Computers, especially laptops, are incredible tools that open up so many possibilities, from workflow to entertainment. They’ve even become media players in themselves – you can watch your favorite movies on thebest streaming servicesorplay the best video gamesall right there on one hub.

However, they’re even more useful when youneed to be productive. Instead of doing all your calculations, spreadsheets, and planning on paper, you’re able to easily consolidate it all within just a few apps and have it handy wherever you go.

MacBook on an angle against a blue background

9 essential productivity apps I install as soon as I get a new Mac

If you day is draining away while working on your Mac, try these 9 apps to make you infinitely more productive.

In order to maximize your productivity, a perfect set of apps is necessary. You want whatever processes you have to be straightforward, easy, and as convenient as they can get – luckily, apps can organize all your tasks and streamline their completion.

Todoist screengrab on a blue background.

From managing your tasks, collaborating with your colleagues, or helping you focus on the job at hand – here are the best productivity apps that you absolutely need on your Windows PC.

Get through all your duties in style

Todoist is an excellent task management app that lets you create various to-do lists, track what you need to do, and filter it all by deadline dates or projects. It makes organizing your life and work much easier and lets you focus on keeping all your responsibilities fulfilled instead of trying to remember what else you had to do that day.

you may even collaborate within the app, which is ideal not only for planning your days, but also for families or business partners.

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2Microsoft To-Do

Task tracking made easy

Microsoft To-Do

Microsoft’s To-Do is an incredible alternative to the well-known Todoist (my first example) that excels at business-centric planning thanks to its built-in Outlook integration. It allows you to create to-do lists easily from your PC or mobile devices, and they automatically upload to your Outlook account, making them available both in all the versions of the app, and when you’re browsing your email.

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Never miss a deadline

If you’re looking for a do-it-all productivity and project management app, Trello is one of the best ones around. It features an easy-to-use, extremely user-friendly board system that makes assigning tasks to team members and tracking the stages of every part of the project easy and easily visible.

It also has various other collaboration options, including comments, attachments, and a chat system that makes communicating with the team a breeze.

Microsoft To-Do screenshot on a blue and purple background.

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Makes complicated projects easy as pie

If you’re looking for insanely flexible collaboration software, Airtable is a fantastic choice. Thanks to its template-based structure, you may fit the functionality and the layout of the program exactly to the use case that you have in mind.

Aside from that, Airtable includes extensive collaboration and management options, including various commenting and note systems, categorization and team-management tools, and all the other features that make it an excellent choice for both small and large teams to track their tasks with.

Microsoft Outlook on Mac

You can fit the functionality and the layout of the program exactly to the use case that you have in mind.

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Keeps you in the loop

Slack is a communications platform for businesses that offers messaging, video calls, and more. It is available on mobile, browser, and desktop and gives companies the chance to meet and connect virtually.

Slack is probably the most recognizable business-centered communications app around – and for good reason. It includes everything that you need to easily and efficiently keep in touch with the other members of your team. You, of course, have the ability to create private, one-on-one chats with your colleagues, but you can also make custom channels for all kinds of discussions, ranging from project-based chats for different teams, to off-topic channels for your fantasy football league.

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Can we just hop on a quick call?

Even though Zoom has been around for a long time, its first widespread adoption happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this unfortunate circumstance helped show the utility of Zoom as an excellent communications platform that lets you talk to and see the people you’re communicating with, along with easy conversation management tools such as breakout rooms or image enhancements. Combine that with a capacity to host huge calls, even up to 500 participants, and you get an excellent video conferencing tool.

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7Google Workspace

Productivity and collaboration galore

Google Workspace

The most basic productivity tool that you’ll need, regardless of what you need to do, is a great office suite. Google Workspace is just that – a range of office programs straight from Google that enable you and your team to easily get your jobs done. You get the basics, like Docs or Sheets, but also more advanced tools, like a business version of Gmail, or Gemini AI built into all the Google Workspace apps.

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8Microsoft 365

The gold standard

Microsoft 365 Personal

If there’s one piece of productivity software that everybody knows, it’s Microsoft Office. Thanks to the Microsoft 365 subscription, you get access not only to Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, but also more OneDrive cloud storage, cloud saves that enable you to edit your documents on multiple devices, and access to other Microsoft apps and all their premium features.

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Take your note-taking to another level

Obsidian is a note-taking app that helps store open, non-proprietary files for you to use both online and offline. It stores files on device, so they are only accessible by the user.

There are various note-taking maps, but few are as powerful and go as deep as Obsidian. Thanks to the insanely powerful interlinking features, it allows you to create links between your notes, making it very easy to connect various concepts and ideas to one another. It makes taking notes so much more efficient, and helps you build your knowledge-base much more efficiently.

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Covers all the basics

Microsoft OneNote

If you prefer a more streamlined approach to note-taking, OneNote is an excellent choice. Microsoft’s note-taking solution features a clean UI and a set of powerful tools that allow you to create your notes by typing, handwriting, or even drawing. Plus, it easily integrates with other Microsoft programs, so you can switch between OneNote and Word when writing bigger assignments.

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