iProductivity: Smartphones and Efficient Use

By Celine Nugroho

Spend hours each day on your smartphone? You’re not alone. A report published by DataReportal in January 2022 showed that the average global daily Internet screen time racks up to about 7 hours per day and that 92% of users access it through their mobile devices. As smartphones become an integral part of our lifestyles, they have undoubtedly redefined our day-to-day lives — including how we become productive.

Person holding phone (Credit: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)

Nowadays, our smartphones are a multidimensional tool: an alarm clock, GPS, calendar, and much more all in one. This handy functionality led us to involving these gadgets in our daily work, inevitably causing smartphones to play a significant role in defining productivity. Real-time communication is made possible with messaging platforms. The internet’s broader geographic availability via smartphones has enabled more remote work opportunities, which has increased employee availability. And improvements in smartphone technology have only continued to grow, meaning users are able to do more on their phones than ever before.

Smartphones can also hinder productivity. Users tend to waste a lot of time by falling into the trap of endless scrolling on social media sites designed to capture their attention. To combat this, people have turned to productivity apps: software programs that help boost personal productivity. 

From digital notes to gamified time management, here are some productivity apps that can help you re-route and get the job done.​

Project Management: Notion and Google Calendar
​
Project management can be a daunting task to take on, as balancing multiple interests while maintaining cohesive teamwork sure isn’t easy. Apps like Notion can help you lighten the load: Notion enables you to digitise and organise your workspace, allowing it to be accessible anywhere, anytime. The app provides ready-made customisable pages for a wide range of needs. Notes, calendars, or project boards — Notion provides all of these and more, which can be made collaborative by sharing a link.

Credit: Notion logo from Notion Labs, Inc

Another option is Google Calendar, an e-calendar under Google Workspace, Google’s array of software and products designed to boost productivity. This app smoothly integrates into widely used Google services such as Drive, Gmail, and Meet, allowing for cross-platform efficiency. Event scheduling with others is as simple as that — calendars can be shared and layered within a single combined view to prevent time conflicts.

Habit Building: Habit - Daily Tracker
​
Building a habit takes effort, time, and repetition. Habit - Daily Tracker encourages you to develop habits with a clean and colourful interface. The app operates on a to-do list system: every finished goal contributes to a progress report, which displays statistical data such as success rates and graphs. Having been recognised in Apple’s “App of the Day” showcase in over 120 countries, there is no doubt that Habit - Daily Tracker has been a great help for many people.

Credit: Habit - Daily Tracker logo, Reflectly X ApS

Skill Developing: Duolingo
​
Productivity can also mean developing new skills, which can now be accomplished through apps like Duolingo. Duolingo is an educational app which utilises interactive methods to help you pick up another language. Offering over 100 courses in 41 languages, the app teaches you basic vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through challenges, short stories, and more. By only spending a few minutes a day on Duolingo, you are one step closer to being multilingual.

Credit: Duolingo logo

Time Management: Yeolpumta
​
Why is time passing by so slowly? This is a problem often encountered by those struggling with time management: activities like studying can be boring and oh-so-tempting to ditch after some amount of time. South Korean developer Baek Un-cheon sought out to provide a solution through his app Yeolpumta, which tracks the time you spend studying with a touch of gamification.

Yeolpumta, an abbreviation for “enthusiastic timer” in Korean, records your study time and compares your duration to others in the same area or grade level on a leaderboard. The longer you study, the higher you rank on the board. Your study time is paused if you exit the app, hence providing a “focus mode” to minimise distractions. For those who thrive on a competitive streak, Yeolpumta is definitely the app for you! ​

Credit: Yeolpumta logo, Pallo Inc.

Tried out any of the apps mentioned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or @Scientista_Talk!

Celine Nugroho

Celine is an incoming data science student at De Anza College. She enjoys expanding her horizons by learning across many disciplines, which is why she decided to pursue her studies in STEM. In her spare time, she likes to bake (albeit unsuccessful attempts most of the time). Connect with her on Instagram at @celinenugroho! ​