Technology is both a boon and a bane. Where it has made life easier, faster, and more productive, it’s also changed social dynamics and habits for the better and the worse. 42% of Americans believe that by 2020, millennials who use technology will be easily distracted, lack critical thinking skills, and constantly look for instant gratification. In a world where we’re constantly look at our social media apps every five minutes, how do we distinguish between what’s virtual and what’s not?

In fact, we could be the first generation to experience the phenomenon of singularity- when humans and technology merge together to become one. Ray Kurzweil predicts that by 2029, robots will outsmart humans. For now however, the burgeoning usage of apps is testament to how humans are becoming increasingly dependent on technologies that make life easier. Here, we’ve compiled seven iOS and android apps that will boost your productivity by 200 percent:

 

Google Drive

Google Drive is a great cloud storage mobile app platform because of its generous 15GB free space and smooth interface. You can create shareable drive links that are accessible to the public within a click. It’s a powerful way to store files and access them from any place you want through any device.  What’s more is that you can use other apps like Google Keep, Google Sheets, and Google Slides at the same time as your colleagues and make quick changes. Businesses can centralize various types of documentation on their drive and compartmentalize them file-wise. Google Drive is both faster and cheaper than Dropbox, so you can boost in your productivity in a fast-paced environment.

Slack

Slack is a widely used chatroom where you can create multiple channels. The phone app has direct messaging, video calling, notifications, file sharing and archiving properties that make it highly instantaneous and easy to use. You don’t have to go through the hassle of scrolling through thousands of email threads and can be on loop with your project teams anytime, anywhere. The desktop version also sends nonintrusive notifications that appear on the top corner of your screen so you won’t get disrupted when doing other things.

Evernote

It’s the ultimate digital notebook that can store all your photos, web pages, notes, audio clips, files and more. Evernote stands out from its competitors because of how it’s able to integrate so many functions for each note while maintaining a simple interface: its indexing feature means that users can easily locate notes without having to physically look for them. Evernote even has a clipping feature on the web which allows people to automatically sync articles and pictures they find online onto their notes. Clearly, this app has a lot to offer when used productively to keep tabs on your important day-to-day tasks.

CamCard

We’ve all gone through that pesky moment when we just can’t find a client’s card from the huge stack we built up over networking events. Luckily, CamCard is an app that’ll save you all that burden by automatically taking pictures of business cards and then saving all the contact information to your mobile. Users can wirelessly share business cards with each other and make notes and reminder on the cloud. Mobile apps like Camcard not only increase productivity by slashing time, but promote a cleaner, greener future by doing away with paper.

TripIt

Travelling isn’t always easy, especially when you’re on business. It’s easy to forget important meetings and timings under the stress and rush from zipping between one place to another. That’s where TripIt saves the day. All you have to do is email your plans to [email protected] and the phone app will automatically create a travel itinerary for you with complete details like flight number and hotel address. Instead of referring to loose papers for your plans, you can simply see them on your phone and plan accordingly.

Expensify

Sorting through all those bills just to verify your expenses is quite a chore (and waste of time). With Expensify, all you need to do is scan your bills and let the app work its magic to store all your transactions in one place. You can use the time you save on more productive and urgent tasks.

Microsoft Outlook

It’s perhaps the most powerful corporate emailing app that integrates user experience and productivity. By combining Office 365 and other smart features such as calendar syncing, Microsoft has created an email app that’s robust, simple, and clear.

 

You could have all these apps on your phone and still not be productive. The truth is that technology only simplifies what’s already there. If you carelessly lose most of your business cards for example, CamCard won’t be there to save you. So it’s up to you to find the will to be productive and eliminate distractions, because no app can really replace the human mind and will.  

ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.