Apple iPads come with built-in productivity tools like Notes, Calendar, and Reminders, but if you want to learn new ways to maximize your productivity and organize your life, there are plenty of apps to help you.
Although the iPad started as a device that could be used to stream content or browse the Internet on the go, Apple has essentially transformed its iPads into computers that can perform a variety of tasks for personal, work and school use. As a result, there are many applications that will help you, for example, create one place to organize your life or help you concentrate on everyday tasks, cutting off distractions.
We've prepared a list of the best ones available in the App Store.
Good notes
Good notes is one of the most popular iPad apps, and for good reason. The app is great for people who like to write notes using Apple Pencil; You can put both handwritten and typed text on one page, and add images, stickers, and even doodles.
You can create a digital notebook with blank or lined paper for notes, checklists, planners, and more. The app allows you to export entire digital notebooks or specific pages to PDF and other files.
Goodnotes is also great for drawing and sketching. Although it's not as advanced as some creative apps like Procreate, Goodnotes is easy to use and perfect for quick sketches and diagrams.
If you're taking part in a class or meeting, you can also record audio notes that sync with the moment you write. Additionally, you can use AI to summarize notes and assist with writing.
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You can create three digital notebooks for free. If you want unlimited notebooks, you will have to pay $9.99 per year or a one-time fee of $29.99.
TikTik
If you're not a fan of the iPad's built-in Reminders app, or you just want a more advanced app to manage your to-do lists and tasks, TikTik may be a good choice. You can use it for both professional and personal tasks.
The app allows you to synchronize tasks across all your devices and integrate your favorite calendar app. You can create checklists, set recurring tasks, upload task attachments, share task lists to collaborate with others, and more.
If you want to develop a habit, such as meditation before bed, you can set your goals in the app and track your progress. And if you receive an email but don't have time to respond, you can turn it into a reminder task so you don't forget to respond.
You can also add tags to your tasks to better manage them, and you can mark tasks based on their priority.
If you want to focus on a specific task, you can turn on the “pomo timer” in the app, which is based on the Pomodoro technique, which divides work into specific intervals to maximize productivity.
TickTick is free, but if you want additional features, such as the ability to add up to five reminders to a task or more lists and tasks, you'll pay $3.99 per month or $35.99 per year.
Forest
Forest is an interesting app that increases productivity while helping the environment. If you are someone who has difficulty staying on task or is easily distracted, this app may be good for you.
When you want to focus on something, you can open the app and plant a tree. Your tree will grow as you focus on your work and complete it. If you leave the app before the countdown ends, your tree will wither and die.
You can set up “Approved Lists” for various applications that you use to be productive, such as email applications or Microsoft Word. The app also allows you to track your productivity.
Over time, you create a digital forest that visualizes your productivity. If you want to compete, you can share your forest with other people to compare it with their forests. By focusing on growing virtual trees, you can earn coins that you can save to help plant real trees around the world through tree planting organizations Trees for the future.
Forest costs $3.99 to download, and you can purchase add-ons in the app to help your forest grow faster and plant real trees.
Concept
Concept is a great app for taking notes, managing tasks and workflow, organizing lists and habits, collaborating with others, and more. Instead of using different apps to manage your calendar, tasks, and notes, you can do it all right in Notion.
You can integrate various apps you use, such as Slack and Dropbox, to connect all your workflows in one place. One of Notion's greatest strengths is its flexibility and customizability. You can tailor it to your needs, whether it's organizing your personal or professional life, school work, or passion projects.
If you're not sure where to start, you can use templates to create things like a travel planner or product roadmap. Notion also has an artificial intelligence feature that helps you write and brainstorm. Notion AI can help you get answers about your content and turn large amounts of data into meaningful action items.
Notion offers a free plan for personal use. The company also offers a Plus plan for $8 per month for small groups and a Business plan for $15 per month for companies. You get 20 AI answers for free; then you pay $10 per month per member.
Croutons
Sometimes planning what to eat can take a long time, leaving less time for other tasks, so it's worth having an app to help with this. Croutonswhich is designed to make cooking and meal planning easier, perfect for organizing recipes and planning shopping lists.
You can import recipes from websites and even scan them from a physical cookbook. So instead of relying on bookmarks or physical recipes, you can keep them together in one place.
You can plan your meals for the week, and if one day you don't know what to do, the app will generate a meal plan for you. After planning your meals for the week, you can create a shopping list with all the ingredients you need.
Crouton also has an in-app timer, so you don't have to use another app if you have specific recipe steps. Plus, you can share your recipes with others, whether you want to tell your family what's for dinner or you come across a recipe that a friend of yours is sure to love.
Crouton offers basic features for free, but if you want unlimited recipes and additional features, a yearly subscription is available for $14.99.
Freedom
Freedom is a great app for blocking distractions to focus on work and be more productive. You can start a Freedom session to block interruptions on all your devices for a set period of time.
You can choose which websites and apps you want to block during this time. So if you're working on an iPad and then try to open TikTok on your phone, it won't be possible and you'll see a green screen instead.
The application allows you to immediately start a session, schedule an upcoming one or set up a recurring session. If you know that you need to be free from distractions at a certain time each day, you can set your Freedom session to start at that specific time each day.
If you're someone who listens to specific sounds to help you focus, Freedom offers a variety you can listen to. For example, you can listen to the sounds of coffee shops in cities like New York or Berlin, the sounds of birds chirping, calming instrumental songs, and more.
The app, which costs $3.99 per month, is quite easy to use and comes with a number of different articles with tips on how to be more productive and better understand your digital well-being.
Publicity
Publicity is a great note-taking app that lets you jot down your thoughts, import and annotate textbooks, record audio, and sketch ideas. The app is useful for students, professionals and even hobbyists alike.
You can take notes using Apple Pencil, text or audio. If you're looking for something specific, the app lets you search through your notes, including handwritten notes and any documents you've uploaded.
Notability also offers AI-generated note summaries and the ability to work on two different notes side by side. Additionally, you can test your knowledge with personalized quizzes based on the content of your notes.
If you need a place to start, Notability has a gallery of templates like planners, study notes, to-do lists, and more.
Notability is free, but offers a $4.99 monthly subscription that gives you access to additional features like math conversion, automatic audio transcription, unlimited notes, and more.
Todoist
Todoist is a simple and clear application that allows you to record and organize tasks using natural language. You can add tasks like “Plan next week's work every Friday afternoon” or “Do your homework every Wednesday at 6 p.m.” to quickly organize and plan your life.
You can sort tasks by “Today”, “Upcoming” or custom filters, so you can focus on what's currently important, meaning you only see what's important, when you need it.
Todoist can be used to organize a variety of tasks, whether they are related to work, personal life, education or management, as well as reminders. Plus, you can connect Todoist with your calendar, voice assistant, and dozens of other tools like Outlook, Gmail, and Slack.
In addition to iPad, you can access the service from iPhone and Apple Watch while syncing on your desktop and all other devices.
Todoist's core features are available for free. You can unlock additional features like AI assistant and calendar layout for $4 per month by using Todoist's “Pro” subscription plan.
Trello
If you are a person who likes to plan your life with sticky notes, Trello may be a good option for you as it offers a simple and visual way to keep track of things.
Trello allows you to set up 'boards' for different stages of your life, such as work, school, projects and personal goals, and then create lists such as 'To Do', 'Done' and 'Done' to track your progress.
You can use “Cards” on boards to visualize different tasks or items you want to accomplish. On each tab, you can add descriptions, deadlines, checklists, notes, and more. Additionally, you can use labels to visually organize different tabs and assign priorities such as “high”, “medium”, or “low”.
The “calendar view” in the app gives you an overview of events in the coming days and weeks.
The free Trello plan includes unlimited cards and up to 10 boards. The app's standard plan costs $5 per month and includes unlimited boards and additional features like the ability to capture tasks from email, Slack, and Teams.
Update: This article originally appeared in September 2024 and is updated regularly with new information.
