‍For most digital product studios, boosting productivity has become more focused on squishing an elephant of a to-do list into an ever shrinking room. That means seeking out every opportunity to get more done in less time. Hacks! Multi-tasking!

‍But app developers juggling 67 productivity tips can easily end up distracting you from the important stuff. Like accomplishing goals and recouping mental energy. You know, all the good stuff we’re after when we say we want to be more productive. Kafka may have been onto something…

Our Launchbase app developers have picked 7 of their favourite productivity tools (the kind that give your brain a breather) keep our London app developers on track.

‍1. WorkFlowy

‍Think of WorkFlowy as the most organised rabbit hole in the history of all humankind for app developers. Scared? Don’t be. The interface offers simple nesting to-do lists for your desktop or your phone. You can use WorkFlowy to manage small tasks (like a grocery list) and large projects (like a family reunion) alike during our app developer’s day to run our Launchbase digital product studio effectively.

‍Other cool features include the option to share your list(s) with others and assign due dates to tasks.

Less complicated than some to-do list London apps and more robust than a pad of paper, WorkFlowy is task and project management at its finest.

‍2. Timer Tab
‍

Ever been tasked with a app development project so big it made you feel like you want to throw up your hands and eat a pizza instead? Me too. But most of the time, it’s the scope of the project that keeps you paralysed rather than the actual difficulty of the individual tasks at hand. Timer Tab helps set your productivity light to green (aaaand Go!) if you’re procrastinating or pushing off a project or to-do list item. What is it? Simply put: a timer.

‍Breaking your goal down into small, timed tasks (and taking breaks in-between) is an excellent way to manage your time and break up big hulking projects into more manageable chunks. Knocking out 10 minutes of work for our app developers at a time can seem a little easier than fretting over the hours of work ahead.

For anyone who’s experimented with the Pomodoro Technique, Timer Tab is a quick and easy option for timing tasks.

‍

3. Limitless
‍

Limitless is a Chrome extension that logs our app developer’s activity where you’ve spent your time online. It’s a little like having an accountability buddy for your online time. Beyond keeping our Launchbase digital product studio honest about your Reddit browsing hours, the tool also offers features like a notepad to tally ideas and a section to set goals for the day (and year). Bonus: Limitless tracks your info on an appealing browser background. It’s a simple yet effective way to manage your time and your tasks without opening a separate application.

‍For anyone who’s ever used the Momentum Chrome App, Limitless offers a similar experience with a few more features.

‍

4. Noizio
‍

Open digital product studios are becoming the norm for startups and companies, but sometimes you just need a little rain and thunder to drown out the sound of all the creative ideas being thrown around. Noizio provides basic ambient sounds to transport your mind to a land far removed from the office chatter.

‍*Warning* Empty your bladder before turning on. There are many rain cloud sounds.

‍Honorable mention: Coffitivity, a sound app for ambient cafe noise.

‍5. Pocket
‍

Pocket is an easy bookmarking app that integrates easily into Chrome.

Pocket’s a little like a security blanket for the curious app developer in us all. Instead of falling prey to the link bait, you can save links to your pocket account and organize links for later reading. The real beauty of Pocket is the wealth of reads you build up for your commute home.

‍When you don’t really have time to go through all your new finds, Pocket them. When you feel the call of yet another WSJ article, resist the link sinkhole… Pocket it.

‍