5 Game-Changing Productivity Apps That Help You Take Back Your Time

In today’s fast-paced world, productivity apps can be an essential difference maker. Americans are more stressed than ever. So much to do. So little time. The micro-computers we carry everywhere give us unlimited access to so much. But those ever-present smartphones can also drain our time and enslave us with a constant demand for attention.

With new technology and specialized productivity apps, you can organize your lists, quiet your mind and experience renewed focus.

These innovative tools are designed to empower you in managing your tasks efficiently and free up valuable time. Productivity apps can help you overcome the overwhelm and enhance your overall well-being.

Here are five productivity apps worth trying:

Structured

Structured is one of the top-rated visual calendar apps. It combines tasks and calendar entries, making it easy to attack your to-do list. Four million downloads attest to the app’s value and versatility. It’s easily customizable to your preferences.

Structured is especially handy for folks who are easily overwhelmed or simply don’t know where to begin. Furthermore, if you know anyone who struggles with attention deficit disorder, this app could be a game changer.

Some of the ingenious features include breaking down sub-tasks into smaller chunks and color coding options to your preferred theme.

Additionally, Structured offers an inbox for easy task capture and iCloud syncing to keep all of your devices on the same page.

Speechify

After hours staring at a screen, your eyes could use a break. Maybe it’s time to let your ears to do the heavy lifting for a while. Turn text into spoken word with Speechify, a mobile and desktop app that reads text aloud using a computer generated text-to-speech voice.

The app also uses optical character recognition technology to turn physical books or printed text into audio. Speechify saves time by allowing you to breeze through content two-to-three-times faster than reading it.

The multi-tasking options are endless. You can listen to documents, articles and books while you enjoy your workout or on your commute.

Speechify also aids slower readers or individuals with learning disorders like dyslexia.

OffScreen

We all know that social media apps are designed to create addiction and keep users perpetually scrolling. The more you scroll, the more advertising is sold — and the marketing is more targeted to your specific interests and purchasing habits.

Why not take back control of your screen time?

Screen time control is easy with OffScreen. Customize settings to keep your day rolling and rein in the tendency to get lost in a scroll-a-thon.

App users regain their focus with alerts that nudge you to take a break, move around and even get some shuteye.

Elevate

You train your serve. You train your swing. Have you tried training your brain? That’s where Elevate comes in, with more than 40 brain training games to improve focus, memory, processing, math and comprehension.

Elevate’s tracking features measure your performance against yourself and others. It also compiles weekly reports outlining key accomplishments and identifying opportunities to improve.

Personalized workout sessions focus on the skills you need to practice most.

Elevate‘s 50 million users report improved vocabulary, math skills and overall mental sharpness with frequent use.

Bionic Reading

Bionic reading, a speed reading technique, highlights specific word parts as your primary focus, allowing your brain to avoid reading the entire word as with regular text.

The Bionic Reading app, designed by Swiss typographic designer Renato Casutt, uses typographic highlights, such as bolded parts of words, to guide your eye through text.

This method enables your brain to fill in the missing words effectively by emphasizing the first letters of each word in bold script, creating an artificial fixation point. Casutt based the app on scientific research on eye movement.

Bionic Reading proves particularly beneficial for individuals with ADHD and dyslexia, who experience slower reading due to processing issues. By employing bionic reading, they can focus and comprehend the context on the initial read-through. This eliminates the need for a second read-through (which might be required without it).

Advanced settings allow you to choose either letters or syllables, as well as your preferred display.