These apps can jumpstart your efficiency

Jobs

at work

By Perri Ormont Blumberg

It’s that time of year when attempts at a new you await. But rather than relying on self-control at the proverbial cookie jar or discipline to drag yourself to the gym, take the easy way out by applying these apps to enhance your career without even trying.

Clean Email
One way to start 2024 off on a saner note: A cleaner inbox. You’re going to feel the stress of your hefty inbox disappear from the moment you start with the 14-day trial (which gives everyone 1,000 free email cleanups and 25 unsubscribes — no credit card needed).

With a paid subscription, the inbox manager groups similar emails together, automatically sends designated emails to your trash and unsubscribes or pauses unwanted emails. You’ll wonder how you went so long in the wilds without it.

Plans from $9.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

Bash

If you’re having trouble compiling and organizing files, notes, conversation and meeting minutes, allow this AI-powered service to do the grunt work for you.

The website has templates for action plans, blog posts, ad copy, business plans, conversation summaries, client proposals and cold outreach emails, to name a few, so you can write whatever work deliverables you need faster. It’s currently available in 14 languages and can boost your productivity and that of your entire team, since you can share your files with them seamlessly.

Free version, or premium from $119.88 per year.

Day Optimizer

If you’re pledging that this will be your year of to-do list triumphs, try the seven-day free trial of Day Optimizer and be amazed by your productivity.

This app provides you with three types of daily plans to choose from — a daily commitment list, a “time bucket” for managing time without a schedule and a daily schedule — so you can plot out your agenda based on your energy and time constraints as you see fit.

Plus, you’ll love the real-time progress tracking which helps you keep tabs on whether you’re ahead or behind of your plan, even if you do things out of order.

Plans from $14.99 per month.

Wonderslide

Making presentations can be a drag. It’s less so with Wonderslide, which designs attractive PowerPoint or Keynote presentations for you in seconds.

Auto-generating slide content is a recipe for embarrassing data flubs, but using AI, you’ll generate a design with the colors, fonts and logo of your choosing, without having to fret about the tool altering the content of your presentation.

Free version, or $4.99 per presentation, or from $9.99 per month.

Coveragely

Anyone who has compiled reports for search engine optimization or p.r. hits knows how time-consuming (and boring) the process can be. Coveragely makes the chore a breeze by building coverage books to share with clients and stakeholders in 30 seconds, and gives users the options to customize the reports with their own branding and layout preferences.

It also features integrations with other online SEO-reporting tools like Semrush and Moz.

Free trial, then from $49 per month.

TheGist

If you’re dealing with information overload (aren’t we all?), TheGist will help you streamline the avalanche of lengthy documents, emails and articles heading your way by using AI to summarize the key points for you.

Another nice feature is the app’s ability to customize your summaries based on user preferences, making it a versatile tool for various professional needs. Its intuitive interface and seamless integration with popular platforms further enhance its usability, making it a go-to solution for boosting productivity and staying on top of deadlines.

Free version, or premium from $10 per month.

iScanner

Hello, document bliss. Yes, the elusive state of nirvana truly can exist with this award-winning AI document management and scanning tool that’s been downloaded more than 100 million times.

The iOS or Android app scans single or multipage documents and converts them into different formats for users to edit, sign and search. You can also erase finger marks, deblur scans and interact with texts and PDFs for summarizing or proofreading the content of scanned documents.

Additionally, if you lose your phone or need to check a document on another device, you can access your files online.

Free version, or premium from $9.99 per month.

Contact Any Celebrity

For podcasters, p.r. professionals, marketing gurus, journalists and more, this service delivers with a database of more than 59,000 celebrities and social media stars.

With a few clicks, you’ll get email contacts for agents, managers and publicists, as well as mailing addresses, to save yourself hours of sleuthing if you’re looking to approach talent with say, an ad campaign opportunity or to send them swag in the hope they share with their fans. Try the free seven-day trial before committing.

Free trial, then from $39 per month; ContactAnyCelebrity.com