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Every hardworking employed or self-employed individual strives to be more productive at work. However, a resolution to be more productive is easier said and done. There are plenty of temptations in the office, especially for home-based workers. Sleep, idling around and even playing games are just a few clicks away. Of course, being less efficient at work will result in less quality output and in turn a smaller paycheck.
Thankfully, there are plenty of Mac apps out there to keep you in check. Here are our top 20–to do lists, documents, spreadsheets, task management and other productive office applications. The Macbook is a great innovation (thanks to Apple and the late Steve Jobs, bless him). Many of these applications aren’t free though, but we know that good things are never free these days although these apps are worth more than what you pay for.
This is the first Mac App (or Apps, for that matter) you should purchase. It’s the Mac version of Microsoft Office, albeit cheaper and more ‘Mac’ compatible. iWork includes the following apps:
Price: US $79.99 (or $27 each for Pages, Numbers and Keynote when bought separately)
Probably one of my most favorite apps in the list. I’m a frequent user and reader of PDF files, so the PDF Pen is a great tool when reviewing and taking notes for PDF text. Make corrections, edit scanned documents, erase information and so much more. You can even scribble your singature on a PDF contract via the PDF pen.
Price: $59.95
Have you ever forgotten a password? Now you’ll never have to again. 1Password is a password manager, that’s both secure and convenient. It provides maximum anti-phishing protection via a web form filling and automatic strong password generation. Keep all your confidential information of your online accounts, credit cards, ATM cards and other identities.
1Password is the best password manager out there–take our word for it. 1Password is available for your Mac, iPhone, iPad and even your PC and Android phone.
Price: $49.99
In today’s highly digital world, everyone is going Paperless. Today’s generation rely on digital documents, because it is faster, more efficient and more economical. You need an app of the same name to manage your digital documents. Paperless is a great productivity app, and it’s good for the environment too. It’s a win-win situation here.
Price: $49.95
OmniFocus is a task manager to ensure you are at your most efficient by providing the right tools and features. Capture your thoughts by storing, managing and processing them in the app. It stores both your personal and professional tasks, and help order them according to importance. OmniFocus gets things done.
Price: US 79.99
Transfer files quick and easy through Transmit. Transmit is currently Mac’s top 1 FTP Client. Transferring files across the FTP or SFTP server is amazingly fast–thanks to the Transmit Twin turbo engine, transferring files is now up to 25 x faster.
Price: US 39.99
Skype is a necessary application, a communication tool for family, friends and clients on a higher level. Hold meetings with clients and colleagues without the need to travel (or dress up in a suit).
The latest Skype app now offers clearer and sharper video calls, through their HD video call feature. Group videos are now also possible–so talk with up to 10 people online at the same time!
Price: Totally free, but Skype Premium account at US $4.99 a month.
Pixelmator, a powerful image editing app for the Mac. It’s a lot like Adobe Photoshop–wonderful interface, layer-based image editing, and basic tools like cropping, transform, fill, stroke and so much more. It has more than 130 filters and 14 color correction tools. Pixelmator allows easy access to your photos from your iPhoto or Aperture library.
Price: $29.99
Espresso is the ultimate application for the web designer. It has a built-in CSS Editor, the well-known CSSEdit3. See your web site updates in real time through Live Styling and inspect your web layout with X-ray. The Quick Publish or Sync features allow you to automatically publish or apply changes to your server. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth more than you pay for.
Price: US $79
Sparrow mailing app is a light mail application and a great addition to your productivity apps. The app’s interface is easy and well-organized. Get your mail in a few clicks. It even has the Facebook Connect feature, to get instant notifications and your friends’ pictures are shown to immediately see who the email was from.
Price: US $9.99
Things is a simple task management application, it’s so easy to use–but with very powerful features. It can make the most basic to do list, and even handle a complicated GTD workflow. Things is an award-winning Mac App because of its clean interface, user-friendliness and great flexibility.
Price: US $49.99
Billings manages client accounts and invoices beautifully and effortlessly. Choose from 1 of their 30 professional templates or create your own, and send statements in a single click of a button.
Price: US $39.99
Coda provides an all-around application for web developers. It has a fully featured file transfer, text editor, integrated file browser, CSS editor, SSH terminal and complete set of references–all in one, clean and streamlined workflow.
Price: US $99
Price: US $39.95
Adobe Kuler has a mobile app that A must-have app for web designers and developers. The application generates color palettes and themes to inspire. Create, explore, experiment. and save color palettes and use it on your next project.
Price: US $9.99
The application allows you to control your other devices even if they are far away. It can connect through your Macbook, iPhone and iPad. Internet connection is not required, and control as many devices you want wirelessly.
Price: Free
PhoneLog is a great app for keeping tabs on your calls, having a quick record of important conversations–such as calls from your clients, utility companies, financial institutions, etc. Store details of your calls, who called, when the call was made, and what the conversation was about. Now you’ll never forget a single call again!
Price: Free
Whistle Phone provides free inbound and outbound calls in the contiguous United States destinations through your Mac.
Price: Free
DropCopy is a charmingly easy application, and a great timesaver. If you need to send files quickly to multiply destinations to recipients across your network, just drag the files to the destination in a popup window. It’s not fussy, and get things done hassle-free, without the need to input any password, dialogues or confirmation.
Price: Free for the lite version, that can carry 1-3 devices. There is a Pro version at $4.99 for 1-10 devices, and a site license to cover unlimited devices.
Remind Me Later is a to-do app, very fast and very easy. If you need things to be done, just open the app, type in the reminder and you’re done. The application automatically add events to iCal in just two clicks. You can also sync the reminders to your iPhone via MobileMe, to take your reminders with you anywhere.
Price: Free
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Rachel Arandilla is a curious subject -- she appreciates things that are quirky & clever. She loves spontaneity and adventure. She is a carefree soul, has a deep love for travel, culture and languages. And she's beginning to wonder she keeps on referring to herself in third person perspective.
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 05:16
Great list, but would also have like to see more freeware or cheaper options. Coda price is actually $99, not $9.99 as stated in article.
Thanks @Olivier for Voodoopad tip, looks great!
Thursday, December 29th, 2011 09:27
They’re great, I’ve been using couple of them but I’m going to try more now. I hope this helps in increasing my productivity.
Thursday, November 10th, 2011 03:49
I like to recommend Big Event Reminder app which is super useful for making sure you get your stuff done. Or just to let yourself know when to take a break. Its in Mac App store.
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 08:44
Evernote is another great and free tool to keep your notes organized. They can be synchronized via web with several computers.
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 11:26
Kuler is a online app, Please add Wunderlist is free and better than Things (for me)
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 09:07
Great list, but would also have like to see more freeware or cheaper options. Coda price is actually $99, not $9.99 as stated in article.
Thanks @Olivier for Voodoopad tip, looks great!
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 18:11
Would have been nice to have more Freeware in the list.
Are you sure about Coda’s price?? US $9.99 sounds cheap!
Finally, a great tool I’ve just discovered: Voodoopad (not free).
If you’re looking for a free FTP client, have a go at Filezilla.
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Olivier
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 18:11
Would have been nice to have more Freeware in the list.
Are you sure about Coda’s price?? US $9.99 sounds cheap!
Finally, a great tool I’ve just discovered: Voodoopad (not free).
If you’re looking for a free FTP client, have a go at Filezilla.
Ruen
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 09:07
Great list, but would also have like to see more freeware or cheaper options. Coda price is actually $99, not $9.99 as stated in article.
Thanks @Olivier for Voodoopad tip, looks great!
Rean John Uehara
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 10:31
Oh, you’re right. Updated, thanks!
aaron
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 11:26
Kuler is a online app, Please add Wunderlist is free and better than Things (for me)
Stefan
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 08:44
Evernote is another great and free tool to keep your notes organized. They can be synchronized via web with several computers.
Steve King
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 05:16
Great list, but would also have like to see more freeware or cheaper options. Coda price is actually $99, not $9.99 as stated in article.
Thanks @Olivier for Voodoopad tip, looks great!
Sahil Kotak
Thursday, December 29th, 2011 09:27
They’re great, I’ve been using couple of them but I’m going to try more now. I hope this helps in increasing my productivity.
Scott
Thursday, November 10th, 2011 03:49
I like to recommend Big Event Reminder app which is super useful for making sure you get your stuff done. Or just to let yourself know when to take a break. Its in Mac App store.