The thing about having two kids that I find especially hard is the amount of chores that need to be done once the kids are asleep. When it was just The Munchkin, I could sit in front of the TV or game for an hour or two after he had gone to bed.

Now as I write this blog post, I should be washing and sterilizing bottles and breast pump parts, making my overnight oats, getting the kids bags ready, etc etc etc…

But I’m tired y’all! I just want to sit on this couch for a while. I’m so tired. Add to that the nights with two kids are sometimes quite hectic. And I still have to go to work the next day and be a functioning member of society. My brain tends to be made of cotton wool and I have a to-do list as long as my arm. And then there’s the issue of being distracted. I get so easily distracted, having a million things on my mind.

So I went in search of some apps to help me because Lord knows I need it. These are the two that help my productivity the most.

Habitica – Gamify your To-Do List

This is hands down, my favourite productivity app. I say app, but I mostly use it on desktop for work and the app for home things. During my pregnancy with The Potato my memory and productivity went down the proverbial toilet. I was messing up big time, letting things slip and it was not great for me.

As a gamer this app just speaks to how my brain works – getting rewards and levelling up my character.

How it works  

There are 3 columns: Habits, Dailies and To-Dos.

It’s pretty self explanatory but Habits are things you want to cultivate or break. For me that’s remembering to take my contraceptive, remembering to express and stop eating junk food.

Dailies are things that I need to do every day like sterilising and packing in my breast pump, packing the kids bags and setting my clothes out the night before.

To-Dos are my to do list and this how I keep track of the millions of things I need to do at work. Every time I get a new thing to do from my editor and it goes on there immediately. 

You get XP, gold and you attack whatever Boss you’re fighting on whatever quest you’re on. If you don’t complete any of your Habits or Dailies, your HP gets attacked.

Drops include Pet Eggs, Hatching Potions and Food for pets. When you feed a pet enough food it turns into a Mount.

Then there are Challenges. You can pick these up in the Tavern and they can range cover so many things. Working on your photography skills? There are weekly themed challenges that you post in the Photography Guild (group). You can win Gems that way and you can use Gems to buy items.

Aside from a general chat area, you can also Rest in the Inn and pause your Dailies so that they don’t damage you overnight. 

Character Class

At level 10 you can choose your class. Different classes have different advantages. I chose a Rogue because I don’t want to spend my ACTUAL money on drop items.

Sign up for Habitica here and download the Android and iOS apps.

Tide – Focus Timer to Study, Work & Relax

I don’t use Tide every day but I do use it when I really need to focus on a task at hand. It’s based on the Pomodoro Technique, where you concentrate on a task for 25 minutes and then have a 5 minute break. After four 25 minute stints, you take a 15 minute break.

Tide is a timer for those periods with some calming music to keep you focused on what you’re doing.

Download Tide for Android and iOS.