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The Best Productivity Apps (That Actually Save You Time)

· 6 min read
Alex Beck
Co-founder

TL;DR

These are the best productivity apps I actually use (and keep using). If you want to cut distractions, and organise (if you’re like me, the multiple to do lists, youtube videos, documents and others in one place.) — especially if you’e on the ADHD spectrum like me — this list’s for you. Most are free or cheap. Most are cross-platform.


Why Productivity Apps Usually Suck

Every “Top Productivity Apps” article shills a bunch of complicated or costly solutions, everything im talking about is free!. If you’ve got ADHD, decision fatigue is real. I used to fall into this trap — trying 5 tools to plan my day and still getting nothing done.


What I Use (and Why)

I’ve cycled through so many apps, most last 2-3 weeks before I forget and revert to paper, forgetting, or ical reminders, sending myself emails (which I never check). Here’s what’s stuck. Some ADHD- and OCD friendly

EchoDash, Notion, Pomodoro Timer, Toggl, Dashlane

1. EchoDash – One Inbox for Your Entire Business

You know how it feels opening 17 tabs just to figure out what happened overnight? Stripe, Slack, Notion, Google Analytics, CRM, Matomo, Jira… It’s a time sink.

EchoDash solves this by pulling your tech stack data into one place.

Why it’s one of the best productivity apps:

  • Reduces dashboard time by up to 10 hours/week
  • Solves the “notification blindness” problem
  • Lets you build your own alert system (without needing Zapier or a dev)

Bonus: If you’re juggling client sites or running async teams, the email digests are a game-changer. I use it every day.

Also arguably one of the best apps for farm productivity (seriously, we’ve had people run irrigation alerts through it).*

2. Notion

I was late to the Notion hype, but now it’s my go-to for:

  • Meeting notes
  • Roadmaps
  • Documents like contratcs, tax documents, important admin docs
  • Journaling (when I remember)
  • Marketing, Sales, CHannels, strtagey work and to do’s lists. Basically everything high level.

If you’ve got ADHD, this is one of the few apps that feels flexible enough to support your brain, without punishing you for not being consistent. Great on iPad too — makes it one of the best iPad productivity apps for me.

Pro tip: Use linked databases and views — sadly the spreadsheets aren’t as robust as Gsheets but great to attach documents in a spreadsheet, which isn’t possible on Sheets.

3. Pomodoro Timer* –

Pomodoro timers, any free Firefox or Chrome extension works, definitely never pay fort it. Fot me Pomodoro is the best ADHD productivity app, It helps me not get distracted by random shit. It’s great because it’s a time 25 minutes hard work, seeing the timer go down and me not having done much works well for me. Then you have a 5 minute break then 25 minutes and a break, then 2t5 minutes and a 15 min break. It works really well for me, to focus and then use the breaks to do whatever.

5. Toggl – Tracking Time

Why Toggl is one of the best productivity apps for ADHD and founders alike: It is Dead simple: big “Start” button, easy to stop/start, no bloat. It’s Multi-device: works on Mac, iPad, phone — so I can track wherever I actually work.. Visual breakdowns: See exactly where time is going each week. If you run a team, freelance, or study, time is literally your inventory. When you know where it’s going, you make better calls. Toggl turns fuzzy “I’m so busy” into cold hard data.

6. Shortcuts (iOS/macOS) – Automate the Dumb Stuff

I have shortcuts that:

  • Turn off Slack, email, and Twitter
  • Start “Deep Work Mode” (Do Not Disturb + timer + music)

For ADHD brains, reducing the number of decisions you make daily is critical. Shortcuts help you build routines that don’t require willpower.

Use it to shave 5–15 mins/day. That’s productivity software that works invisibly.

7. Dashlane – Passwords one Placr

I need a password manager otherwise I will spend at least 20 minutes procrastinating looking a password, or lying to myself that I need to find it in some book somewhere. Dashlane is safe (I’ve sadly had card data stolen) and cheap and super easy to use to login to the multitude of places you need to for work.

8. Stickies – For Deep Work, Research and Thinking

Stickies is one of my favourite mac productivity apps because it’s dead simple. No tabs, no distractions — just virtual Post-its stuck to your desktop. When I’m in deep work mode, researching or brainstorming, I jot ideas down fast, drag them around, colour-code if I need to, and that’s it. Unlike Notion or bigger tools, Stickies stays in your face so you don’t lose context. For ADHD brains, that’s gold. Sometimes the best mac productivity apps are the ones that do exactly one thing well — and Stickies nails it.

9. Google Cal – ADHD-Focused Productivity Timer

Google Calendar is still one of the best productivity apps for my scatterbrain. It’s free, dead simple, and works on every device. For ADHD folks, time blocking in GCal turns a fuzzy to-do list into actual slots on your day (or reminders to go somewhere ot do something) — so you’re less likely to drift off-task. It’s great whether you’re a student or running a team.

10. Apple Notes / Reminders – Still Underrated

Sometimes the best productivity app is the one you already have. Apple Notes and Reminders are underrated but some of the best mac productivity apps and best iPad productivity apps I keep coming back to. Fast capture, Siri voice input, instant sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac — no learning curve, no extra logins. Also you can also now (since a new update) hide sections of notes, making it great for larger notes with sections.

Bonus: Best Apps for Farm Productivity

This one surprised me — we’ve had EchoDash users who are managing farm alerts via webhook. Think irrigation errors, livestock gate opens, drone footage uploads — all piped into a daily email digest.

The key is not the app. It’s how customisable the workflow is. Farmers using automation are running smart farms without needing to open a dashboard.

Want to keep your eyes on the paddocks, not the screen? EchoDash might be your unexpected MVP.

Final Thought

If you’re neurodivergent, overworked, or just tired of being a productivity app guinea pig — keep it simple.

The best productivity apps aren’t about features. They’re about reducing friction. They help you:

  • Focus without effort
  • Prioritise when your brain doesn’t want to
  • Catch important stuff before it becomes urgent
  • Save time across all your devices

If the app adds more steps or makes you feel bad for not using it “right” — nix that shit.