Mark Hunter has written a great article introducing us to four Mac apps that help us stay focused, organized, and efficient. Take a look ...
"Let’s face it, working on a computer is a distracting process. Finding the motivation to actually get school work done when there’s an internet out there to explore can be fairly daunting. Luckily for Mac users, there are plenty of beautifully useful tools for you to take advantage of in order to get things done. Whether you decide this is the perfect suite of tools to give you that extra boost or not, everyone should find something useful here.
Fantastical
If you’re looking for a great calendar app that also doubles as a task manager with reminders, then you’ll love Fantastical. It’s a beautifully simple menubar app that takes the frustration out of managing yourself. Popping open the application and adding a task, event, or reminder is extremely satisfying. And with plenty of options to keep yourself notified of upcoming items, you may find it difficult to actually be a procrastinator once using Fantastical has become apart of your routine. It also has the ability to sync with other calendars, such as iCal and cloud-based services iCloud and Google Calendar.
Official Site | Price: $9.99 (normally $19.99) | 14-Day Free Trial
Concentrate
Concentrate is a small, yet powerful productivity tool with a wide array of features to help keep you in a good work flow. It has the ability to start and close applications, block websites, automatically change your online status on chat applications, display a custom notification using Growl, and much more. On top of this, Concentrate will keep track of how long you’ve been concentrating and display this time in your menubar, allowing you to feel good (or bad), depending on how long you last before you crack and check Facebook.
Official Site | Price: Free | 60-Hour Free Trial
BreakTime
BreakTime is a clean and simple menubar application that allows you set time intervals for, you guessed it, breaks. If you’re the type who finds it difficult to moderate your time in front of the computer, BreakTime works wonders in keeping you grounded. Whether you’re working and simply need to get up and away from the computer for a few minutes or you’re a serial procrastinator who needs a constant reminder that there’s work to be done, BreakTime will most likely assist you in your efforts. You can even disable your ability to stop the break before it’s over, so you’ll be forced to do something other than stare at the computer. This should not only save you from headaches, but also maybe force you to stretch and perhaps freshen your mind up a bit, allowing you to work more effectively when you return.
Official Site | Price: $4.99
WriteRoom
Writing can be a very frustrating at times, especially for those of you who are easily distracted. If you find your eyes wandering or you become unmotivated while staring at Microsoft Word’s bulky interface, it’s time you met WriteRoom. It’s an extremely simple app that presents you with a full black screen and a big, green blinking cursor, reminiscent of old PCs. This nothingness presents you with no distractions and puts you in the mindset for writing. And with plenty of color customization options, everyone should find a perfect comfort zone while using this application. In the end, whether you love or hate writing, WriteRoom will most likely assist you in getting your work done faster.
(Note: Writeroom is also available for iOS and can sync with DropBox.)
Official Site | Requires 10.7+ | Price: $9.99"
More apps to increase your efficiency:
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