I must admit that I am a little obsessed with productivity and tracking.

For me, I think it’s the ability to control something in my life. What can I accomplish today? No matter how small— the feedback from ticking everything off and seeing your progress unfold becomes addictive.

Stephanie Cansfield — My little at-home work nook.

I like visually checking things off my digital to-do lists and making note of my progress in day-to-day life. Whether that be what I’m eating, what I’m lifting at the gym, how many steps I’m getting in in my day…

What do the most successful people in the world utilize to get shit done? I’m always being nosy and trying to figure this out.

I’m always curious about how people use their phones (any technology, really) to stay in the zone and not just become distracted.

We’re so fortunate to have apps, the internet, and online communities. But there is a lot of noise too. Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat… which, sure, have some learning moments but overall they’re a time-suck.

Now, bear in mind, too many trackers and productivity apps can have the opposite, negative effect.

People who are ‘all or nothing’ can get easily overwhelmed, bummed out, and give up completely if they’ve put too much on their plates and feel like they can’t tackle it all.

Anxious people might look at the lists and feel like they’ve got to do it all at the same time right away— and shut down.

Or people in a rut might just feel like they’re failing if they can’t accomplish everything they wanted to on a particular day.

I think the key is balance and finding what works best for you.

I’ve tried some apps that were just too tedious, too obnoxious in their notifications, and too much to keep up with.

But there are some I use almost daily that I’d like to share with you!

iPhone-Background-Productivity-Apps — How I organize my phone apps.

I group my apps into different categories. For the sake of this blog entry, I’ll only mention the following:

Health
Daily
Social Media
Web & Personal
Organization

The Apps I Use Daily:

Gratitude - Every morning I write down at least 1 thing that I’m grateful for. You can, of course, write a large journal entry too. They also have great daily affirmations, quotes of the day, and a space to create vision boards (which I have yet to tap into). It’s cute, takes 1 minute, and forces me to slow down and be thankful for my life. Some days I simply put “I’m grateful for coffee”— when it’s a bad day and it’s hard to see the good. And some days I pour my heart into the people and things that mean so much to me. It all depends and there’s no pressure to it.

Todoist - I use this app the most. It’s so simplistic. I open it up first thing and write down my to-do list for the day. Typically there are already recurring tasks on there: ie: clean cat litter daily, take out recycling every Monday night, etc. But it’s a very simple digital checklist that I find easy to commit to. I will say, I also plot most of my to-do’s onto my work calendar (Google Calendar) as well, and just colour code them specific to ‘personal’. Between Google Calendar and Todoist, I almost always get through everything on my list in a day because I’ve written it down and given a set date/time to it— there is certainly power in that!

Duolingo - Je pratique apprendre le français presque tous les jours au départ il y a 3 ans en utilisant cette application! J’aime beaucoup les différents types de leçons et c’est amusant! I hope I wrote that out okay— still learning! (Any French friends, please feel free to correct me in the comments below!) I think it’s important to ‘train the brain’ and I find learning a second (or new) language really challenges me in a different way! Add me if you want some motivation and accountability!

MyFitnessPal - I’ve used this app for years now to track my food. It helps me hit certain targets— and by learning how different foods (and amounts) I consume affect me and my body, it’s a powerful tool. I can gauge my energy levels, how clear my skin is, what’s triggering my bloating, etc. I am really interested in diet and nutrition and this has taught me a lot about macro and micronutrients and the wonders of food.

Fitness (Apple Watch) - Ever since Sam got me an Apple Watch for my birthday last year, I’ve become obsessed with the fitness tracker feature. I love counting my steps and knowing I’m burning enough calories to hit my personal goals each day. It reminds me to stand up, move a little bit, and encourages me to get in my workouts to stay healthy!

Notes - The simple notes feature on my iPhone is used constantly. I typically write down how I’m feeling in any particular moment, jot down random thoughts and ideas, or keep lists for shopping. It’s handy for basically everything!

Reminders - Another iPhone built-in feature is Reminders. I use this for all upcoming appointments. Anytime I schedule something I immediately put it in my phone so that it will trigger an alert leading up to the event. I used this heavily for my appointments at the hospital.

Honourable mentions:

Calm - A meditation app that is so well-done. It’s got many different voices and background sounds to calm your mind and help you zone out.

Goodreads - Calling all bookworms. I just joined this on recommendation of a friend. It recommends books to you as per your reviews and ‘want to read’ list. I’m waiting on a few new books in the mail so I’ll be giving my review and feedback about them once I’m done! Add me if you want to chat about books— one of my goals is to definitely read more this year! Right now I get in about 10 pages/day so getting through books takes me quite awhile, but the habit is there and it’s better than nothing!

Habit - This is like Todoist, but prettier. It reminds you to build— as the name suggests, habits over time. So if you want to drink 2 L of water every day, it will send you notifications and remind you to drink up! All you do is check it complete once done and you feel accomplished. I don’t use it as much but it’s a good option!

Spotify - Music motivates me so much. Whether I’m at the gym (electronic music), driving (alternative), journaling (lo-fi), or singing while I cook (pop and rap), I almost always have Spotify on. It’s also great while working as there are plenty of educational Podcasts to tap into. Right now I’m listening to The Mindset Mentor. If you’ve got any Spotify podcast recommendations for me, leave a comment down below!

Day One - This is a journaling app in which you can upload attachments or audio files, make checklists, tag your location or block off events in your calendar. I don’t use it as often but it’s nice once in awhile to leverage and see your history log of entries.

Pinterest - Okay, sometimes I just scroll this aimlessly, but often times I’m gathering inpso for interior design, hairstyles, outfits, recipes, art, traveling— you name it! I love creating boards I can come back to and reference time and time again.

YouTube - Another typical time suck, but certain channels are great for either 1) Learning i.e.: fitness, cooking, art, etc. 2) Motivation i.e.: life, health, travel, etc. or 3) Chilling out i.e.: watching people do their nails or play video games really helps me relax and zone out.

Instagram - I love Instagram because it’s an outlet for me; I share my blog on it. I love the wonderful community of (mostly) women I have met and who allow me to post how I’m feeling, what I’m up to— without judgement.

Flo - This is simply a period/ovulation tracker. This is handy for those of us with messed up menstrual cycles now. You can track your symptoms and how you’re feeling emotionally/mentally/physically, and it is usually a good gauge of when my next period will be, which is handy.

What are YOUR favourite apps?!

Even if they’re just games, I’d love to know! Drop a comment down below to let me know if you’ve tried any of the ones I’ve listed here today or if you plan on trying any out in future. Most of the apps allow you to add friends, so if you’re interested, shoot me a DM on Instagram @shestaysstrongblog

Thanks for reading, friends!

XO Steph