As a busy professional relying on my Windows desktop or laptop to get my work done every day, having the right set of productivity apps is essential. The software tools we choose have an incredible impact on how efficient, focused, and stress-free our days are.
I‘ve tested out dozens of different productivity apps for Windows to find the very best in each category. My criteria for selecting these top picks includes:
- Intuitiveness and ease of use
- Customizability to match diverse needs and preferences
- Availability across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and other platforms
- Cost and value provided
- Ability to integrate or connect with other apps
- Positive impact on focus and reducing distractions
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share my top app recommendations to boost your productivity in key areas like:
- Task management
- Note-taking
- Calendars
- Distraction blocking
- Dictation
- Screen recording
- Application launching
- Predictive text
- Dark mode
- File previews
- Password management
Let‘s dive in!
Best Task Management App: Microsoft To Do
No matter what kind of work you do, having an effective way to track all your tasks is essential. The best task management app for most Windows users is Microsoft To Do. As you‘d expect from a Microsoft product, it fits in naturally with the Windows workflow. The user interface is intuitive and familiar.
Some of my favorite things about Microsoft To Do:
- The "My Day" view provides a simple daily planner, pulling in tasks you‘ve marked as important for that date.
- Flexible list management makes it easy to create separate lists for different projects or aspects of your life.
- You can set reminders for upcoming to-dos so you never forget about time-sensitive items.
- Subtasks allow you to break down bigger projects into smaller, actionable steps.
And because it‘s a Microsoft product, To Do integrates beautifully across the Microsoft ecosystem, including Office suite apps like Outlook. It‘s also available across all major platforms, so your tasks sync between devices.
To take your task management to the next level, you can connect Microsoft To Do to hundreds of other apps with Zapier. As just one example, you could create a Zap with Google Calendar that automatically turns any new calendar events into To Do tasks.
Microsoft To Do is easy to use yet powerful enough for complex project management. Give it a try as your daily task manager.
Best Email Client: eM Client
While Outlook is the default email client included with Windows, it‘s far from the only choice. For serious email users who want maximum customizability, eM Client is a fantastic option.
eM Client packs an incredible number of configuration options under the hood while maintaining a clean and intuitive interface. Some of the best features include:
- Support for unlimited accounts from all major providers like Gmail and Outlook/Hotmail.
- Hundreds of color themes to personalize the look and feel.
- Custom sorting rules, views, and quick filters to manage high volumes of email.
- Email scheduling when you want to set messages to send at specific dates/times.
- Email templates to quickly insert reusable content.
- Contacts management, notes, and sub-folders for keeping information handy.
For those dissatisfied with Outlook or Windows Mail, eM Client brings the customization needed to craft a perfect email workflow. The premium version unlocks even more advanced tools, but the free download already boosts email productivity considerably.
Best Note Taking App: OneNote
Taking good notes, whether for work meetings, lectures, creative projects, or everyday musings, is invaluable. But if your notes live scattered across dozens of apps, they don‘t do you much good.
This is why OneNote is such an indispensable tool. It provides a central repository for notes of all types. Its flexible, free-form organization style has earned it the "digital scrapbook" moniker.
Standout features of OneNote include:
- Virtual notebooks for separating projects or areas of your life.
- Section tabs within each notebook to divide things further.
- Rich formatting support for text, checklists, images, drawings, screenshots, audio recordings, links, and documents.
- The ability to clip content from the web or other programs directly into OneNote.
- Password protection and easy searching within your notes library.
OneNote comes free with Windows, and your notes sync seamlessly across devices. It‘s easy to collaborate on notes with others. And you can connect OneNote to Office apps like Outlook to quickly save emails and meetings to relevant notebooks in just a click or two.
If you‘ve struggled to find the perfect cross-platform note taking system, give OneNote‘s freeform flexibility a try.
More Top Windows Productivity Tools
Task managers, email software, and note taking apps form the core of most productive workflows. But many other types of apps can make meaningful improvements in your efficiency. Here is the best of the rest when it comes to Windows productivity:
Best Calendar App: Windows Calendar
Fantastic calendar apps abound across platforms, but the default Windows Calendar app holds its own through thoughtful design that feels right for Windows PCs. Easy integration across Microsoft products and Outlook calendar syncing make it a great pick for many.
Best Distraction Blocker: Freedom
Available across all major platforms, Freedom is the ultimate app for blocking distracting websites and apps so you can get things done. Custom block lists, scheduling, productivity analytics, and team management give you elite focus.
Best Dictation Software: Windows Voice Typing
The built-in Windows 11 voice typing tool provides surprising accurate dictation with zero special setup. Its ability to work directly inside any app makes it more versatile than many dictation tools.
Best Screen Recorder: Loom
It‘s hard to beat Loom even among non-Windows options for quick, hassle-free screen recording. One-click operation, camera picture-in-picture, drawing tools, and unlimited sharing make Loom the first choice for walkthrough videos, bug reporting, and more.
Best Application Launcher: PowerToys Run
For launching apps at warp speed with a system-wide hotkey, check out PowerToys Run. This open source utility mimics Mac‘s Spotlight feature but with more customization options. Index local files, programs, and web content for nearly instant access.
Best Predictive Writing Assistant: Lightkey
Typing productivity relies heavily on getting thought from mind to machine quickly. That‘s where a predictive writing tool like Lightkey excels. It learns your unique writing style and typical phrases to suggest full words and sentences as you type.
Best Dark Mode Tool: Windows Auto Dark Mode
Windows 11 includes slick light and dark themes—this utility takes things further by automatically switching between them based on sunrise/sunset. Say goodbye to eyestrain when working into the night.
Best File Preview Tool: QuickLook
QuickLook brings the Apple macOS spacebar file preview trick to Windows for near-instant previews. Simply highlight a file and tap the spacebar to view documents, images, videos, and more without fully opening anything.
Best Password Manager: 1Password
Effective password hygiene is non-negotiable for security and privacy today. 1Password makes robust password generation, storage, and auto-fill accessible and easy across all your devices. With travel mode, secure sharing, and Watchtower breach monitoring, it‘s the full package—even for teams.
The Right Tools for Productivity Success
We all have unique needs when it comes to being productive on our Windows devices. Hopefully this guide has revealed some new apps that can streamline your workflows in meaningful ways.
The key is matching tools that fit both your workstyle and the nitty-gritty details of how you operate. For example, are you handling hundreds of emails daily or just a few? Do your projects require intense task management with lots of moving parts? Factoring in these elements will determine which apps are primed to rocket boost your productivity.
Many of these apps provide free versions to take for a spin first. Don‘t be afraid to test out even unlikely options—you may just uncover a game-changing gem to install alongside the usual suspects.
Now equipped with this toolkit of the top Windows productivity apps across categories, it‘s time to get out there and get things done! Let me know on Twitter (@zapdaddy) about any awesome new tools you discover or start using to step up your productivity.
