The best smartphone productivity apps

When the history books are written, they will divide the early 21st century into two distinct parts – pre- and post-coronavirus.

We’re only just beginning to identify the profound changes this virus could wreak on our lives, from the abandonment of entire industries to radical changes in working practices.

Millions of people had their first taste of home working throughout the lockdown.

And for many, it’s called into question the logic of expensive and stressful daily commutes, in the name of emailing and IMing fellow office-workers.

However, home working poses drawbacks, too.

There’s a greater sense of isolation, with less scope to spark ideas off people. Plus, it’s often hard to manage workloads without impromptu delegation or chats with colleagues.

Fortunately, the internet is a great leveller.

All these actions (and many more besides) can be replicated or substituted with smartphone productivity apps, creating the ultimate mobile office wherever you are.

Couldn’t I just use desktop apps?

In many cases, yes. However, desktop computers are hardwired into a specific location, while even laptops require two hands and a level surface to use.

Conversely, smartphones are practically spot-welded to our hips, going wherever we go.

And although this blurs the boundaries between work life and home life, a few out-of-hours tasks are a small price to pay for escaping the drudgery of commuting.

And office politics. And formal dress codes. And vending machine ‘coffee’ that tastes more like tea than coffee.

And having to wait half an hour to cook your packet risotto because someone from accounts has put a baked potato in the only microwave oven in the canteen…

Essential smartphone productivity apps

These are some of the apps you should download if working from home is going to become your new nine-to-five.

Each is available on both Android and iOS, replicating key aspects of workplace functionality:

1. Microsoft 365. Still known by its former name of Office, 365 provides full control over Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents – plus the outstanding Outlook email package.
2. Google Drive. If 365 is the king, Drive is the heir to the throne. It bundles 15GB of cloud storage with the user-friendly Docs and Sheets, a PDF reader and a note-taking app.
3. Zoom. Few people had heard of Zoom before March, but this freemium video calling tool is an essential download. It’s simpler than Skype, and generally very reliable.
4. Trello. Miniaturising the desktop site’s visual élan, Trello is one of the best smartphone productivity apps. It’s great for organising and managing projects step by step.
5. Slack. While Trello is effectively a giant corkboard, Slack is more of a full productivity suite, allowing teams to work on projects together. Clients include Oracle and Airbnb.
6. Dropbox. In the age of cloud storage, Dropbox leads the way for sharing documents and files with other people. It’s quick and dependable, with a high level of user trust.
7. Hootsuite. Beloved by creatives the world over, Hootsuite allows social media content to be pre-scheduled weeks in advance, with every social platform controlled in one place.
8. Otter Voice Notes. Smartphones are great for ad hoc brainstorming, but tiny keyboards are fiddly. Otter’s AI-powered voice transcription app has excellent interpretation skills.
9. LastPass. It’s easier to remember passwords on PCs and Macs than smartphones. LastPass provides one web portal to access them all, storing multiple secure site logins.
10. Jump Desktop. Finally, for situations where a C-drive document or desktop program is needed, Jump lets Android and iOS users remotely access a PC or Mac via WiFi or 3G.