Last year, I finally made the switch to a Mac. As a marketer by day and business development specialist by night, I use many different tools to manage my time, track tasks, keep my creative juices flowing, stay in touch, automate stuff, and keep everything nice and organized. So, I was worried if my usual productivity apps and tools, especially the ones needing downloads, would work well on a brand-new Mac. Turns out, they all did. And my productivity surged. So, in this piece, I’m sharing the 10 best productivity apps for Mac with all their features and golden highlights. Table of Contents Productivity apps help you work better and faster, freeing up your mental energy. Their main goal is to make you more focused and productive at a given moment. According to employee performance research, productivity tools have an extremely positive impact on employee performance. Those who use them are more relaxed and achieve better results. In essence, productivity apps help with task management, calendar organization, note-taking, team collaboration, and time tracking. For example, project management tools fall under this category. They let you sort tasks into boards, lists, and cards, which is super handy for staying on track. We're committed to your privacy. HubSpot uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy. Stop procrastinating! Boost your productivity with this free kit. Loading your download form Click this link to access this resource at any time. Download Now Learn more Todoist is a task management app for organizing tasks and projects. You can create to-do lists, set deadlines, prioritize tasks, and collaborate with others. It’s available on browsers, mobile devices, and desktop applications. Todoist organizes your projects with recurring tasks, sub-tasks, labels, and filters. I’ve tried other apps like Microsoft To-Do and Google Tasks, but Todoist’s quick keyboard input for dates, projects, priorities, and tags convinced me quickly to switch. I use Todoist mainly for two things: I just type those terms, and Todoist understands commands without further input from me. And one of the coolest things about Todoist is how it works with Alexa. If I forget something, I just say, “Alexa, add a new meeting tomorrow at 8 am,” and boom, it’s in my Todoist in seconds. Harvest is a time-tracking and invoicing software that manages time and expenses. It helps monitor productivity, analyze project costs, and streamline billing processes. It also creates detailed reports to analyze project progress and performance. I tried to use Harvest for invoicing, and honestly, since I’m not big on accounting and all that numbers stuff (I guess every creative person feels the same), I found it really easy to use but stayed with my Google Sheets. However, you can benefit from tracking paid/unpaid invoices and sending reminders. Two things I liked about its invoicing feature: I also tried its time tracker. Compared to other trackers, I love Harvest’s privacy protection. It doesn’t: Your employer sees your timesheets after you submit them, which is perfect for remote workers. There’s no need to worry if a private message pops up during a screenshot — Harvest tracks time accurately while respecting your privacy. I love it. Monday is a project management tool for managing tasks, improving collaboration, and increasing productivity. Monday helps product, design, and R&D teams work better with agile workflows. I use Monday, Asana, and Trello for different projects. For me, Monday wins in terms of flexibility and pricing. On Monday, I track my workload for the charitable fund District #1, like a head of partnerships. I opted for a simplified Kanban methodology to organize and prioritize my tasks with “Backlog,” “In progress,” and “Done” tabs. My content marketing pals also use Monday’s Content Planning Template. It helps them with everything from brainstorming ideas to scheduling posts — all in one workspace. For instance: We're committed to your privacy. HubSpot uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy. Stop procrastinating! Boost your productivity with this free kit. Loading your download form Click this link to access this resource at any time. Download Now Learn more Trello is another project management tool for small teams with boards, lists, and cards for organizing tasks and projects. It’s super easy to move the cards between lists as tasks progress. You can also add descriptions, checklists, due dates, attachments, and comments to cards. The best value for money. (Free for your whole team(!) with limited features.) I used to work mainly on Monday or Asana, but then I met a client who prefers Trello for all their projects. So I gave it a try. Right from the start, Trello was super easy to use. I move tasks between “Brief ready,” “Assigned to writer,” etc., with just a few clicks. Leaving comments on each card is also simple, and I like how organized and neat it all looks on the dashboard. Top features I use: The best part is that images are visible on the board — there is no need to open a task to see them. For Mac users: Right-click an image, copy it, then paste it directly into Trello with Cmd+V. Grammarly is my go-to writing assistant for catching grammar mistakes, punctuation, spelling, clarity, and plagiarism. The best thing about the app is its real-time suggestions and corrections as you type. Just like every other content writer, I adore Grammarly. It quickly fixes misspellings, mistakes, and grammar issues. I usually use it to polish my articles and write my LinkedIn posts. It’s one of the top Mac productivity tools because it integrates perfectly with Safari, and its downloaded version works flawlessly as well. While Grammarly is incredibly helpful, I don’t always agree with some of its suggestions. They simply don’t fit my context or sound awkward. However, despite these occasional quirks, Grammarly always helps me catch errors I overlook, especially in a rush. I use the Marinara: Pomodoro Assistant Chrome extension to make the Pomodoro technique easily accessible on my Mac. The app breaks tasks into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes long with short breaks. I’m simply in love with this method for supercharging my productivity when I struggle to pull myself together and get things done. It instantly activates my focus mode, and I become so in the zone that nothing can distract me. I’ve tried various Pomodoro apps before, but Marinara Pomodoro Assistant is my favorite. It works smoothly without any bugs or crashes. Also, the reports are crystal clear. I easily select a timeframe and check working intervals. Evernote is an app for taking any kind of notes and keeping them organized. Use it to write down ideas, save web pages, or even record audio notes. It works on devices like your phone and laptop, so you can access your notes from anywhere. I didn’t switch to Evernote, but I tried it for two weeks to see if I liked it: I have nothing against the app; the reason I didn’t switch is more personal. I’m used to working on Monday and making notes in default Mac apps. We're committed to your privacy. HubSpot uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy. Stop procrastinating! Boost your productivity with this free kit. Loading your download form Click this link to access this resource at any time. Download Now Learn more Slack is a popular messaging platform for communication within teams and organizations. It allows file sharing, automation with Google Analytics (and more!), and organizing conversations into channels. Slack aims to streamline communication and reduce reliance on email. Slack is my top choice among communication apps. Switching between chats, channels, contacts, and workspaces is just a click away. My favorite parts in every Slack community are channels such as #announcements and less work-related things like birthdays, celebrations, and sharing random images from the team. That’s the first thing I check whenever I jump into a new Slack workspace. 🙂 And, as someone who enjoys structuring and making messages easier to read, I like Slack’s great formatting features in chat (bold, italic, numbered, and bullet lists). Monosnap is for taking, editing, and sharing annotated screenshots with the ability to blur sensitive information. When I got my Mac, I switched from ShareX, which I used on my Windows, to Monosnap after a dozen tried-and-failed apps. Other apps came with poor UX or lacked imperative features like blurring. Calendly is a popular tool for scheduling appointments. You can share your available times through a personalized booking page without the back-and-forth of emails. It syncs with calendars such as Google Calendar, Outlook, or iCloud and provides a personalized link for booking a time slot. With Calendly, I have designated three event types to avoid back-and-forth emailing: My two extra points go to the integration with Google Calendar and Google Meet. Also, I love how Calendly automatically adjusts time zones. Since I work with clients and partners from both Europe and the US, this feature is gold. Each of these 10 apps serves its purpose perfectly, but my three favs are: While I’m always open to trying out more Mac productivity apps, these three will stay on my list for a long time. P.S. Once I put some new tools to the test, I’ll share my insights and experience with you. What are productivity apps?
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10 Best Productivity Apps for Mac
1. Todoist
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2. Harvest
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3. Monday.com
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4. Trello
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5. Grammarly
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6. Marinara Pomodoro Assistant
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7. Evernote
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8. Slack
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Tried & Tested: What I Think
9. Monosnap
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10. Calendly
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What’s the best productivity app?
Topics: Productivity Apps