Best Productivity Tools for Small Businesses in 2023

productivity tools
Table of Contents

    Introduction

    Being productive never comes by chance. You need to be committed and put in the effort. The best productivity apps can improve your business’s productivity. Today, we will look at each of these tools and what features they have.

    In this article, we will discuss the best productivity apps in 2023 you need to start using right now for your small business.

    Key Takeaways

    • Productivity apps are software that simplifies tasks, streamlines workflow, and comes with features that allow you to create graphs and charts for projects, access documents easily, visualize project planning, and collaborate with people.  
    • Staying productive when carrying out many projects can be a hassle, which is why the best productivity tools are necessary to use in your business. 
    • The best productivity tools provide a simple way to improve efficiency among teams, both in the office and remotely.
    • The main features of productivity apps focus on collaboration, time management, distraction management, and project management.

    The features of the best productivity apps in 2023 can be divided into project management, distraction management, marketing management, communication and collaboration management, meeting management, time tracking management, writing/note-taking, and health management tools. The following are some tools based on each of these features:

    1. Project management tools
    2. Distraction management tools
    3. Marketing management tools
    4. Communication and Collaboration tools
    5. Meeting management tools
    6. Time tracking tools
    7. Writing/ Note-taking tools
    8. Health management tools

    Project Management Tools

    nTask

    Staying productive with a lot of work can be intimidating, but you can streamline the process with a task management tool like nTask. nTask is an all-in-one online project management tool that helps you stay on track with your projects, visualize your progress and so much more.

    Some of the top task management features of nTask are:

    • A time tracker and employee timesheet
    • To-do lists
    • Team collaboration
    • Meeting tools to create agendas, discussions, and follow-up points.

    ProofHub

    This all-in-one online project management tool helps keep projects organized, improves collaboration and communication among team members, and increases productivity. It is a platform for your projects and other work-related information.

    Some of the key features of ProofHub include:

    • A platform that allows you to have control over tasks
    • Effective communication and collaboration tools 
    • A tracker to check how long you spend on tasks
    • An organizing tool that simplifies and organizes workflow

    GanttPro

    It is not always easy for you and your small team to be on the same page during projects. Once one party is not aware of important information about the project, things can go south. With GanttPro chart software, you make sure your team keeps track of projects. Gantt chart provides team members with a picture of how a project is going. Thanks to this collaboration feature, nothing is lost.

    Other features of GanttPro are:

    • Deadline management
    • Task assignment and management
    • Time logs for tasks, calendars, etc.
    • Sharing and export of project files

    Distraction Management Tools

    Freedom

    It can be hard to focus on a lot of things at once when working on a project. There can be distractions from your phone that will delay your productivity. Freedom is software that helps you manage distractions. With this app, you can block social media alerts, websites, and other distractions so that you can focus on your project. This software does even more than this, it can block websites on multiple devices, so you won’t pick up your phone because your desktop is blocked.

    Some of the features of Freedom include:

    • Blocking whatever distractions from your devices
    • Sync blocks across Windows, iPhone, iPad, and other devices
    • Plans out block sessions to occur daily or weekly

    Focus Booster

    The focus booster app works based on the Pomodoro Technique. This technique is a time management method that is based on 25-minute stretches of focused work divided by 5-minute breaks. The app helps you to remain focused and keep distractions in check. 

    Some of the key features of Focus Booster include:

    • Encouraging you to have better work habits
    • Improves focus
    • Works on any device

    Self-Control

    This is a free, open-source app for macOS devices that blocks access to distracting emails, websites, or anything else online. You can set the time you wish to block distractions and click start. Throughout the time you set, you won’t be able to access distracting apps or websites. Even if you switch off your phone or delete the application, the timer will keep functioning.

    The top features of Self-control are:

    • Improving focus
    • Reducing social media addiction
    • Balancing work-life

    Brain.fm

    This is a popular productivity app that uses music as a brain simulation. Brain.fm unlocks the potential for music to influence your cognitive states. The product owner keeps working with neuroscientists to improve the function of the software.

    Some features of the Brain.fm are:

    • Designed to provide results within a few minutes
    • Beneficial to improve focus, meditation, and sleep
    • Improves work-life balance

    Marketing Management Tools

    HubSpot’s Marketing Hub

    This is an all-in-one marketing collaboration software that helps to launch and manage your marketing campaigns. This software helps to control your customer’s sales journey and improve your interactions with them.

    Some features of this app include:

    • Synchronization of data between the marketing and sales team
    • Automation software for email and social media management
    • Contact database and management
    • Integrations of tools with no-code

    Traackr

    This is an effective influencer marketing management tool. If you want to know which influencers are driving the best engagements or campaigns, Traackr helps you to deduce this information. You can also use this app to find the best influencers in your niche and compare their price, portfolio, and benchmarks when making a choice.

    Some top features of Traackr are:

    • All-in-one influencer management tool
    • Offers collaboration features with team members
    • Allows you to find experienced influencers in your niche

    Zoho

    Zoho is an all-purpose tool that offers different marketing solutions. It offers legal, analytics, sales, and other automation features. Zoho also allows integrations with other necessary software.

    Some key features of Zoho include:

    • Social media management tools
    • Landing page and website creation templates
    • Interactive surveys

    Clean Email

    One thing that can affect our productivity is a cluttered email inbox. Clean email provides a remedy for this by helping users manage emails easily and effectively by deleting multiple emails simultaneously, blocking spam, and unsubscribing from unnecessary subscriptions. This app also has an Auto Clean feature to prevent inbox clutter..

    Some of the top features are:

    • Bulk email organization
    • Categorization of emails
    • Unsubscribing from newsletter
    • Block spams

    Communication and Collaboration Tools

    Slack

    This is one of the best team collaboration apps that improves communication between teams. Slack allows you to integrate other productivity apps you use every day like Trello, Google Drive, Dropbox, and others.

    Some of the key features of Slack are:

    • Reminders
    • Chatting and Team communications
    • Prioritizing important messages

    Chanty

    This is a fast team communication tool for all business niche industries. With Chanty, you can contact your teammates in public, and private groups, and one-on-one communication. This app has a team book menu that allows you to keep all your messages, tasks, files, and links in order of importance. There are third-party integrations that take your productivity to a whole new level. Also, you can communicate with your team instantly and send important messages through voice calls and messaging. 

    Some of the top features of Chanty are:

    • In-built task manager
    • Third-party integrations
    • Free message history
    • File sharing

    Bit.ai

    One of productivity’s biggest killers is the use of many productivity apps. It is not easy to keep track of each tool you use as multiple tools serve different functions you will need to improve your productivity. Shuffling from one tool to the other can be a hassle, which is why you need an all-purpose tool that puts all productivity needs in one platform! Bit.ai is the ultimate tool.

    Bit.ai brings all your business documentation, files, and knowledge to one platform. It helps your team collaborate, share, manage, and track important information. Some of the key features include:

    • Collaboration and communication on the go with team members
    • Documents from team research, personal notes, or customer content can be shared and tracked using intelligent analytics.
    • Storage of all media files in one platform 

    Meeting Management Tools

    Zoom

    This provides an online video conferencing solution through cloud computing. It is a powerhouse meeting tool that allows more than 500 participants to collaborate with ease.

    Some of the key features include:

    • High-quality audio
    • HD video
    • Screen sharing
    • Free and pro plans

    Skype

    Skype is one of the popular video conferencing software that has made communication over video calls easier than ever. In recent times, Skype has gotten more features that improve video meetings more than ever.

    Some of the top features of Skype are:

    • Share photos, emojis, and messages during meetings
    • Rich video features that improve video conferencing settings
    • Call landline and mobile numbers at affordable rates

    GoToMeeting

    This is a simple video conferencing tool that allows you to convert your online meeting into conferencing calls. You can schedule meetings and share your screens.

    Other features of GoToMeeting include:

    • Dynamic video-conferencing
    • Screen sharing
    • Simple answer calls
    • HD video 

    Time Tracking Tools

    Toggl

    It is a simple-to-use time-tracking software that helps you manage and track projects. It comes with third-party apps for integration that help increase its efficiency. Some of the features of Toggl include:

    • Offline time tracking
    • Mobile functions
    • Reports directly sent to project managers
    • Overview of your team’s progress

    Harvest

    This is one of the best time-tracking software. You can track your projects on any platform, whether it is on the web, on your smartphone, or another app. Some of the features include:

    • A simple and intuitive platform
    • Provides insights on projects with powerful reporting

    Everhour

    With a lot of features, Everhour is a simple time-tracking app that helps businesses reach their goals faster. It provides precise estimates of a project timeline and ensures that you are on track in completing the task. Other features of Everhour include:

    • Seamless third-party integration
    • Multiple time formatting
    • Manual time entries
    • Reporting

    Writing/Note-Making Tools

    Evernote

    The best writing tool acts like a second brain and enables you to remember important details about a project or other personal matters. It is a reliable tool that helps you stay organized and productive. With this app, you can organize and share important notes from any place in the world.

    Some of the features of Evernote include:

    • Adding links, audio recordings, and attachments
    • Scan information from business cards
    • Mobile and web compatible

    OneNote

    This is a digital note app that works effectively on any device. It helps you to type, write, or draw on it. OneNote comes in handy when writing impromptu notes. All you have to do is open the OneNote app, create a new page, and start writing.

    Some of the top features of OneNote are:

    • Audio and Video recording
    • Real-time collaboration with others
    • Optical Character Recognition from Images

    Health Management Tools

    MyFitnessPal

    To improve your productivity, you need to be at your optimum health level. MyFitnessPal is a simple calorie counter app that helps you monitor your health. Also, you can have access to a large calorie and nutrition database.

    Some of the key features are:

    • Promotes healthy eating habits
    • Web and mobile auto-sync
    • Weight loss programs

    Yoga Studio

    This includes 65 ready-made yoga classes you can view wherever you go. You can choose your level, duration, and focus strength to find the best class for you. Some of the features of the Yoga studio include:

    • 25 hours of HD classes
    • Good for both beginners and experts 
    • Yoga classes by a renowned yoga instructor, Rodney Yee 

    Conclusion

    The right productivity apps in 2023 solve critical issues and improve your business efficiency. As a team leader, you need to find tools that are not only easy to integrate but will improve the overall workflow of your business. Whether you use marketing tools to improve conversion efforts or writing tools to improve your concentration and productivity, the right tools will always get the job done. With everyone collaborating efficiently on a project and being productive, you can focus on other important things like managing your team and meeting sales deadlines.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Which productivity tool should I go for?

    When deciding on which productivity tool to go for, you need to consider what your productivity needs are and which platforms are available to fill that need. If your needs are basic, you might need to go for a free app that provides what you need but if you have advanced needs like a collaboration tool, project management tool, or an all-purpose productivity tool, you will need a high-end platform that will cater for all your needs.

    How much does productivity software cost?

    The more people your business has, the higher the cost. That being said, all the apps in this list come with a free plan with a lot of functionality at no cost. The prices for the paid plan can start from $5 per month and above, depending on the number of users.