What’s on my phone📱?

A quick round up of some of my favorite apps & a few special mentions

My home screen — it’s pretty simple

As a product manager working on apps, i spent a lot of time on my phone. And using the right apps and building the right habits goes a long way in increasing productivity. I came across Youtuber Sherry Shroff’s video — ‘What’s on my phone’ & was inspired to do a post. You can see that video here.

Pretty awesome app roundup

Apps i depend on the most

Some of the apps i can’t live without

1. Chrome & Photos — I think the browser was the best piece of software ever created. A portal to the crazy world wide web. Usually i have close to 20 tabs open on my phone browser. Reading the news, tech blogs, searching for random stuff. And Google Photos just keeps getting better.
2. Twitter— I’m a Twitter addict. I tried to reduce my twitter usage by uninstalling the app briefly but i just ended up using the browser version :
3. Slack — Official work chat. I’m not a big fan though. I think it promotes unstructured discussions which do not scale.
4. Evernote — One app i can’t live without. I love how snappy it is. I jot down insights, bugs, entire articles in my Evernote.
5. Walnut — Yo, our own baby. Helps me stay below my budget and ensures i don’t spend all my money on food!
6. Netflix — Good way to relax. 1 hour of Netflix right after work keeps the stress away :)
7. Youtube — Whether it’s random Family Guy videos, Google Developer tutorials or songs — Youtube is the go-to-app. I’ve consumed entire Udacity courses as a playlist and if you pair it with ChromeCast it’s a great way to learn.
8. Medium — Another one of my fav apps. I’m a bit annoyed that they keep messing with the home-page design. But they’ve simplified writing to such a great extent, it’s pushed Wordpress to re-think their experience.
9. Swiggy — love the guy on the motorbike. Also always delivers on time.

The usual suspects:

1. WhatsApp — my primary messaging app
2. Instagram — Great way to waste time. Currently being used as a travel timeline :)
3. Google Maps- Download offline areas when you’re on a trip to get the best
4. Messenger

Special Mentions:

1. Fitbit —It’s my watch now! I wrote about my experience using Fitbit here — https://hackernoon.com/can-fitbit-really-make-you-fitter-99f7da6f0a8e
2. Uber/Ola — There’s no clear winner for me. Ola has distribution, Uber has the tech.
3. Analytics & Fabric — The Analytics App is pretty smooth and a great way to stay on top of key metrics.
4. Tez — Best among the UPI apps. Primarily used to pay rent.
5. Strava- My app for tracking runs and bicycle rides. I wrote about why i like Strava more than NRC — https://medium.com/@vernekard/strava-vs-nike-run-club-whats-the-best-running-app-a96fcc61bb94

Special Special Mentions:

Google Trips, Truecaller & Goodreads.

If you found the article useful, please feel free to hit the green ‘APPLAUSE’ button, multiple times. Also what’s your favorite app? Tell me in the comments.

You can follow me on Twitter at vernekard or Linkedin