Want to Increase Productivity? Check Your Software

Ask any productivity expert–and yes, we’re so rushed and harried these days that there really is a career field of people who come along and teach you how to manage your time better–and they’ll tell you that it’s not the complete overhaul of your daily schedule that you have to think about. Instead, the way to end up with seemingly more hours in the day is to make little changes here and there. Once these little steps become habits, like laying out your kids’ clothes for school the night before or writing out a weekly menu for dinner each night in order to be more prepared in the kitchen, you can get things done faster and take your energy away from the minutia so you can apply it to bigger, more important tasks.

Fortunately, the world of mobile and desktop apps and software has made productivity a hot commodity. Two specific titles have released updates today that are practically guaranteed to make your life easier and more streamlined, letting you focus on the important things.

PhraseExpress is a particular favorite on FileHippo because it takes everything great about autocorrect and makes it possible to strip away all the embarrassing things about it (like that text you accidentally sent your mom about the new “genital” soap you’ve been using, instead of “gentle”). One of the best things about the software is that it sits quietly in the corner of your screen until you need it, then you get to click through to find common terms and phrases that aren’t autocorrected already. You can type the same intuitive text abbreviations that you can when using your phone and your desktop computer will insert them into your document or email, and once the program learns certain phrases you use all day–such as industry specific terms and abbreviations–it can even complete whole sentences for you. Best of all, you can even launch entire programs in your computer with a few keystrokes once you teach PhraseExpress what to do. Typing something new and don’t want the autocorrect? Just click to turn it off.

The other great handy helper to release an update today is a long-time favorite due to its cross-platform compatibility. Wunderlist, the Olympian of to-do lists, lets you take it from Mac or PC to mobile application without missing a beat. Even better, you can establish lists by topic or area of need, all within the same account, so you’re not logging out of your work Wunderlist and logging into your family or hobby Wunderlist. It’s all right there where only you can see it, along with anyone you choose to share the list with. You can set up a family list to keep school projects and activities straight, set up another list with the committee you do charity work with, and keep your team members on another list for work. Then you can access it right from your computer screen or carry it in your pocket with you on your device.

To check out these updates or to see all of the titles that launched new versions today, go to FileHippo by clicking HERE.