Innately humans just want to chill and get all the good stuff of life served them a la carte, but our host planet is just too limited, too uncertain, and too cruel to allow for any such indulgence. So, it’s either you are surviving the harsh realities of stiff competition for the few resources available for a humongous number of us, or you are living with the realities of penury, underachievement, and despair.
For individuals who get ahead of others some of the top 15 behavioural patterns have been attributed to their success. These are listed below:
- Goal Achievement
- Skill Enhancement
- Time Management
- Increased Efficiency
- Better Decision-Making
- Self-Awareness
- Motivation and Inspiration
- Improved Communication
- Health and Well-Being
- Increased Confidence
- Leadership Development
- Adaptation to Change
- Long-Term Approach
- Resilience
- Happiness and Fulfillment
Obviously, for most of us, some of these traits come naturally to us, either by way of talent, background influence and/or education. But there are certainly areas we still struggle with, yet must develop to get a pivot towards personal or business success tracks. Here comes the tech advantage: you can leverage tech tools to achieve what you can’t by yourself. These tools often span productivity, personal development, secretariat, business management etc.
Below I share 35 top-notch tools to get things done and get better at managing self and business. These are highly recommended (free-version-available) tools, researched and tested over time from an expert user point of view. Plus, I enjoy peeking into the behind-the-scenes workings of these applications, so you bet, the codes of these recommended ones are safe and stable.
Productivity Tools
Todoist: A powerful task management tool that allows you to create to-do lists, set deadlines, and prioritize tasks. It’s available on multiple platforms and offers a free version with basic features. (I use this because you can create to-do categories. For me I create categories for Business, Family, Ministry & Personal Development. All the to-dos in different categories will be listed together in your Today’s list, but you can navigate to each category and follow items unique to them. Keeps me very organized, though I haven’t been using it quite much, because of my drastic reduction of phone time)
Trello: A visual project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help you organize tasks and projects. Trello’s free version provides plenty of functionality. (Very good for simple project management. I use this for my projects – I create 7 cards typically under any project. These are To-Do, On-going, Done, Challenge/Roadblocks, New Ideas, Materials Needed)
Asana: A project management and task tracking tool suitable for individuals or teams. The free version includes task lists, due dates, and basic project management features. This is an alternative to Trello
Google Keep: Google’s note-taking and list-making app. It syncs across devices, supports voice notes, and integrates with other Google apps. (I use this one, because it is native to Android and easy to open on any device that my Gmail is open. In fact it is a good tool for moving text around devices, easily – type somewhere and just open keep.google.com on any browser have access to and the note is available)
Evernote: A notetaking and organization app that allows you to capture ideas, save web articles, create to-do lists, and store documents. While there’s a premium version, the free plan offers substantial features. This is an alternative to Google Keep
Notion: A versatile workspace that combines notetaking, project management, and database features. Notion offers a free personal plan with robust functionality. (I use notion as my overall life planner. Has fantastic templates for Customer Relationship Management, Personal Management, HR, etc. The beauty of Notion is that it combines task management and Project Management excellently.
Google Calendar: Google’s free calendar app allows you to schedule events, set reminders, and share calendars with others. It integrates seamlessly with other Google apps. Well, we all know this, but it’s good to add that Google Calendar can help with recurrent reminders, like birthdays, anniversaries, etc, setting up 24-hour, 1-hour notifications will help you not to forget important dates.
Forest: A unique productivity app that helps you stay focused by growing virtual trees. When you resist distractions, your tree grows, and you can track your productivity over time. This app is a lifesaver in this distractions-packed world of today. The idea of trees to forests helps you visualize how completely focusing on a select activity for a fraction of your everyday time can amount to miles of progress.
Focus Booster: A Pomodoro timer app that helps you break your work into focused intervals and short breaks to improve productivity and reduce burnout. Like Focus, but with a to-do list (sort of).
RescueTime: This tool runs in the background to track your computer and app usage, helping you understand how you spend your time and identify productivity bottlenecks. Similar to Forest but has applicability on desktop.
Clockify: A time-tracking tool that allows you to monitor how you spend your time on different tasks and projects. It’s useful for improving time management. This is fantastic for people trying to break procrastination and learn prioritization, and time-accountability. To me, the strategy is to put a Naira value on your time – say, for instance, my hourly rate is N1,000. So if my time is tracked (honestly), and I discovered that at the end of a day I used 12 hours on social media – I will know I have lost N12,000 that I could have earned if I’d used that time on something someone else is paying me to do. It’s also a great way to start pricing yourself for people in the creative or general services industries.
Habitica: A gamified task and habit tracker that turns your daily tasks and goals into a role-playing game, making productivity more fun and engaging. I love this, but best features are in the pro version.
Zapier: An automation tool that connects your favorite apps and automates repetitive tasks. While it offers a free plan with limited tasks, it can significantly boost productivity.
Slack: A team collaboration platform that offers a free version for small teams or personal use, enabling communication and file sharing. Tech people used this most, but it’s great for any team. People should move their multiple company Whatsapp Groups to this already and enforce use by way of policy.
Airtable: A flexible spreadsheet and database tool that can be customized for various personal and professional use cases. The free plan allows for basic functionality. Those that find Word overwhelming on mobile, this is for you.
Elevate: is a brain training app designed to help users improve various cognitive skills, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices and is often used as a tool for personal development and education. This one is my everyday app for relaxation. It’s like my own video game.
Lumosity: is a popular brain-training app and website that offers a variety of cognitive games and exercises designed to help improve various mental skills. This is great for Cognitive Training, Personalized Training, Brain Daily Workouts. It’s my own second game app, lol!
Duolingo: is a popular language learning platform that offers free language courses in a gamified and interactive format. It’s available as a website and a mobile app, making it accessible on various devices. I have been learning Spanish with this app for about four years. When I was consistent, I became quite conversant with the language. In fact, as at early 2022 I could safely converse as a guest in any Spanish-speaking country – from airport to hotel, shopping and work communications, I had it locked down! It is a recommended alternative relaxation app. Fun to use.
Electronic Document Conversion, Filling & Signing
Ilovepdf.com: On this website, you can convert any document from and to pdf. You can compress pdf documents, delete pages, combine two different pdf, etc. I use this all the time.
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a free desktop application that allows you to view, print, and fill out PDF forms. It provides basic form-filling features, including text entry, checkboxes, and signature fields.
PDF-XChange Editor: PDF-XChange Editor is a free PDF viewer and editor that includes form-filling capabilities. You can fill out text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons, among other form elements.
Foxit Reader: Foxit Reader is a free PDF reader and editor that also supports form filling. It’s lightweight and easy to use for filling out PDF forms.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (Mobile App): Adobe Acrobat Reader offers free mobile apps for both iOS and Android. You can use these apps to fill out PDF forms on your smartphone or tablet. They also support digital signatures.
PDFelement: PDFelement offers free mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. These apps allow you to fill out PDF forms, annotate PDFs, and perform other PDF-related tasks.
Xodo PDF Reader & Editor: Xodo is a free PDF app available for iOS and Android. It has a user-friendly interface and supports form filling, annotations, and digital signatures.
PDFfiller (Mobile App): PDFfiller offers a free mobile app for both iOS and Android that allows you to fill out and sign PDF forms. While it offers a free trial, some features may require a subscription.
DocuSign (Mobile App): DocuSign is a widely used electronic signature platform that also offers a free mobile app for iOS and Android. You can use it to fill out and sign PDF forms.
Financial Management Tools
Money Manager – the #1 financial planning, review, expense tracking, and personal asset management app for Android!
Wally: Wally is a free expense-tracking app that allows you to log your income and expenses manually. It provides insights into your spending habits and helps you set savings goals.
Clarity Money: Clarity Money is a budgeting app that helps you track your spending, save money, and cancel unwanted subscriptions. It’s free to use and provides financial insights.
GoodBudget: GoodBudget is an envelope budgeting system that allows you to allocate funds to different categories, like the envelope method. It has a free version with limited features but is effective for basic budgeting.
Albert: Albert is a financial app that offers budgeting, saving, and investment features. While there’s a paid version with premium features, the basic budgeting and saving tools are available for free.
Manager: Manager is a free accounting software that provides features for invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting. It’s available for both desktop and cloud-based use.
ZipBooks: ZipBooks provides free accounting software that includes invoicing, expense tracking, and basic reporting features. It’s user-friendly and suitable for small businesses.
GnuCash: GnuCash is open-source accounting software that’s completely free. It offers double-entry accounting and supports multiple currencies, making it suitable for SMEs with more complex financial needs.
