12 Must-Have macOS Productivity Apps to Boost Your Daily Workflow

It’s important to maximize productivity in the fast-paced digital world of today. Fortunately, macOS has a wide range of potent tools that can speed up your productivity and enable you to complete jobs more quickly. These 12 essential macOS productivity apps are created to improve daily use and increase productivity, whether you’re a student, professional, or creative person.

Alfred

You can rapidly search for files, start applications, run system commands, and create custom workflows with Alfred, a superb application launcher and productivity tool. With its customizable hotkeys and extensive integration capabilities, Alfred becomes an indispensable tool for saving time and easily navigating your Mac.

For me, Alfred is a tool that at this point is essential to the Mac OS operating system. It would be really hard to go back to a life without the shortcuts and functionality it enables.

Magnet

Magnet is the ideal window management application for you if you frequently work with several windows. You can use keyboard shortcuts that you can customize to quickly organize and arrange the windows on your desktop. Magnet maximizes multitasking and raises your overall productivity by snapping windows to particular regions of the screen.

Nothing has given me more usage out of $2 than Magnet, in my opinion. For months, the Mac software has been an essential part of my workflow, assisting me in maintaining constant order and control in my workplace. Chaos would ensue if it disappeared overnight.

Bear

Bear is a powerful note-taking tool with a simple design and strong organizational features. With support for markdown formatting, tags, and hierarchical organization, Bear makes writing down and organizing your ideas, to-do lists, and other thoughts simple. It becomes even more practical when synced across devices.

In conclusion, Bear is a great choice for anyone looking for a reliable and user-friendly notetaking app. With its range of features, ease of use, and affordable pricing, Bear is a great option for writers, students, and professionals who need to keep track of their ideas and research on a daily basis. If you’re in the market for a new note-taking app, be sure to give Bear a try

Trello

Trello is a well-known project management and collaboration tool that lets you visually organize and keep track of your work using boards, lists, and cards. You may set deadlines, assign tasks, develop workflows, and engage with team members in real time. Trello is a preferred tool for project management and task tracking because of its flexible interface and user-friendly design.

Trello’s simplicity is one of the main factors in my enthusiasm for it. It has almost little learning curve when first used and is simple to operate. However, you can employ a variety of features to increase the functionality of the platform. It provides precisely the proper amount of power without compromising its claim to fame, from Butler automation to Power-Ups and integrations. You can develop automation that spans all of your tools by incorporating Slack, Google Drive, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams into your Trello workflows using Power-Ups. Power-Ups for file management, communication, analytics and reporting, and more are available inside Trello. A basic Trello board can be improved with the help of these additional features.

Paste

paste is a clipboard manager that organizes and keeps your copied objects so you can access them whenever you need to. It does away with the inconvenience of frequently jumping between apps to locate copied content. By saving time and keeping your clipboard tidy, Paste increases your productivity. It has search functionality, tagging, and cross-device syncing.

It has become my go-to clipboard manager. The app’s visual design makes it very easy to find the thing you want to paste and also makes it seem good. The option to just begin entering your search query makes it incredibly simple to utilize when exploring further back in your clipboard history.

Spark

Spark is a smart, feature-rich email client that improves your ability to manage your inbox. It provides a smart inbox, editable email templates, and intelligent notifications. Spark revolutionizes the way you manage emails by introducing built-in email delegation and collaboration capabilities that make your inbox more effective and manageable. Here are some Pros and Cons of Spark.

PROS

• Fast cross-platform email client
• Great keyboard shortcuts and command bar
• Supports Gmail and IMAP/SMTP
• Offers scheduled emails, reminders, and built-in email filtering

CONS

• No Linux or web version

Focus

In an era filled with distractions, Focus is a productivity app that helps you stay focused and eliminate digital interruptions. It blocks distracting websites and apps during work or study sessions, enabling you to concentrate on the task at hand. With customizable schedules and timed breaks, Focus promotes a more productive workflow.

I usually don’t care about prices when it comes to productivity software. Minimally writing software Focused is overpriced considering what it does. Although it’s somewhat functional, there are many alternative Mac programs that can accomplish more tasks for less money. Here are some pros and cons of Focus.

PROS

• Includes several audio tracks for white noise and calming music.
• Supports Markdown.
• Simple interface.
• Easy to use.

CONS

• No library, collaboration features, mobile apps, or PDF preview.
• Emojis are distracting.

1Password

In today’s digital world, securely managing passwords is very important, and 1Password is the best option for your credit card information, login information, and other sensitive data to be all stored safely, and it can create strong passwords. Accessing your accounts is a breeze with 1Password’s autofill feature and multi-device sync.

There are many who agree that 1Password is a good password manager because it has all the features you’d anticipate in addition to a few more. It supports all operating systems and gadgets, is really easy to set up, and enables you to establish several password vaults. Two-factor authentication (2FA), autosave, and autofill functions are all included in 1Password. The vaults can also be used to store documents and security notes, making it a genuinely flexible software package. Here are some pros and cons of 1Password.

Pros

• Works with all devices and operating systems
• Dark web monitoring
• 1 GB of encrypted file storage
• Clipboard customization
• Virtual payment cards

Cons

• No free plan
• No one-click password updates
• No phone or live chat support
• No password-inheritance feature

Fantastical

Fantastical is a beautiful and user-friendly calendar tool that aids with scheduling. You can easily create events and reminders with its natural language parsing capability, and it interacts with other well-liked productivity applications like Todoist, Trello, and Google Calendar. Scheduling is simple with Fantastical thanks to its intuitive design and strong functionality.

Fantastical is quick, flexible, and responsive. It gathers calendar events from other sources, including iCloud and Google, and organizes them together. When “remind…” is typed into the smart appointment text field, the app will convert the content that follows into a reminder rather than a calendar item. Fantastical (Opens in a new window) has a number of shortcomings that prevent you from using it as a truly useful software in your life, despite all its positive aspects.

Hazel

On your Mac, Hazel automates file management and organization. Based on the unique rules you establish, it can automatically sort, rename, and tag files. With Hazel, you can maintain a clutter-free file system, organize your downloads folder, eliminate pointless items, and save a ton of time and work.

What I appreciate about Hazel is that it’s simple to set up, which most people don’t notice. The majority of lessons, on the other hand, will either make you feel stupid or give you a headache since you won’t grasp how this wonderful thing functions. In reality, generating rules is quite simple and involves selecting a destination folder and the rules from a dropdown menu (Hazel is located in System Preferences as a preference; the interface is tabbed and allows you to switch between “Folders” and “Trash”; see screenshots). Hazel is still fairly user-friendly out of the box, even though you may enter advanced mode and build the most intricate rules you can imagine. Hazel is sophisticated software, but don’t let that deceive you into thinking it’s solely for “advanced users” In fact, anyone can install it and start using it right away with the default set of rules. Once you become comfortable with the application and the rules you may set, it will undoubtedly turn into a potent tool for complex jobs, such as automatic.avi to.mp4 conversion using an Automator workflow that also simultaneously moves the converted file to iTunes and external storage. That kind of thing is feasible, and you’d be astonished to learn that setting it up isn’t quite as difficult as it seems. I’m quite happy with the “start easy, go super-nerd-yet-simple” strategy thus far.

Things 3

Things 3 is a beautifully designed task manager that helps you prioritize and track your to-do lists effectively. Its clean and intuitive interface, along with features like tags, projects, and deadlines, allows you to stay on top of your tasks and accomplish your goals efficiently. Here are some Pros and Cons of Things 3.

PROS

• Designed well and uncluttered
• One-time purchase rather than a subscription
• Calendar view with calendar integration

CONS

• No collaboration features, location-based reminders, or web app
• Only compatible with Apple products
• No free version
• Weak natural language input

Notion

And last but not least NOTION. It’s one of my favourite tools ever, I have been using Notion for 5 years. And this is the only app that helped me manage my business in the best way.
Notion is a versatile all-in-one workspace that combines notes, documents, databases, and project management tools. Its flexibility and powerful collaboration features make it ideal for organizing personal and professional projects, taking meeting notes, and creating knowledge bases. Notion adapts to your workflow, providing a centralized hub for all your productivity needs.

Notion is a game-changer when it comes to productivity and collaboration 10/1000. Its versatile and intuitive interface makes it a breeze to create and organize content, while its collaborative features enhance teamwork and communication. Whether you’re working on a personal project or collaborating with a team, Notion’s flexibility and user-friendly design make it a standout tool.

Here are some Productivity Notion templates I have created after using the notion for five years. I gather all the important and useful elements in one place so that nobody has to waste their time creating templates by themselves.

1. Personal Dashboard: A personalized dashboard to manage your goals, tasks, and habits all in one place. Track your daily, weekly, and monthly progress, set reminders, and prioritize your tasks.
2. The study planner: A template in Notion that’s designed to help you organize and track your studying activities, set goals, and manage your academic workload efficiently.
3. Project Management [P.A.R.A]: Notion template for project management to organize and track the progress of your projects. Include task lists, timelines, project goals, and team collaboration features. But it’s all in one template based on
   [Project.Area.Resources.Archive] theme, Not only your business and projects, but you can also manage your personal life including everything from your groceries to movie lists.

With the help of these 12 essential macOS productivity tools, you can speed up your regular activities and work more effectively. These programs are made to streamline your procedures and increase your overall efficiency. From opening applications and controlling windows to taking notes, managing passwords, and organizing projects. Experience a more organized and effective macOS experience by incorporating them into your everyday routine.