time we lose scrolling through our newsfeeds.
Here are five of our top productivity favorites in the office.
OneNote
Probably the best thing about OneNote is how seamlessly you can transition from device to device. Starting your grocery list on your laptop that needs checking off while you’re in the store? No problem; it’s all in one place. Want to check through notes from your last meeting? Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
You can even upload business cards, flyers, and web pages into OneNote for review later. Now you don’t have to worry about whether a business card will fall out of your pocket before you get a chance to stick it in your (now defunct) rolodex.
Office Lens
Speaking of saving business cards and flyers to OneNote – you can create those images using Office Lens. This app will trim and enhance pictures of documents (and even whiteboards) to make them easier for you to read later. Don’t spend five minutes squinting because of the fluorescent glare in your quick snap.
I can’t remember the last time I had to use the scanner in our office. I don’t even have to leave my chair since my phone will capture it for me. Want to convert the image to a PDF? How about a Word document? Use Office Lens.
Google Voice
Using one mobile device for everything is becoming increasingly popular. Almost gone are the days when you had to juggle two separate cell phones. When you have the same phone for work and personal use, certain concerns rise… like what happens when you leave a position for whatever reason and the phone belongs to the company? Suddenly friends and family have no way to reach you until you can get your new number to them via social media or mass text.
Google Voice allows you to use multiple phone numbers (ones that stay with YOU and not with the device or phone plan) for one device. So if you do decide to move on, you can just pick up right where you left off without the awkward “new phone number, everyone!” Facebook status you just have to hope everyone sees.
You can also use Google Voice to email voice messages, text from your computer, and pick up calls from any phone or tablet.
Mint
Budgeting is something we should all be making time for, and Mint makes that pretty easy. This app calculates spending by category to help you create a budget that works best for you and your spending habits. You can link up your bank account, credit card accounts, and retirement plan for a comprehensive picture. And Mint shows you how your spending decisions affect your monthly and yearly bottom lines. So if you have any bad habits, you’ll know about them before they become a real problem.
Mint has triple layer security (they call it three times the protection), and they use the same encryption and security standards as banks. And if that’s not enough, they’re also monitored and verified by unbiased third party experts like VeriSign and TRUSTe. And if your cell phone is ever stolen or lost, you can remotely delete all of your account information. Pretty handy.
LastPass
LastPass is an app that creates secure passwords specifically customized to the requirements of whatever site you need that password for. And the best part? You don’t actually have to remember them. This app remembers them for you, and the only super secure password you need to remember is the one to your LastPass.
They have an extension for all of the popular browsers so you can use it on your laptop at home. LastPass even has its own mobile browser that requires a pin to use. So if you, say, work in an office where the big prank involves coworkers posting silly statuses from your Facebook page, then your mobile phone won’t give them the opening to do so.
What are your favorite productivity apps?
About the Author – Steve Hopkins is a Support Professional and Team Lead at Rocket IT. Steve and his wife are growing their family through adoption. They have already adopted two sons.
