Lazy Productivity Apps: Hitting Goals Without Stress

Many apps require your undivided attention and promise to reinvent your usual routines. In this article, we introduce the trend of lazy productivity apps, referring to applications that give you a sense of accomplishment without straining your energy. 

Many of these examples can help you improve your focus and make it more engaging. Others reveal surprisingly effortless ways to earn extra. And finally, others can positively influence your lifestyle without disrupting or completely rearranging your current behavior. 

What are lazy productivity apps?

Lazy productivity apps are services that may be perceived as time-wasting, but are valuable and beneficial to you. It could refer to a gamified version of a learning application, which introduces many generally entertaining features. In other cases, apps offer a less stressful and more manageable approach to productivity or task management.

Who can benefit from these apps? 

Anyone! These applications can provide a gentler approach to planning and concentration. Their goal is to give you a little push instead of threatening you with deadlines. Furthermore, some of them enable you to feel less guilty when performing activities typically associated with laziness. For most, many focus-oriented apps are excellent for procrastinators or those wishing to ease their ADHD or anxiety. 

Focus-boosting games and services

Nowadays, we have too many distractions, and fully concentrating on a task at hand becomes challenging. Generally, you might think games are a distraction, but sometimes their exact premise is to boost your productivity. Here are some engaging and focus-driving games that you can try to increase your productivity: 

• Rusty’s Retirement: Adore Stardew Valley or similar farming games? This idle farming simulator doesn’t require you to engage too much and can sit at the bottom of your screen. Thus, it can accompany you during your other activities and serve as an engaging leisure during your breaks. 
• Virtual Cottage: This title is more directly related to your tasks. When you load it, you see a person at a desk working, accompanied by a light soundtrack. Then, you set a focus timer and begin working. 
• FocusMate: Although not a game, this service connects you with other people and enables you to collaborate. Thus, if you need company to finish your papers, it can provide a perfect co-working setup.
• Forest: This application allows you to grow trees while you work. If you manage to complete your tasks, you can grow lush forests. However, if you close the app early, the trees, unfortunately, die.

If you’re interested, you can discover a variety of games on Steam that will help you focus with light entertainment!

More laid-back time planners 

Some digital planners are rough around the edges, prioritizing deadlines. Instead, you might want something more calming, and help you celebrate even the tiniest of daily wins: 

• Sunsama: This planner focuses on mindful goals and aims to prevent burnout and stress. Furthermore, it advertises as an app that prioritizes calmness while you work hard to achieve your goals.
• TickTick: This app is another option if you prefer a planner that is not overloaded with complicated features and allows you to manage tasks with a minimal learning curve.
• Streaks: This app allows you to set up to 24 daily goals and feel a sense of accomplishment each time you confirm their completion. These tasks can be anything, such as drinking more water, scheduling appointments, or avoiding bad habits or overspending. 
• Not Boring Habits: This app is handy if you want to manage new positive habits you have picked up. It offers a clean and engaging interface for tracking your success.

Turn habits or screen time into earnings

Sometimes, you won’t resist the temptation to scroll social media, watch videos, or play mobile games. However, even these seemingly lazy or unproductive activities can bring you benefits: 

• JumpTask: This service allows you to get paid to take surveys, play games, and more. These micro-tasks are brief and usually entertaining, mirroring the typical activities we engage in when we don’t want to tackle more serious or demanding tasks, making it a great app for making money.
• Sweatcoin: This app lets you get paid for the steps you take throughout the day. Thus, you are not only getting physical exercise, but you can also turn it into a source of income.
• Rakuten: This app or browser extension enables you to earn cash back on your various purchases. Many similar cashback apps exist, so try to find the one that best suits your needs.
• Honeygain: This service allows you to share your unused internet bandwidth and earn money for it.

Conclusion

People focus and work in different ways. For some, entering a productive state is easy, while others may struggle to remain focused on one task for extended periods. Luckily, a variety of apps ease this pain point and offer alternatives that are less restrictive and commonly gamify your struggles. Furthermore, a variety of options open doors to productive behaviour that would otherwise be limited to idle scrolling.