Try These 7 iPad Pro Apps to Boost Your Productivity

The beauty of iPad and iPadOS is that you have access to the app store. Some people argue that the iPadOS software tends to slow down the user experience, especially in a productivity environment, but I disagree. Given the nearly 2 million apps you can access and the raw power of the iPad Pro chipset, I believe the iPad can be a more productive alternative to a traditional desktop or laptop. Here are seven apps I use on my iPad Pro M4 to stay productive.

Be sure to watch the video below to see the apps I mention:

Sunsama is a daily planning and task management program that I have been using for years. I actually did a review almost two years ago here. I use it as my life’s to-do hub and consolidate everything from work-related tasks, home affairs, and even hobbies that I want to make sure I have time for. It is a daily planning tool, focusing primarily on the calendar. The key word here is “led” – it’s almost like a daily exercise, let me explain.

Sunsama strikes a great balance between making sure you get all your tasks done, but also keeping your mind clear and not letting yourself get overwhelmed or burned by all the work you have to do. Every morning, when you open the app, which works across all your devices and syncs perfectly, it asks you what you want to do today. There’s also a tab for tasks you didn’t do the previous day; it even syncs with your calendar so you can see any time-sensitive meetings. It then shows you your projected workload and lets you move tasks to other days if the workload gets too intense. This practice of taking just 2-3 minutes to reflect on what your day is like has significantly increased my productivity.

Once everything is ready, your day begins and you can start completing tasks one by one. You even have a focus mode you can activate that will track how much time you spend on a given task, as well as remove all other distractions in Sunsama.

End-of-week integrations and summaries

No matter how simple and digitally minimalist people try to be, there are always a lot of apps that people need access to. This is where Sunsam’s integrations really shine. You can easily integrate your email, then drag and drop specific emails into Sunsam’s calendar to act as a task reminder, which I use daily. It also has integrations with the big players in task management like Notion, Monday, Jira, Github, Asana, and more. That’s why I use Sunsam as my personal task management hub. I can integrate Notion and Monday to make sure I’m on top of my work tasks, as well as see all my personal tasks in one view.

Finally, at the end of each day and week, you can take 2 minutes to quickly recap everything you have completed. Not only that, but you can also see what other tasks need to be completed. This gives you a sense of accomplishment for completing the tasks, and also allows you to plan a little for the next day or week. This way, you have an idea of ​​what is coming next.

Final thoughts on Sunsam

If you’re looking for task management software that will truly help you improve your daily tasks, you should try Sunsama. They have a 14-day free trial where you don’t even need to provide a payment option. So you don’t have to remember to “cancel” before you’re charged like you would with any other subscription. After the 14-day free trial, it will be $20 per month or $16 per month if you pay for a year. For me, Sunsama was a no-brainer and I was able to increase my overall productivity and get rid of that overwhelming feeling. I say: try it and then see if it’s worth it!

FocusedOS is a tool-based app that I now use daily. Technically it’s an iOS app, but of course it runs on iPadOS. The app is simple and clean, but it’s done wonders for reducing my procrastination. I like to use it in conjunction with Sunsama. FocusedOS essentially blocks the apps you select while Focus Mode is on.

I have a “writing an article” environment that blocks all my social media apps like YouTube, Twitter, and YouTube Studio and plays some white noise to really get me in the mood. There are 12 different ambient sounds to choose from, my favorite being Cafe. You can then block apps by category, individually, or even websites. When the environment is enabled and you try to access a blocked app, the app will first change color, and then when you tap it, it will show a black screen that says FocusOS is active.

It’s a freemium app, meaning it’s free to use, with some limitations. Most will be fine with the free version, but if you want to add a few environments, sync your devices, be able to use shortcuts, and get full access to the app, it’ll be $3.99 per month or $20 for a year. Here’s everything you get with the paid version:

• Create multiple environments
• Advanced application + website blocking
• “Allow only” option.
• select website categories
• All ambient sounds (12 currently)
• Run shortcuts when starting the environment (Mac)
• Sync across devices

Apple Notes

I’ve tried countless third-party note-taking apps and I always find myself going back to Apple’s Notes app. It’s where my rawest ideas start. Whether I’m taking handwritten notes, drawing simple thumbnails, or jotting down an idea for a title, I always start in the Notes app. It just works so well and gives me a sense of confidence when I use it. I always know that anything I write down on my iPad will also be available on my iPhone and Mac. I can categorize notes with simple hashtags, I can collaborate with others in real time, I have all the basic formatting I need.

It’s hard for me to justify giving up the Notes app when I’ve been using it successfully for so many years. Apple continues to improve it, introducing a new math notes feature and the ability to clean up ink to make it more legible. Overall, I’m a big supporter of Apple Notes, which makes it easier to get started with work and personal tasks.

Lumafusion

If I had to say there was one app that changed the trajectory of my life in some way, it would have to be Lumafusion. I started using Lumafusion to edit tutorial videos on my iPad and then post them on YouTube while I was still working my day job. That all eventually led to me making videos for a living.

I know it’s not a productivity app, but it’s been my most used work app for the last 6 years. Since 2018, I have edited all my YouTube videos using Lumafusion. New competitors emerged such as Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad, Capcut and Davinci; I’ve tried them all. I always end up straight with Lumafusion. You get everything you need from a video editor, from integrated voiceovers, Lutz import, working on an external SSD, multi-camera editing and much more. The best part is that this is a one-time purchase; Some app add-ons can be purchased but are not needed. If you are looking for a professional video editor for iPad or even iPhone, I recommend Lumafusion.

Other applications

There are a few other apps that I mention in our video here . Be sure to check them out to see what else I use every day, as well as get a hands-on demo of some of the apps mentioned above. My iPad is my main computer and I love everything about it. But it’s the apps I use that really set it apart from other computers, regardless of form factor or operating system.

Let me know what you think about the apps I mentioned! Are there any other apps I should consider? What is your most used app? Let’s discuss below.