When it comes to providing you all the tools you need to accomplish your assignments and daily tasks, Mac certainly does not let you down. Other than its pre-installed productivity applications, there are third-party developers who are creating worthwhile productivity apps guaranteed to help you work smoothly and with less hassles.
There is an abundance of these applications in the Mac. If you are having trouble picking any of them, here are some of our suggestions and why you need to have them installed:
Alfred
This app always deserves to be first on the list on every productivity apps list. Alfred is like your Mac’s butler – it’s an application launcher which helps you launch apps, programs, and files without having to navigate around your computer with your mouse. Its marquee feature is automating workflows, from everything to tweets and shortening URLs. The user interface looks beautiful and the violet purple scheme makes it pleasant to work with.
Alfred has its own dictionary: other than helping you define words, it can help you spell them as well. The app also has a built-in calculator which is smarter than the pre-installed one.
Fair warning though: it will take a lot of effort to learn and get used to Alfred’s many intricacies. But once you get the hang of it, this app will definitely be your best investment in the long run. Luckily, there are tutorials online which can help you get started.
aText
This app can save you several hours if you’re working on repetitive typing tasks, such as writing e-mails, letters, press releases, and even codes. Arguably one of the best productivity apps in this list, its basic premise is to make abbreviations to turn into full-fledged sentences you frequently used.
For example, with aText, you can type something like “say sorry” and it can turn into “We at TechBurger apologize for any inconvenience caused”.
Crashplan
Whenever your Mac crashes it always pays to have a back up plan: Crashplan should definitely be considered. The application is comparable to more popular options like iCloud and Dropbox, but it’s relatively cheaper compared to its competitors. You also don’t have to pay if you’re going to store your backup files on an external hard drive OR backup each other’s computers.
You’ll have to pay to back up your files online, though there’s an awesome twist to this: all of the files stored will be encrypted, rendering them readable to you only.
Dropzone
Dropzone takes advantage of the drag & drop. What it does is put a small icon on your menu bar and wherein you can drag and drop files to do a number of tasks. With it you can directly upload pictures to Flickr, install a .dmg file without extra clicks by dropping it to the icon, print documents, set a desktop picture (though it’s easier to just right click on one), and even create zip files for e-mail attachments.
It simplifies everything you need to do. Though you will have to pay ten bucks to get it, it’s worth every penny.
Fantastical 2
This app gives justice to its name.
Fantastical 2 is definitely one of the most amazing productivity apps for Mac and is pretty easy to use as well. This calendar app is a league above all others. Its clean and organized user interface makes it a joy to work with – clarity in calendar apps is difficult to achieve, but the team behind Fantastical 2 did this perfectly.
The app can be synced on all devices: every entry you put on your Mac will also be saved into your iPhone and iPad. It also supports several languages, like French, Japanese, German, and Spanish. The current version is optimized for the OS X Yosemite, though we will likely see an updated version after OS X El Capitan rolls out.
Now get to work
Once you have all of these apps installed and set up, you are ready to work and accomplish all of your tasks. It may take a while to get used to and master these apps, but if you manage to assimilate them within your usual work routine, you’re on your way to probably becoming the most productive Mac user alive.
Note that these apps work well in an office or in a home setting.
