By Franki Hanke

There are thousands of apps, but which will make you more productive?

You pick up your phone to check the time, but before it lands back on the table you’ve navigated somewhere else. Whether it’s social media, checking Netflix’s new offers, or your playlists on Spotify, distraction always lays in wait on the home screen. 

Between Facebook and Instagram, it’s a wonder I get anything done on my phone! With thousands of apps to distract us, our favorite apps help us be more productive rather than less. 

No matter what you’re aiming to improve, there’s an app for that. Here are our picks for the 15 best iPhone apps for women wanting to be more productive not less.

Find Focus

Calm – For Lovers of Headspace 

Voted Apple’s App of the Year in 2017, Calm is a meditation app for sleep or relaxation. Since they started with guided meditation, sleep sounds, and music, they’ve expanded to ambient soundscapes, classes, and guided stretches. Their multitudes of content include some familiar voices from celebrities like Matthew McConaughey, Stephen Fry, and many more. 

Our founder, Paula Bennett, listens to Calm every night to relax before sleep.  It’s one of our recommendations in our Sleep E-Book, with 25 tips for sleeping better. 

Calm works on your cellphone, Apple TV, or Apple Watch. The app itself is free to download and includes a small selection of free content. Most content is behind their premium paywall. You can try the premium version free for seven days. After the trial, Calm Premium costs $70 annually or a one-time payment of $400. If you want a monthly option, Headspace charges $13 for their month-to-month subscription. 

Calm is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Braintoss – Great App for Overactive Minds 

Made for the person who’s always calling someone when they sit in the car to talk through a slew of new ideas, Braintoss captures your thoughts through voice, photos, or notes.  The interface is simple, but the habit is powerful. With two, quick clicks, brain dump into the app and Braintoss sends your thoughts to your inbox to be built on later. 

Braintoss has an Apple Watch (ios) interface for big ideas on the move. The app costs $3.49 to purchase. 

Braintoss is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Deliveries by JuneCloud – Mail Tracking App 

With postal delays, porch thieves, and hundreds of retailers, keeping track of your ongoing deliveries can feel like a part-time job. Deliveries app is the answer. Interfacing with dozens of services including UPS, FedEx, US Postal Service, DHL, TNT, or Canada Post, the app compiles all your Amazon and other shipment tracking information into one place for at-a-glance check-ins. 

Use the widgets across IOS interfaces on your iPhone, Apple Watch, or Mac for easy updates before porch pirates nab your Amazon packages. 

Deliveries app is available on iPhone and Mac app stores.

Streamline Tasks 

Venmo – Easier Payments Right from your Bank Account

Rapidly becoming the social standard, Venmo allows for quick payments of friends, strangers, and businesses alike. Link the app with your bank account and/or debit or credit card to easily pay your housekeeper, a friend who covered lunch, or the teenager who mowed the lawn. 

Venmo is free to download and use for most actions. A few instances have related fees: out-of-network ATM withdrawal, Instant electronic withdrawal, or sending money to people with a credit card. To learn more about the safety and usage of Venmo, read our in-depth article.

Venmo is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

LastPass – A Personal Assistant for Password Management

Since 81% of security breaches are caused by weak or reused passwords, LastPass is the solution. A simple password manager, LastPass stores your username and secure passwords for all accounts so you only have to remember one! 

The main functions of LastPass are covered by their free version, but there are Premium and Family plans for $3 and $4, respectively with additional features. 

LastPass is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

WeatherBug – Detailed Weather Tracking App

Skip catching the weather report, which manages to be wrong anytime you’re relying on anticipated sunny weather. Instead, use WeatherBug for precise weather updates at your fingertips. 

WeatherBug is free to download and use, but offers in-app purchases. 

WeatherBug is available on iPhone (and Mac) and Android (and Windows) app stores.

Learn Something

Duolingo – Bite-Sized Language Tutorials 

High school Spanish is a distant memory, but you’d like to be at least functionally fluent before your next vacation in Barcelona. Well, then use Duolingo! A gamified way of learning a language, Duolingo was designed to be effective and addictive with daily, bite-sized lessons that teach you any language from French to High Valyrian! 

Duolingo is free with ads. Upgrade to premium for $7 a month. 

Duolingo is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Louvre HD – Browse Art, Rather Than Retailers 

Rather than booking a flight, Louvre HD allows you to peruse the thousands of artworks in France’s Louvre from your couch. Download paintings, browse by genre or artist, and expand your artistic horizons. 

The app is $1.99 to download. 

Louvre HD is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Scarf Art – Style Tutorials for Silk Scarves 

Created by French scarf experte, the Scarf Art app is a directory of scarf knots and styles. With dozens of video tutorials, learn every knot from the twilly to the collier. It’s an easy way to expand your personal style and find more ways to wear your silk scarves. 

The app is $12 which might seem pricey for an app, but it’s the same cost as a book in a much handier format! 

Scarf Art is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Eat Healthier 

Happy Cow – The Waze of Vegan Food 

For dedicated vegans and aspiring vegetarians alike, the Happy Cow app “Find Vegan Food Near You” does just that. Built with user submissions, the app is a growing catalog of vegan-friendly businesses for an easier time finding food. 

The app costs $3.99 on iPhone, but is free on the GooglePlay app store. 

Happy Cow is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Zero – Tracking App for Fasts 

With a crisp interface, Zero is a fast tracking app. With a time tracker, integrated educational content, and statistics, Zero makes your fasting practice easier and more informed. Pair with your favorite fitness app for a diet and exercise plan. 

The app is free to download and use, but offers a premium version with more features. 

Zero is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Tasty – Recipe Catalog

Created by the media powerhouse Buzzfeed, Tasty is the mobile app of their popular recipe hub. The app features over 3,000 recipes, including filter options for gluten-free, low carb, and healthy meal options for an easier way to browse recipes that fit your goals. 

After your free download, use the app on your iPad for a larger recipe view! 

Tasty is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Live Happier 

SmartNews – Your Daily News Lifehack 

A compilation of hundreds of news outlets, SmartNews is a one-stop-shop for getting up to speed on what’s happening worldwide. While the app compiles content for you, it doesn’t filter or fact-check. Download your daily content and read offline. 

The app is free to download and use. 

SmartNews is available on iPhone and Android app stores. 

Grateful – For Gratitude on the Go

With a tidy interface, Grateful is an on-the-go version of your bedside gratitude journal. The app offers a prompt-based option with daily entry prompts to fill in every day to reflect and find gratitude for your life. 

The app is free but offers a premium upgrade. 

Grateful is available on the iPhone app store. 

Visuapp – Vision Board Builder

Rather than pulling out the poster board, easily make a digital vision board with Visuapp. Compile photos from your gallery or Google images to create a vision board. Once your board is made, notifications remind your daily to meditate on what you’ve set forth. 

The app is free but has paid content including a Feng-Shui Vision Board, slideshow feature, and Gratitude Journal. 

Visuapp is available for iPhone and Android app stores. 

Wondering where to download the best iPhone apps for women? 

You might have learned iTunes is the home for purchasing new iPhone content, but several years ago Apple switched to host all purchases on the “App Store” while individual iTunes content is now served across their specific apps: Apple Podcasts, Apple TV, and Apple Books apps. 

On an iPhone, navigate to “App Store.” On an Android or Microsoft phone, navigate to “Store.” 

Now, next time you pull out your phone, the app on the screen will be helping your focus on what’s important rather than just distracting you from what’s happening. 

For a deeper look at increasing your productivity day to day, read our guide The Productive Woman.

Photos by Tada Images / Shutterstock.com and Konstantin Savusia via Shutterstock.com | The above content may contain affiliate links. Finer Things earns from qualifying purchases. When you click and shop, we receive a small commission to support our writers.