It’s Monday morning. You get into the office feeling energised after a relaxing weekend. Time to set that status to active and go through all the tasks you need to complete. Expense reports that need to be reviewed, budgets that need adjusting, strategies and plans that need to be put in motion to make the business grow, all this whilst your inbox is full of emails — most of them flagged urgent — and you still need to prepare for the end-of-quarter board meeting. Sounds familiar?
Research shows that less than one-third of CFOs can maintain productivity. It’s not surprising that juggling so many different tasks can make your head spin. Luckily, we live in the age of technology, where you can find apps for just about anything. So whether you’re looking for a way to keep your inbox more organised, need a quick solution for a time-out to gather your thoughts and relax, or want to streamline workflows, you guessed it: there’s an app for it.
The first step to mastering the art of productivity is creating the right tech stack for your needs. Staying in control of all your business expenses and guaranteeing all budgets are on track can quickly become a time sink, but smart expense management software like Rydoo’s can automate most of those tasks for you. Simplified approvals and AI-powered checks to ensure compliance and real-time visibility help finance teams stay ahead without getting buried in admin work.
But there are more apps you can add to your stack for higher productivity, and if you’re unsure where to start, you’ve come to the right place. Here are seven apps that can help boost your productivity. Let’s dive right into our selection of the best apps for productivity based on our careful research and testing.
Best for focus mode: Forest
So you’re one of those people who need help staying focused. We’ve all been there, and sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, and by that, we mean, the possibility of killing a tree. Forest is an app that helps you put down your phone and disconnect so you can focus on a single task for a specific amount of time.
The premise is simple: if you touch your phone during that time frame, you’ll kill the tree. All you need to do is open the app and plant your tree. It will grow as long as you are focused and not touching your phone. If you do exit the app at some point before the task is completed, the tree will die. And the best part is, you can even plant trees in real life, thanks to a partnership with Trees For The Future, that lets users redeem earned coins to plant trees in real life.
Price: €1.99 a month, with some add-on purchase options
Available for: iOS and Android
Best for well-arranged notes: Joplin
If you’re still using the Notes app on your phone or Evernote, it’s time for a change. Created as a direct competitor to old (but maybe not that gold anymore) Evernote, Joplin is one of the highest ranked cross-platform apps for taking notes.
Why? Well, when compared to Evernote, Joplin stores all your notes locally and securely (thank you, E2EE). Now it’s easy to insert a webinar recording or a voice note from a meeting straight into your notes. And don’t forget to add the Joplin Web Clipper extension to snap web pages. It’s secure, simple and yes, it works offline too!
Price: Free, but to sync across devices you’ll need a Joplin Cloud (Basic: €1.49/ month; Pro:€4.79/ month; Teams: €6.69/ month)
Available for: Web, Android or iOS
ProTip
From Sam van Baarle, CFO @WinWinner: Enjoy writing on paper but aiming to go paperless? Try ReMarkable tablet – an investment that’s definitely worth the money.
Best to save articles you want to read: Pocket
Cards on the table: how many articles have you come across thinking ‘Hmm, that’s a great piece’ and… you never came back to it? Or simply couldn’t find it anymore? If it happened to you at least once, Pocket is the right app for you.
Create your own library of articles to keep track of recent trends in finance or just enjoy quality time reading the pieces you like. Discover the wide offer within the app, integrate with other ones (e.g. Twitter) or add articles manually and don’t miss out on any quality content anymore!
Price: Free or Pocket Premium for €40/year or €4/month
Available for: Web, Android or iOS.
Best for focusing with music: Brain.fm
If you’re one of those people who really need to turn down background noise but doesn’t like to have music with lyrics, then Brain.fm will be your best friend.
The app plays brain enhancing music designed after thorough scientific research that helps boost different brain modes: meditation, nap, sleep and, you guessed it, focus mode, all within 10 to 15 minutes of use.
Price: download is free, but you can upgrade to the Pro version for €6.34 a month or €45.34 a year
Best for focused inbox: Spark
A smart inbox for smart people. The idea behind Spark is to start considering your mailbox a to-do list. The app is very intuitive and if you’re a shortcut maestro, it won’t take a lot of effort to keep your emails organised like ever before. Now you can snooze, move to archives, and mark emails (and senders) as a priority. The application remembers your choices and automatically adjusts with the upcoming emails. What else to expect? Now you can have one inbox for several email addresses and group emails in your own way. It’s as simple as that!
Price: Free or Premium for €5.83/month (7 days free)
Available for: Windows, Android, iOS and MacOS
Best for mental health: Headspace
Studies suggest that the stress levels of CFOs will only increase in the upcoming years. ‘Can it be any higher?’ — a cry echoes from CFOs’ offices worldwide. Well, it’s in your hands to manage that. Headspace is an app for guided meditations that will help you unwind, move, and have better focus and sleep. Even though there is still a stigma around meditation, it can be, in fact, a powerful tool for people in leading positions. Headspace proves that meditation doesn’t require much time. We love the ‘SOS Mediations’, 3-minute meditations for when the camel’s back is about to break. Give it a go and make your stress melt away.
Price: €57.99/year (14 days free) or €12.99/month (7 days free)
Available for: iOS or Android
Best for keeping track of stuff: Things
If hearing ‘to-do list’ makes you anxious, say hello to this top-rated app that will change your mind. Things makes it possible to categorise your tasks and goals, see the progress and set timing on your to-do’s. Flawless design and simple navigation between the upcoming to-do’s, scheduled events, checklist, deadlines and many other awesome features, make it a bargain. Yes, the app is not free, but you can’t put a price on improving your life.
Price (one-time fee): Mac – $59.99 (7 days free), iPhone&Watch – $9.99, iPad – $19.99
Available for: Mac, Iphone and iPad