These iPad apps help me step up my productivity game and optimize my life

The brilliance of Apple’s iPad is that you can use it to do so many things, all while being able to easily bring it with you wherever you go. Whether you have an iPad Mini, a regular iPad, or an iPad Pro, Apple’s tablets are ideal to carry with you for presentations, work trips, or even to lay in bed with and watch YouTube. The brilliant Liquid Retina display (or OLED screen if you’re using the iPad Pro) makes the colors on anything you’re consuming pop and the interactive touchscreen allows for precise movements.

This is why iPads can be a key tool for a wide variety of tasks. I’ve used iPads for both personal and professional purposes and have found that there are certain apps that help keep me on track and organized.

The Apple Pencil also opens up additional functionality on your iPad, including allowing you to use it as a note-taking device. It doesn’t have to be work-related either, as keeping a family’s schedule together can be just as hard. Below are some of my favorite productivity-focused iPad apps.

iPad Pro (M4)

The 13-inch iPad Pro packs its powerful M4 chip into a very thin, light, and portable design. It also offers a brighter, more vibrant OLED screen display.

5 Asana

Keep all of your tasks organized

Asana is a platform built for project management. Projects can often be in different stages and in some cases, it can be difficult to know exactly where they stand. With Asana, you can move a project from the infancy stages to completion all on one card. You can also break the assignment down into individual tasks, making it easy for a manager to follow along with the progress of a project.

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If you don’t want to use this simple interface for business, it also works great for home projects as well. Monthly tasks like budgeting, bills, and goals, as well as daily tasks like chores, schedules, and more, can all be tracked easily in Asana. Asana can also send you daily reminders and push notifications to your iPad for tasks you need to complete to make sure you’re on top of them.

Asana

Asana is a project management tool that helps you track personal tasks as well as the status of a team’s mission. It has an easy-to-navigate interface and works with iPad, iOS, and browser.

4 Anytype

Secure and encrypted for your protection

There are plenty of times throughout the day when you have an idea and don’t remember it in time to jot it down. With Anytype on the iPad, that’s no longer an issue. Anytype allows you to quickly jot down notes and ideas. The best part about Anytype is that it features end-to-end encryption and ensures your notes are private. Your notes can also be made accessible when you’re offline, allowing you to flesh them out when you don’t have an internet connection.

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Anytype can be a home for notes, contacts, tasks, and much more across phones, tablets, and computers.

But that’s not all Anytype can do. Anytype can also to all of your other devices and allow you to stay up-to-date on all of your things as you’re on the move. You can keep notes, bookmarks, documents, tabs, tasks, and more on a customizable home screen. This safeguards all the info that you might need to bring with you.

3 Goodnotes 6

Jot down notes with the Apple Pencil

Pocket-lint / Goodnotes

If you’re someone who is used to bringing multiple paper notebooks to meetings, simplify your life with an iPad and Goodnotes 6. Goodnotes 6 can work with or without an Apple Pencil, but having an Apple Pencil makes it much easier to take precise notes. You can combine handwritten notes with text on the same page, filling out your notes in a more organized manner. You can even record audio notes and then sync them with your writing, making this an ideal app to use when you’re setting up a presentation.

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There are also AI features that help summarize text for you and match the tone that you’re trying to convey, alongside customizable paper templates, so you can make it feel like you’re writing in a real notebook. This syncs with iCloud, OneDrive, DropBox, and Google Drive, allowing you to back up what you make.

Goodnotes 6

Goodnotes is a notes app that makes it easy to jot down notes with your Apple Pencil on your iPad. It will recognize a typo as you’re writing and fix it for you. You can share documents and store them too.

2 Google Calendar

Keep track of your daily schedule

Are you good at managing your personal and professional calendars? What about the calendars for every other member of your family? Have you ever wanted to know when everyone is going to be at home at the same time? Google Calendar makes it easier. You can have shared calendars, calendars for individuals, and both work and personal calendars that keep everything in a layout you choose.

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This, along with the other apps in the Google Workspace suite of apps, are all free to use and work across all devices, including iPads. Color-coding your calendars makes it easy to know who is doing what on specific days. You can also sync calendars from other providers, such as Microsoft Outlook. Google Calendar reliably lists your events and can send you alerts to make sure you aren’t late to them.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar works to keep your appointments lined up and manageable. You can sync multiple calendars to have a better understanding of your day-to-day life.

1 1Password

Store all of your passwords securely

While you can opt to use Passkeys from Apple (which is already a part of iPadOS), 1Password provides a simpler interface to work with. Passkeys can be confusing, and it’s often difficult to find the password that you’re actually looking for, as some are probably saved in apps while others are in browsers (and not all of them will sync to Passkeys). 1Password generates strong passwords for you, keeping all your accounts straight for you.

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You can save passwords and passkeys in 1Password and then make them shareable with anyone you want. The app works with Touch ID and Face ID on your iPad to provide you with extra levels of security. If you are traveling with your iPad, you can enact Travel Mode, which keeps vaults with your personal information hidden. You can try 1Password for free for 14 days.

1Password

1Password will create, manage, and store all of your passwords and account names and numbers. It’s easier than having to jot down all your login information for many sites.