10 More Apps to Boost Your Productivity

Thomas Frank
16 Oct 201914:26

Summary

TLDRIn this video, the creator revisits the best productivity apps across 10 categories, offering secondary recommendations due to the original video's length. Apps like TickTick for to-do lists, Woven for calendar management, and Trello for project management are highlighted. The script also covers note-taking with OneNote, writing with Typora, habit tracking with Habitify, and time tracking with Timeular. Email management is discussed with Front, team communication with Twist, and cloud syncing with Syncthing. Lastly, Audible is recommended for audiobook enthusiasts, with a special mention of 'Bad Blood' as a top pick.

Takeaways

  • 📝 The video script discusses secondary recommendations for productivity apps in various categories that were cut from a previous video due to length.
  • 🗂️ Todoist was the primary recommendation for to-do list apps, with TickTick highlighted as a feature-rich alternative including a built-in calendar view, Pomodoro timer, and habit tracker.
  • 📅 For calendar apps, Google Calendar is the main recommendation, but Woven is introduced as a new app that enhances meeting scheduling with features like polling and event templates.
  • 📊 In project management, ClickUp and Notion were previously mentioned, with Trello now added as a third recommendation, utilizing the Kanban methodology and offering a visual way to track project status.
  • 📘 Evernote was the top pick for note-taking apps, but OneNote is presented as a strong alternative, especially notable for its free use and ability to embed videos.
  • ✍️ Scrivener was the initial choice for serious writing apps, with Typora now introduced for its hybrid markdown system and document sidebar for organization.
  • 🎮 Habitica was the favorite for habit tracking, but for those not keen on its game-like elements, Habitify is suggested for its appealing design and useful tracking features.
  • ⏱️ Timeular is a unique time tracking app that pairs with a physical device, offering a hands-on approach to time management compared to digital-only solutions.
  • 💌 Front is recommended for email management, especially for team collaboration, with features like shared inboxes and the ability to assign and comment on emails.
  • 🗣️ Twist is introduced as an alternative to Slack, focusing on threaded conversations to keep important information organized and accessible.
  • 🔄 Syncthing is highlighted in the cloud sync category for its decentralized approach, syncing files directly between devices without third-party server involvement.
  • 📚 Audible is mentioned not as a productivity app, but as a valuable resource for expanding knowledge through audiobooks, with a special recommendation for 'Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup'.

Q & A

  • What was the reason for creating a second video on productivity apps?

    -The original video was 26 minutes long, which was considered too long for an app roundup. The creator decided to make a second video to provide secondary recommendations that were cut from the first video due to length.

  • What are the different types of secondary recommendations provided in the video?

    -The secondary recommendations include apps that are the second best overall in their category, apps that are personally used by the creator but not for everyone, and apps that are considered cool and deserve a mention.

  • What is the main feature that differentiates TickTick from Todoist, according to the video?

    -TickTick includes a built-in calendar view, a Pomodoro timer, and a habit tracker, which Todoist lacks.

  • How does Woven improve the meeting scheduling experience on top of Google Calendar?

    -Woven integrates with Google Calendar and offers features like polling for time matching, open calendar slots for easy scheduling, and meeting/event templates to streamline the creation of events.

  • What project management philosophy does Trello use in its design?

    -Trello uses the Kanban methodology, which involves organizing tasks into lists that represent different statuses of a project.

  • Why might someone prefer Trello over Notion, as mentioned in the video?

    -Some users might prefer Trello for its ability to easily assign people to cards, assign multiple people to singular cards, and provide a centralized dashboard for assigned tasks, which Notion cannot do as effectively.

  • What unique feature does OneNote have that Evernote does not, as per the video?

    -OneNote allows users to embed videos directly into notes, a feature that Evernote does not offer.

  • What is the main advantage of Typora over other markdown-based writing apps mentioned in the video?

    -Typora offers a hybrid markdown system with a sidebar for document organization, providing a balance between the functionality of apps like Evernote and a real-time markdown formatting experience.

  • Why might Habitify be preferred over Habitica as a habit tracker, according to the video?

    -Habitify has a pleasing visual design and UI, and features like the ability to view streaks and check-in times, which can help users analyze and optimize their routines.

  • What is unique about Timeular's approach to time tracking, as discussed in the video?

    -Timeular uses a physical device with different task faces that users can rotate to track time for different activities, providing a hands-on, non-digital method of time tracking.

  • How does Front differ from Gmail in terms of team email management, according to the video?

    -Front allows for shared inboxes and team collaboration on email responses, enabling team members to answer or assign emails, and improving the efficiency of email management for businesses.

  • What is the main difference between Slack and Twist in terms of communication style, as per the video?

    -Twist focuses on threads as the default mode of communication within channels, promoting a calmer environment and making important information easier to find compared to Slack's real-time chat.

  • Why might someone choose Syncthing over other cloud sync services like Google Drive, according to the video?

    -Syncthing is an open-source solution that syncs files directly between devices without uploading them to a third-party server, appealing to users who prefer to keep their files private and within their own ecosystem.

  • What is Audible, and how does it relate to productivity and learning, as mentioned in the video?

    -Audible is a platform for audiobooks that allows users to listen to books, enhancing productivity by enabling multitasking and continuous learning during daily activities.

  • What is the current audiobook recommendation provided in the video, and why is it notable?

    -The recommended audiobook is 'Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup,' which is notable for its riveting storytelling about the controversial startup Theranos and the fraud allegations it faced.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Secondary Productivity App Recommendations

The speaker begins by explaining the purpose of the video, which is to provide secondary recommendations for the best productivity apps in various categories that were not included in a previous video due to length constraints. The secondary recommendations are diverse, including apps that are the second best overall, personal favorites, and unique apps that deserve mention. The video starts with a comparison between Todoist and TickTick for task management, highlighting TickTick's additional features like a built-in calendar view, Pomodoro timer, and habit tracker. The speaker also introduces Woven as a complement to Google Calendar for meeting scheduling, emphasizing its features like polling, open calendar slots, and event templates to streamline the process.

05:01

📅 Calendar and Project Management App Alternatives

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses alternatives in the calendar and project management app categories. For project management, Trello is recommended as a tool that uses the Kanban methodology, allowing for easy tracking of project tasks through lists and cards. The speaker contrasts Trello's functionality with Notion, noting that while Notion replaces most of Trello's features, Trello excels in assigning tasks to multiple people and providing a centralized dashboard. The summary also touches on the limitations of Google Calendar for meeting scheduling and how Woven addresses these issues. Additionally, the speaker briefly mentions their personal preference for OneNote over Evernote for note-taking, despite OneNote's lack of automatic sorting features, due to its free cost.

10:01

📚 Writing, Habit Tracking, and Time Management Tools

The speaker explores alternatives for serious writing apps, noting that while Scrivener is a top choice, Typora offers a simple yet effective alternative with a hybrid markdown system and a sidebar for document organization. For habit tracking, Habitify is highlighted as a visually appealing option with features that allow users to analyze their habit-checking patterns. In the time tracking category, Timeular is introduced as an active time tracking solution with a physical device that lets users write tasks on its faces and track time effortlessly. The speaker also shares their personal email management tool, Front, which facilitates team collaboration on email responses and includes features like shared inboxes and automation.

🗣️ Team Communication and Cloud Sync Solutions

The speaker discusses alternatives to Slack for team communication, recommending Twist for its threaded communication approach that aims to reduce the information overload associated with real-time chat. Twist, developed by the creators of Todoist, calms the communication process by making threads the primary mode of interaction within channels. For cloud sync, Syncthing is presented as an open-source alternative to mainstream cloud services, syncing files directly between user devices without the use of third-party servers. Lastly, the speaker endorses Audible as a valuable resource for audiobooks, offering a vast library and exclusive originals, and invites viewers to try the service with a free trial and download.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Productivity app

A productivity app is a software tool designed to enhance personal or professional efficiency. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses various apps that aid in different aspects of productivity, such as task management and note-taking. The term is central to the video's theme, as it sets the stage for the subsequent discussion of specific app recommendations.

💡Secondary recommendation

This term refers to an alternative suggestion or choice that complements the primary recommendation. In the video, the speaker provides secondary recommendations for apps in various categories after realizing that the original video was too long. This concept is integral to the video's message, as it offers viewers additional options to consider based on their specific needs.

💡Todoist

Todoist is a popular to-do list app that helps users organize tasks and manage their time effectively. The video mentions Todoist as the primary recommendation for the to-do list category, highlighting its daily use by the speaker. It serves as an example of the type of app that can significantly contribute to personal productivity.

💡TickTick

TickTick is another to-do list app that the speaker mentions as a secondary recommendation. Unlike Todoist, TickTick includes features like a built-in calendar view, Pomodoro timer, and habit tracker. The mention of TickTick in the script illustrates the diversity of options available to users seeking to enhance their productivity.

💡Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a widely used online calendar service that allows users to schedule events and appointments. In the video, it is recommended as the primary choice for the calendar category due to its popularity and functionality. It is used as an example to contrast with the secondary recommendation, Woven, which offers additional features for meeting scheduling.

💡Woven

Woven is a relatively new app that integrates with Google Calendar to enhance the meeting scheduling process. It is introduced in the video as a secondary recommendation for the calendar category. Woven's features, such as polling and open calendar slots, are highlighted to show how it can be a valuable addition to Google Calendar for users with frequent meetings.

💡Project management

Project management refers to the process of planning, organizing, and overseeing projects from inception to completion. In the video, the speaker discusses apps that facilitate project management, such as ClickUp and Notion. The term is central to the video's theme as it represents a key aspect of productivity and organization in both personal and professional settings.

💡Trello

Trello is a project management app that uses a Kanban-style system, which involves organizing tasks into different lists based on their status. The video mentions Trello as a secondary recommendation for project management, emphasizing its utility in tracking the progress of various tasks within a project.

💡Evernote

Evernote is a note-taking app that allows users to capture, organize, and store information in various formats. The speaker mentions Evernote as their primary recommendation for note-taking apps due to its long-term use and extensive features. It exemplifies the type of app that can serve as a comprehensive repository for notes and ideas.

💡OneNote

OneNote is Microsoft's note-taking app, which is positioned as a secondary recommendation in the video. It is highlighted for its ability to embed various types of content, including videos, which is a feature that Evernote lacks. OneNote's mention underscores the video's exploration of alternative options for users with different preferences.

💡Habit tracker

A habit tracker is an app designed to help users form and maintain good habits over time. In the video, Habitica is mentioned as the primary recommendation, while Habitify is introduced as a secondary option for those who prefer a simpler interface. The concept of habit tracking is tied to the video's theme of enhancing productivity through the use of specialized apps.

💡Timeular

Timeular is a time tracking app that includes a physical device to facilitate the process of tracking time spent on various tasks. The video describes Timeular as a unique solution for active time tracking, emphasizing its physical aspect as a distinguishing feature from other digital time tracking apps.

💡Front

Front is an email management app that allows teams to collaborate on email correspondence. The speaker mentions Front as their personal choice for email management, highlighting its features for shared inboxes and team collaboration. It exemplifies the video's focus on productivity tools that cater to team environments.

💡Twist

Twist is a team communication app that emphasizes threaded conversations over real-time chat, which is a response to some of the issues users face with platforms like Slack. The video introduces Twist as a secondary recommendation for team chat, illustrating an alternative approach to team communication that prioritizes clarity and organization.

💡Syncthing

Syncthing is an open-source file synchronization app that operates directly between devices without relying on third-party servers. It is presented in the video as a unique option for cloud sync, emphasizing privacy and control over one's data. The mention of Syncthing ties into the video's exploration of diverse productivity solutions.

💡Audible

Audible is a platform for audiobook distribution, offering a vast library of titles for users to listen to. Although not strictly a productivity app, the speaker includes Audible as a tool that has helped them learn and expand their horizons. The inclusion of Audible in the video reflects the broader concept of personal development and continuous learning as part of productivity.

Highlights

The video provides secondary recommendations for the best productivity apps in 10 different categories.

Todoist is recommended as the primary to-do list app, with TickTick as a full-featured alternative including a calendar view, Pomodoro timer, and habit tracker.

Google Calendar is the main recommendation for the calendar category, with Woven as a new app for easier meeting scheduling.

Woven offers features like polling for meeting times, open calendar slots, and event templates to streamline the scheduling process.

Trello is suggested as a project management app using the Kanban method, with features like lists and cards for task tracking.

Notion is noted as a daily-used app by the speaker that replaces Trello's functionality except for centralized task assignment.

Evernote is the primary note-taking app, with OneNote as a free alternative that allows embedding videos.

OneNote's organization is criticized for lacking automatic sorting features compared to Evernote.

Scrivener is the top recommendation for serious writing apps, with Typora as a simpler alternative featuring a hybrid markdown system.

Habitica is the favorite habit tracker, with Habitify as an alternative for those who prefer a more straightforward design and UI.

Habitify offers features like streak visualization and time-of-day check-in data for habit analysis.

Timeular is introduced as an active time tracking app with a unique physical device for task tracking.

Front is recommended for team email management with features like shared inboxes and automated responses.

Twist is presented as an alternative to Slack, focusing on threaded communication to avoid information overload.

Syncthing is highlighted as an open-source cloud sync solution that doesn't rely on third-party servers.

Audible is mentioned as a valuable resource for audiobooks, with a special recommendation for 'Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup'.

A free 30-day trial of Audible is offered, including one free audiobook and two exclusive Audible originals.

Transcripts

play00:00

- So last week, I created a video

play00:01

that listed the best productivity app in my opinion

play00:04

in each of 10 different categories.

play00:07

And my original cut of that video

play00:09

actually had a second feature.

play00:11

In each of those categories,

play00:12

I was gonna give you a secondary recommendation

play00:14

to kind of compliment that first one,

play00:16

but there was a problem.

play00:18

With those secondary recommendations,

play00:20

that video ended up being 26 minutes long,

play00:22

which we thought was just a bit too long for an app roundup.

play00:26

So what I'm gonna do in this video

play00:28

is give you those secondary recommendations.

play00:31

A lot of people were asking for them in the comments

play00:32

and I think a lot of them do deserve to be mentioned.

play00:35

Now, these secondary recommendations aren't all the same.

play00:39

Some of them I think are legitimately

play00:40

the second best overall app in that category,

play00:44

only kind of coming up short to my main recommendation.

play00:47

Some of them are apps that I don't think are for everyone,

play00:49

but that I use personally

play00:51

and I just wanna mention those as well.

play00:53

And then, finally, some of the apps I'm gonna mention here

play00:55

are just apps that are cool.

play00:58

I think they deserve a mention.

play00:59

So let's get into it, starting, of course,

play01:01

with the to do list category.

play01:03

Now in my original video,

play01:04

I recommended an app called Todoist,

play01:06

which I personally use every single day,

play01:08

and the app that I wanna share with you now

play01:10

is called TickTick, which is very, very similar.

play01:13

In fact, for some people,

play01:14

TickTick is gonna be a lot more full-featured

play01:16

and is gonna be the one they wanna go for.

play01:18

TickTick includes a built-in calendar view,

play01:21

which Todoist does not have,

play01:23

and it also builds in a Pomodoro timer and a pretty basic,

play01:26

but still nicely functional, habit tracker.

play01:29

So if you're someone who wants to have your calendar,

play01:31

your habit tracker, your Pomodoro timer,

play01:33

and all of your to dos in one place,

play01:35

then TickTick is probably gonna be the app for you.

play01:38

That brings us to the calendar category

play01:39

and this one's gonna be a little bit different

play01:41

because my overall recommendation, Google Calendar,

play01:43

is definitely gonna be the play for most people here,

play01:46

but I want to give a shout out

play01:47

to a relatively new app called Woven.

play01:50

And Woven actually integrates with Google Calendar

play01:52

and kind of lives on top of it

play01:53

and it would be a nice upgrade

play01:55

for people who find themselves going to a lot of meetings

play01:59

and, hence, scheduling a lot of meetings.

play02:01

Google Calendar itself doesn't have a whole lot of features

play02:03

for easily scheduling meetings

play02:05

and a lot of people who use it

play02:06

find themselves building these crazy long email chains,

play02:09

going back and forth,

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trying to find times and places that work for them

play02:13

and the other people who they have to meet with.

play02:15

Now Woven tries to essentially solve this problem

play02:17

by offering a few different features.

play02:19

Number one, there is a polling feature,

play02:21

which allows people to pick the times

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and dates that work for them

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and it will kind of match everyone up

play02:25

and show the best possible time.

play02:27

There's also the ability to have open calendar slots

play02:30

on your calendar,

play02:30

where people can just pencil themselves into your schedule.

play02:33

And lastly, there are meeting templates,

play02:35

or I guess event templates,

play02:37

where if you have a lot of lunch meetings, say,

play02:39

you can have a template set up

play02:40

that has an already-set location,

play02:42

maybe an already-set time, maybe some details.

play02:45

That way you don't have to spend a bunch of time

play02:46

putting information into an event.

play02:48

You can just create it automatically.

play02:49

All right, let's talk about project management.

play02:52

Now in my last video, I kinda cheated on this category

play02:54

and did mention two different apps

play02:56

because I really like ClickUp but I had to mention Notion,

play02:59

since it is the project management app

play03:01

that I use every single day.

play03:03

So in this one,

play03:05

you're getting kind of a third recommendation

play03:07

for project management and that is going to be Trello.

play03:10

Now Trello is the project management app

play03:12

that I used before I learned about Notion

play03:14

and I used it for a really long time,

play03:16

ever since college actually.

play03:18

And with Trello,

play03:19

I was able to work with my business partner, Martin,

play03:21

to build the last two major design iterations

play03:23

of the College Info Geek website.

play03:25

And that's because Trello uses

play03:27

a project management philosophy

play03:29

in its design called Kanban.

play03:31

And in Kanban, you essentially have a bunch of lists

play03:34

that indicate different statuses of your project,

play03:36

like to do, doing, on hold, and done,

play03:39

and then you create cards for every individual task

play03:42

or facet of a project

play03:43

and you can move them between the lists

play03:45

to show at a glance what their status is.

play03:48

And using this Kanban structure made it really easy for us

play03:51

to keep track of every little piece of these projects,

play03:53

which were huge and had, at some times,

play03:56

hundreds of different pieces.

play03:57

Now one thing that I do want to note about Trello

play03:59

is that, at least for my purposes,

play04:01

I have found that Notion essentially replaces

play04:04

all of Trello's functionality,

play04:05

with the exception of being able

play04:07

to easily assign people to cards,

play04:09

assign multiple people to singular cards,

play04:12

and then give people a centralized dashboard

play04:14

where they can see all the cards they are assigned to

play04:16

across multiple different boards

play04:18

and to let them sort those cards by due date.

play04:21

Notion cannot do that so if you need that functionality,

play04:24

Trello's definitely a better solution than Notion.

play04:26

All right, that brings us to apps that let you take notes

play04:29

and in my original video, I talked about Evernote,

play04:31

which is the app I've been using

play04:32

for nearly a decade at this point because I am ancient.

play04:37

But the other app that I want to recommend in this video

play04:39

is one that is, I would say,

play04:42

nearly neck and neck with Evernote

play04:44

when it comes to features and overall capability

play04:46

and that is Microsoft's OneNote.

play04:48

Just like with Evernote,

play04:49

you can get all kinds of information into OneNote,

play04:52

audio files, pictures.

play04:54

You can actually embed videos into OneNote

play04:56

and that's something that Evernote can't do.

play04:58

So hey, Evernote team, if you're watching this video,

play05:00

can we get a video embed feature at some point?

play05:02

That'd be great.

play05:04

But one thing that I personally don't like about OneNote

play05:07

is the way that it organizes information.

play05:10

You can't automatically sort different notebooks,

play05:13

or I guess tabs of notebooks, by date modified,

play05:16

date created, alphabetically.

play05:17

You can only drag them and sort them manually,

play05:20

so I kind of like the way that Evernote

play05:22

gives me these sorting tools.

play05:23

That being said, OneNote is free

play05:25

so if Evernote's not your cup of tea, then OneNote might be.

play05:29

Okay, so let's talk for a bit about serious writing apps.

play05:31

For those of you who need to do book writing

play05:35

or really, really longform articles,

play05:36

what app should you use?

play05:38

Well, when it comes to comparisons online,

play05:40

everyone who seems to be into serious writing

play05:43

or book writing loves to compare Scrivener,

play05:45

which was my top recommendation in the last video,

play05:47

to an app called Ulysses.

play05:49

The only problem with Ulysses,

play05:50

which I happen to love, by the way,

play05:52

is that it is Mac and iOS-exclusive

play05:55

and because of that, I'm not gonna feature it here.

play05:57

Instead, I'm gonna feature another app that's a lot simpler

play06:00

but still really, really good called Typora.

play06:03

Now I've talked in my note taking apps video

play06:05

about apps that have a, what I call, hybrid markdown system,

play06:09

where instead of writing in plain text

play06:11

and then seeing a preview window of all your formatting,

play06:13

instead your text gets automatically formatted as you write

play06:17

when using markdown syntax,

play06:18

such as putting two asterisks on either side of a word

play06:21

to bold it.

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I love the fact

play06:24

that I can just easily put in these formatting commands

play06:26

and have my text be formatted and allow me to see

play06:29

how it's actually going to look as I write.

play06:32

Now there are a lot of apps that do this,

play06:33

including iA Writer and Byword,

play06:36

but why I love Typora over those apps

play06:38

is that you get this nice sidebar

play06:40

with all of your different documents.

play06:42

So you get a little bit of the functionality

play06:44

you get in an app like Evernote,

play06:45

not quite as much, but some of it,

play06:47

but you also get that beautiful

play06:48

hybrid markdown system as well.

play06:51

All right, so we are now over to habit trackers

play06:54

and like I said in my original video,

play06:55

my favorite habit tracker is Habitica,

play06:58

but a lot of people find Habitica

play07:00

to be a little bit too much.

play07:02

They're not super into the video game-y elements of it

play07:04

and, well, I really can't blame them.

play07:06

It's not for everyone.

play07:07

And, luckily, there are a lot of other apps out there

play07:10

that can fit the bill if Habitica isn't your cup of tea.

play07:13

The one that I want to feature here is called Habitify.

play07:16

Out of all the habit trackers that I've tested in the past,

play07:19

and I have tested a lot, I found Habitify

play07:21

to have the most pleasing visual design and UI.

play07:25

And in addition, it has some really cool features,

play07:27

such as the ability to see your streaks

play07:29

and to see the time of day

play07:31

that you typically check in for each habit.

play07:33

And being able to see that data can actually be very useful

play07:36

because you might be able to make tweaks

play07:37

to your daily routines or the times at which you do things

play07:40

based on when you find yourself doing things in the past.

play07:43

Now, time tracking is another category

play07:46

where I kind of, sort of cheated in my original video

play07:48

because I did have two different recommendations,

play07:50

so those are recommendations for active time tracking

play07:53

and passive time tracking.

play07:54

So my next recommendation for time tracking

play07:57

is going to sit squarely in that active category

play08:00

and it's kind of an odd one.

play08:02

It's called Timeular and it actually has a physical device

play08:05

that goes along with the app.

play08:07

So this is something that I've been meaning to test

play08:09

and I'm gonna do a full review on it at some point.

play08:11

But I gave it to my friend Martin to use for a few weeks

play08:13

and he said that he actually liked this better

play08:15

than other time tracking solutions

play08:17

and I've seen the same opinions

play08:19

from other people online that I follow.

play08:21

So, essentially, Timeular is an app

play08:22

that pairs with this little diamond-shaped

play08:25

plastic device here and on the diamond,

play08:28

you can actually write different tasks on each face.

play08:32

And then when you have the diamond on the desk

play08:34

with a flat side on the desk,

play08:37

whatever face is facing up

play08:39

is going to be tracked actively in the app.

play08:42

And then when you want to stop tracking,

play08:44

you can either switch to something else

play08:45

or you could put it in its holder

play08:46

and it'll just stand up like this.

play08:48

This gives you an actual physical device

play08:51

for tracking your time

play08:52

and a lot of people seem to like that better

play08:54

than having to remember to go into a specific window

play08:57

or website to start and stop their time tracking.

play08:59

So if that's something that seems interesting to you,

play09:02

you might want to check this out.

play09:02

And that brings us to email.

play09:04

Like I said in the last video,

play09:05

Gmail is my main recommendation for most people

play09:07

but I actually do not use Gmail,

play09:10

so I'm gonna tell you what the app

play09:11

that I use for email these days.

play09:13

It's called Front and the main benefit of this app

play09:16

is that it allows you to work with a team on your emails.

play09:20

In Front, you can create shared inboxes.

play09:23

You can have multiple email addresses come in

play09:24

to these shared inboxes.

play09:25

You can actually have other sources,

play09:27

like social media accounts, come in as well,

play09:28

but I mainly just use email.

play09:30

And then you can have team members

play09:32

answer your emails for you or assign them to you.

play09:36

So the way that I use Front

play09:37

is essentially I have a shared email inbox

play09:39

for my [email protected] email address

play09:42

and my assistant goes through

play09:43

and answers most of those emails.

play09:45

Now if she has a question,

play09:46

there's actually a comment area at the bottom

play09:48

of every email thread where she can tag me

play09:50

and ask how she should process it or get some details

play09:53

or ask any other questions that she might have.

play09:56

And then I can respond and over time,

play09:58

she gets better and better

play09:59

at answering different types of emails.

play10:00

And if there's something that I do have to answer,

play10:03

then she can simply assign it to me

play10:05

and I see it in my own personal inbox.

play10:08

There're also lots of rules and integrations

play10:10

and automations that you can do with Front.

play10:12

But I do have to say, Front is not cheap,

play10:14

I think we pay $60 a month for it,

play10:17

so you really have to get to a point in your business

play10:19

where it really makes sense

play10:21

for team members to be answering emails,

play10:23

instead of just one person.

play10:24

But if that's you, Front can be really, really nice.

play10:27

Speaking of teams, we are now over to team chat

play10:30

and in the last video, I talked about Slack.

play10:32

Today I'm going to feature an app

play10:34

that is sort of the antithesis to Slack,

play10:37

or an answer to some of the problems with Slack,

play10:39

and that's an app called Twist.

play10:40

And Twist was actually made by the people who make Todoist

play10:42

and they developed this app

play10:44

as kind of a response to Slack's realtime chat nature.

play10:48

They felt, as many people do,

play10:50

that the whole realtime chat nature of Slack

play10:53

makes people kind of feel like they're missing out

play10:55

and it can also make really important information

play10:57

get buried in threads of kind of just inane conversation.

play11:01

So instead of just having channels

play11:03

with a realtime chat happening within each channel,

play11:05

Twist has threads.

play11:07

And I will say, Slack does have threads as well,

play11:09

but, again, those threads get buried.

play11:11

It's not very easy to find them.

play11:13

With Twist, it's a lot calmer.

play11:15

There are channels

play11:15

but then the default mode of communication

play11:17

within every channel is a thread.

play11:20

And that brings us to our final category on this list,

play11:23

which is cloud sync, that category of apps

play11:25

that keeps your files synced and up-to-date

play11:27

across all of your devices,

play11:29

which I think is a really, really useful thing to have.

play11:32

Now, I could recommend

play11:34

one of the mainstream competitors to Google Drive,

play11:36

which was my main recommendation in that previous video,

play11:38

like Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, iCloud,

play11:42

but I want to feature different instead.

play11:46

I want to point your attention

play11:47

to something called Syncthing.

play11:48

Now Syncthing is unique in this space

play11:51

because it doesn't actually sync your files

play11:54

to a third-party server.

play11:55

It's simply an app

play11:56

that runs on each of your different computers

play11:59

and keeps your files synced on those computers

play12:02

and those computers alone.

play12:03

So if you're the kind of person

play12:04

who doesn't want to be uploading your files

play12:06

to a third-party company's server,

play12:08

you just want to keep your stuff on your devices

play12:10

and your devices alone,

play12:11

then Syncthing might be something to look into.

play12:13

And to boot, it is open source.

play12:16

Now there is one final app that I do want to mention here,

play12:18

even though it is not strictly a productivity app,

play12:21

but it is an app that I've been using for years

play12:23

and it has definitely helped me to expand my horizons

play12:25

and to keep learning on a daily basis and that is Audible.

play12:29

Audible is the best place in the world

play12:30

to get your hands on audiobooks,

play12:32

which I listen to almost every single day.

play12:35

And Audible, again, is the best place to get them

play12:37

because they have an unmatched library

play12:39

with all the best sellers, tons of obscure titles,

play12:41

and basically anything you're gonna want.

play12:43

If you want biographies, they've got it.

play12:45

If you want sci-fi titles, they've got it.

play12:47

And if you want my recommendation for this month,

play12:49

which is Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies

play12:51

In A Silicon Valley Startup, they have that as well.

play12:54

And I'm recommending this audiobook

play12:55

because it's just probably the audiobook

play12:58

that I enjoyed listening to the most in recent months.

play13:02

This is the story of Theranos,

play13:03

which was a startup in Silicon Valley

play13:05

that had a lot of controversy and fraud

play13:08

and tons of allegations brought up against it.

play13:09

And I just found the audiobook absolutely riveting.

play13:13

And it also spawned a bunch of other ones

play13:15

that I wanted to listen to as well.

play13:17

And the best part is that you can start listening

play13:19

to this audiobook, or any other audiobook of your choosing,

play13:22

by going over to audible.com/thomas

play13:24

or by texting Thomas to 500-500 on your phone.

play13:28

Doing that is gonna get you a free 30-day trial

play13:29

of Audible service

play13:30

that comes with one free audiobook download

play13:32

from their entire library,

play13:34

you can choose whatever you want,

play13:35

and it also gets you two Audible originals

play13:37

that you cannot get anywhere else.

play13:39

Then once you're a member, you get a credit each month

play13:41

for one new audiobook from that library,

play13:43

plus two more Audible originals each and every month

play13:45

and access to a huge library

play13:47

of workout and meditation programs.

play13:49

Plus if you decide to quit at any time,

play13:50

you get to keep your library of audiobooks forever.

play13:53

They never go away.

play13:54

So once again, to get that free 30-day trial of Audible,

play13:57

one free audiobook download of your choosing

play13:59

and two Audible originals that you can't get anywhere else,

play14:02

go over to audible.com/thomas

play14:03

or text Thomas to 500-500 on your phone.

play14:07

Big thanks, as always, to Audible for sponsoring this video

play14:09

and being a big supporter of my channel

play14:11

and thank you as well for watching.

play14:13

If you enjoyed this video, get subscribed right there,

play14:15

hit that like button, and also click right there

play14:16

to get a free copy of my book on how to earn better grades,

play14:19

if you haven't done so already.

play14:20

Last but not least,

play14:21

you can find a couple more videos on this channel

play14:23

right here and right here

play14:24

and I will see you in the next one.

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Productivity AppsTask ManagementTo-Do ListCalendar ToolsProject ManagementNote TakingHabit TrackerTime TrackingEmail ManagementTeam CollaborationCloud SyncingAudiobooksLearning ToolsApp RecommendationsTech ReviewWorkflow EfficiencyEducational Resources
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