Equipping yourself with the right tools is essential to accomplish more and make the most of your time. From managing to-do lists to optimizing workflow – below we’ll share the best productivity apps for Mac to save you valuable time while ensuring you stay organized and on top of your game!
1. Rectangle
Rectangle is a powerful window management app that simplifies the often cumbersome task of resizing and organizing open windows in macOS.
This app is a more flexible alternative to the macOS built-in split-screen feature. There’s no need to hold down specific keys or create new workspaces. Just click and drag on the top of a window and move it to the screen’s edges (or corners) to resize and arrange them.
This functionality is particularly handy for multitasking, as it enables you to create a well-structured workspace quickly. Additionally, unlike the Mac split-screen feature, this app isn’t limited to just two windows. So that’s just more good news if you have a smaller screen.
And if that’s not enough, plenty of customizable keyboard shortcuts are also available that provide additional control to enhance your productivity. So, if you’re juggling between multiple apps on your Mac, Rectangle is a free and efficient solution that streamlines your workflow and keeps you organized.
P.S. If you want to explore some other window management app option other than Rectangle, Magnet offers similar functionality.
Download: Rectangle (Free, Paid version is available at a one-time price of $9.99)
2. Notion
Notion is a cloud-based, all-in-one workspace app that excels in project management, note-taking, and collaborative work.
You can create different sections for different things – like work, personal stuff, or even a project you’re working on. In these sections, you can add all sorts of things, from to-do lists to notes, files, and even tables.
I’m a fan of Notion when it comes to collaborating with others. Over the years, I’ve been using it to share pages with my teammates and work together in real-time. It also allows you to mention your teammates or friends, leave comments, and get notifications about tasks that matter. And with free Notion templates, you can customize the overall look of Notion to suit your style.
But that’s not all. Notion also offers a web extension, which is handy when you want to save some links and check them later.
Download: Notion (Free, paid version starts at $8/month—billed annually)
3. Grammarly
Grammarly is an essential writing assistant that goes beyond the basics – especially for writers. Along with diligently checking for grammar and spelling errors, it also provides practical suggestions to enhance your writing’s clarity and style. However, I’ve noticed that Grammarly sometimes makes suggestions that cause bland writing. It’s up to you whether to take those suggestions or not, of course.
Other than that, you have a tool that helps you become a better writer and communicator. Whether you’re drafting emails, documents, messages, or social media posts, it ensures your content is error-free, polished, and engaging. This not only saves you time on revisions but also elevates the quality of your written work.
Download: Grammarly (Free, paid version starts at $12/month)
4. 1Password
1Password is a Mac app that simplifies password management while improving digital safety. This is a perfect option if you forget easily or manage a lot of passwords. It securely stores and auto-fills your login credentials to make online activities convenient and secure.
Not just passwords, 1Password also stores secure notes and credit card information. This can reduce the time and effort required to access and enter sensitive data. Most importantly, you not only save time on repetitive login tasks but also ensure that your online interactions are protected from potential threats.
Download: 1Password (Starts at $2.99/month and comes with a 14-day free trial)
5. Alfred
Alfred is an award-winning, all-in-one productivity app for macOS that serves as an application launcher, calculator, and file finder. It boosts your efficiency with hotkeys, keywords, and text expansion.
This app replaces Mac’s native spotlight search and provides a similar-looking input bar. But with its intuitive and user-friendly design, you can access and manage files and applications much faster than Mac’s native spotlight search.
Alfred can also be expanded with custom actions to perform more complex and repetitive tasks on files, data, web searches, and more. For example, I use it to do currency conversions in real-time, all while retrieving the latest rates from the web.
Also, whenever you copy text, images, or files to the clipboard, Alfred will remember them. This way, you can easily find any file you need by searching in Alfred.
Download: Alfred (Free, single license comes at a one-time price of £34)
6. Todoist
Todoist is another personal task management app for Mac that helps you manage projects, achieve goals, and plan your day. It offers a convenient platform to organize to-do lists, set due dates, get reminders, and collaborate with team members or peers.
With Todoist Boards, you can prioritize the most urgent tasks and get a better organization of projects. This helps you feel less overwhelmed with your tasks and share the workload. You can also use it to keep track of your daily progress.
In addition, with its cross-platform compatibility, you can access your tasks on various devices. All these things combined keep you on top of your responsibilities, making you much more productive daily. The only con is that the free version of Todoist does not support most features, and the premium version is way too expensive compared to its competitors.
Download: Todoist (Free, paid version starts at $4/month billed annually)
7. Fantastical
Fantastical is one of the best calendar apps for Mac designed to keep you organized, reduce scheduling hassles, and boost productivity. It provides a user-friendly interface with a clear overview of your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.
What sets Fantastical apart is its natural language input feature, which simplifies event creation and management. This means you can type what you need to schedule in plain language, and the app automatically translates, creates an event, and adds it to the calendar.
What’s more, is that you can get various customization options. This can allow you to personalize your calendar display with different themes and layouts.
However, the only bummer for me is its cost. The “free” version is very limited, and you have to buy a premium subscription even for the basic features.
Download: Fantastical (Free, Paid version starts at $4.75/month—billed annually)
8. Toggl Track
Toggl Track lets you track how much time you spend on activities, ensuring that every minute is accounted for.
You might surprise yourself when you understand how much time your tasks really require. You can quickly categorize projects and tasks and track every second of work in real-time.
And with combined time usage reports, you can gain in-depth insights into your work habits. You can find out how many hours a day you spend on productive work. This can also help you identify time-wasting activities and optimize your workflow for better time management.
Download: Toggl Track (Free, paid version starts at $9/month)
Streamline Your Mac Productivity With These Top Apps!
And that’s it!
The productivity apps discussed in this article offer a wide range of tools to help you save time, stay organized, and work efficiently. So, fire up your Mac, download these apps, and take control of your productivity journey today.
Searching for even more Mac apps to enrich your daily routine? Check out our list of Mac apps you should be using every day.
