Best Productivity Tools and Gadgets for 2024

If you’re struggling with productivity, you won’t be by the end of this piece. This list will give you some of the best productivity tools, gadgets as well as apps to turn you into a productivity maniac.

Just to be clear, when I say “productivity”, I mean tools & gadgets that will reduce the time required to complete tasks and motivate you to complete more tasks.

Yes, most of the apps listed here are free. The gadgets you may need to buy but hey, if you’re saving time, you’re technically saving money, aren’t you. 

VPN 

A VPN is generally known as a security/anonymity tool. However, it enhances productivity by unlocking any websites that may be blocked in your region. This saves you all the frustration of trying to unlock it, or find alternatives. VPN Chrome also ensures your activities can not be linked back to you. VPNs also sometimes feature an in-built ad-blocker which saves you time as you don’t have to close automated popups and new tabs that launch themselves. 

Time and task management apps 

There are dozens of tools that let you set deadlines, manage task progress, assign tasks to other colleagues and so on. Using such apps keeps you accountable while also creating a sense of urgency. Forest (really fun), Todoist and Toggl are some of my favourite ones that I use.

Smart personal assistants 

The world still doesn’t use Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri or other AI tools as best as it should. Start dictating notes, setting alarms, deadlines, calling people; basically, use smart personal assistants more. They actually save a lot of time, don’t require a lot of investment and help keep your brain clutter-free. Using smart accessories such as smartwatches from feature-rich brands such as Garmin /health monitors/fitness bands is a pretty good idea as well. 

Noise-cancelling earphones 

The human brain is fickle. It often gets distracted by the slightest of noises. Noise cancelling earphones are some of the best ways to keep you focused. If you don’t wish to spend a fortune on a premium earphone, here’s a trick. Get a decent mobile earphone off Amazon for about $10.00. Then, keep playing low ambient/productivity music in the background through your earphones. The additional sound increases the earphone’s noise cancelling capabilities while also keeping you productive.  

Wireless chargers 

How do these boost productivity you ask? Getting up from your desk to charge your device breaks off your focus. At times, you may have to wait for your device to charge before you can resume work if your charging plug isn’t near your workstation. 

Hydration tracking water bottles 

Your physical well-being massively impacts your ability to work and focus. Keeping yourself hydrated is one of the best ways to boost productivity. You can get one of these hydration tracking bottles that remind you when it’s time to drink water and tell you how much you’ve drunk. I personally use the Hidrate Spark but you’re free to use any other bottle that fits the bill.

Glasses that block blue light 

You lose focus when you feel tired or irritated. The blue light emitted by screens puts a lot of stress on your eyes which tires you and makes you lose focus. This is why you need blockers that prevent the blue light from causing you damage. These are ultra cheap but the ROI on these is massive. 

Height-adjustable desk 

Sitting down, despite being immensely popular, isn’t the only way you can work. In fact, without proper breaks, sitting throughout the entire day gives rise to multiple health issues. It’s best to get a height-adjustable desk that lets you adjust the height and change your posture if you want to. 

Mind mapping apps 

These are technically productivity apps but with a very specific and extremely rewarding function. Use mind mapping apps/platforms to fully visualise your entire goal, right from the inception of the idea to its production. Productivity definitely gets boosted when you’ve a roadmap to your success laid out, doesn’t it? Xmind is something I personally like to use.

Curved and comfortable monitors 

If you’re a digital professional, you’d be spending the majority of your time on your screen. The glasses I discussed earlier can reduce blue light. However, curved monitors add to the overall experience, making things more immersive and keeping you engaged for longer. The colour accuracy, frame rate and other technicalities are better on these curved albeit slightly more expensive monitors as well. 

Document scanners 

As mentioned earlier, productivity tools in this list will help you save time. Well, imagine skipping the entire process of taking a document, placing it on a scanner and running the scanner software when you’ve to scan a document. A lot of time saved, eh? That’s exactly what document scanners let you do. These are apps that use your camera to scan and store documents in various formats. The entire paper-to-pdf task becomes incredibly easy. Most of these are free, simply search “document scanner” on your app store! 

Final words- Best productivity tools and gadgets for 2024 

That’s it folks. I’m confident if you utilise even half the productivity tools on this list, you’d see an increase in your productivity. 

Most of these apps are free and even the gadgets can be acquired extremely cheap. Of course, you’re free to pick and choose (or ignore) items off this list as you like best.

At the end, allow me to sign off with the quote- “Nothing works, until you do”. Hence, with all these gadgets and tools, it all still boils down to how focused you personally are!