5 Best Productivity Tools for 2024

 Whether you’re working at home, in an office, or from a co-working space, you may sometimes find that avoiding distractions and staying on task is hard. Emails, apps, projects, other people, and pets may all demand your attention throughout the day. And when your colleagues or team is distributed, adding schedule coordination into the mix can make things even more challenging. Luckily, you can select from a wide variety of productivity tools to help you keep your workday flowing smoothly, including:

We evaluated and chose over 40 products that we believe are among the greatest productivity apps available. These tools can help you arrange and conduct meetings more efficiently, avoid digital distractions, communicate asynchronously, log hours, and even create your own knowledge base. While all of the rates given below are in US dollars, many of these services are utilized by professionals around the globe. The programs, if paid, may be offered in your local currency.

Video productivity tools

A dependable video conferencing technology is essential for working with remote teams. While Zoom is a popular choice for many individuals, there are various alternative options on the market. Each of the programs listed below is appropriate for business use; the ideal option for you will depend on your budget, team size, and desired features.

Zoom

Zoom debuted in 2011, but it really gained traction when remote work became the norm for many individuals in 2020. Its grid-style interface, basic presentation features, simple recording, and free tier make it the preferred video calling program among many users. Some of Zoom's best characteristics are:

• Integration with transcribing tools (e.g. Otter) and breakout rooms for small group discussions.
• Integrated text chat and reaction buttons.
• Customizable backgrounds
• Screen sharing
• Zoom's free plan enables customers to hold 100-person group meetings for 40 minutes or one-on-one sessions for up to 30 hours at once. Paid Zoom subscriptions start at $149.90 per year for a single license and include features like larger meeting sizes, longer group calls, cloud recording storage, HIPAA compliance, and more.

GoTo Meeting

GoTo Meeting is a business-oriented feature of the LogMeIn platform. All GoTo Meeting plans allow for group calls of 150 or more individuals, with no meeting time limits. Additional features include:

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• HD video
• Screen sharing
• Dial-in conference lines
• Convert presentation slides to PDF.
• On-screen drawing tools.
• GoTo Meeting plans start at $12 per month. The company now provides a custom-priced Enterprise subscription for consumers who require group meetings with up to 3,000 attendees.
•  Additional license fees apply to webinar, conference room, training, and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone plans.

Microsoft Team

Teams, like Microsoft's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint products, is a tool that serves both personal and professional purposes. All team plans include:

• 1-on-1 and group video sessions
• Unlimited text messaging
• Cloud storage
• File-sharing tools
• Data Encryption
• Free Microsoft Teams plans feature 5 GB of cloud storage and group calls for up to 100 people. Paid Teams plans range from $4 to $12.50 per user per month and include extra features such as more storage, longer meetings, and Microsoft 365 apps.

Blue Jeans 

Verizon’s BlueJeans service provides a variety of video calling solutions for businesses and medical providers. Features include:

• Dolby Voice audio
• High-definition video
• Breakout sessions for small group discussions
• No meeting time limits
• Virtual backgrounds

BlueJeans does not offer a free tier. Standard BlueJeans plans begin at $119.88 per year and allow you to host group meetings with up to 100 people. BlueJeans Pro and Enterprise tiers offer additional features including larger group sizes, unlimited recording and automatic closed captioning.

San Box

SaneBox is an artificial intelligence-powered solution that works alongside and streamlines your current email inbox. SaneBox creates a "SaneLater" folder on your account and filters any non-important emails there, allowing you to keep your inbox clutter-free. You can train the AI to understand which emails are and are not essential to you. SaneBox's other features include:

• Separate folder for newsletters and copied emails.
• Automated deletion rules
• A daily feed to quickly scan all filtered emails.
• One-click AI training
• Domain and subject filters.
• Basic SaneLater email filtering is offered on single accounts for $59 per year. Higher-tier SaneBox plans, starting at $99 per year, include more features and multiple account licenses.