Productivity Apps for the non tech-savvy
Life is chaos.
Your brain is juggling a million things—emails, meetings, reminders, and that sticky note you swore you’d remember to check. Half the time, even finding where you saved that important idea feels like a small miracle.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. For many, especially busy managers, small business owners, or founders, keeping up feels impossible. And while we all want to be more productive, the thought of using yet another app feels like just another thing to figure out.
And let’s not even start with AI. Sure, it sounds fancy—like something only tech pros or coders could use. But for people like you, who are running the show and don’t have time to “learn a system,” it feels out of reach.
But what if I told you AI wasn’t some sci-fi robot takeover? What if it were more like a friendly assistant, ready to simplify your life? No tech jargon. No overwhelming learning curve. Just simple tools that work.
This is the promise of today’s AI-powered productivity tools:
– They’re designed to make your life easier.
– They don’t require a tech background.
– And they might just save your sanity.
Whether you’re a parent running a side hustle, a manager leading a team, or a nonprofit founder trying to stretch every minute, these tools can help.
So, if you’re ready to reclaim your time without a steep learning curve, here are five simple ways AI can actually work for you.
1. AI Takes Meeting Notes for you
Imagine never having to worry about taking notes during a meeting again. AI-powered apps like Otter.ai can transcribe your meetings in real time, ensuring that every detail is captured accurately.
Benefits:
- Automatic Summaries: Get automatic summaries of key points, making it easy to share insights with your team and keeping everyone on the same page after the meeting.
How to Start:
- Sign up for an Otter.ai account.
- Connect Otter.ai to your meeting platform (e.g., Zoom).
- Start a meeting and let Otter.ai transcribe the conversation in real time.
Use Case: Board meetings, client calls, or brainstorming sessions…
Ideal Users: Professionals in meetings-heavy roles like managers, project leads, and consultants.
Pricing: Free tier available with limited transcription; Premium plans start at $8.33/month.
2. Personal Assistant for your Notes, To Do list
Saner.AI centralize your tasks & information from Email, Slack, GDrive, or your self-created todo. With an intuitive design, powered by best-in-class AI Assistants, it helps you get things done faster, automatically
Pros
- Universal Inbox: Automatically extracts tasks and information from various sources (Emails, Slack, Notion, notes in Saner.AI, etc.)
- AI Organization: AI auto tag your notes, and sorts and prioritizes tasks based on your preferences and habits.
- AI Knowledge Assistant, Skai: Skai helps you recall and synthesize your notes. Just ask and get clear, direct answers from your notes
- AI Task Assistant: Helps you break down tasks, suggest solutions & remind you
- Intuitive Interface: Easy to learn and use, even for beginners.
- Knowledge Integration: Your tasks, information, and related knowledge are all in one place—allowing for easy search and efficient execution without context switching.
Cons
- Requires internet access for full functionality
Pricing
- Free
- Starter: Monthly at $8/month, Annually at $6/month
- Standard: Monthly at $16/month, Annually at $12/month
Who is it suitable for?
Saner.AI is particularly well-suited for:
- Intensive knowledge workers who need to manage large amounts of information efficiently from multiple sources, such as entrepreneurs, researchers, managers, and content creators
- Individuals with ADHD or those who struggle with information organization and time management
- Anyone looking to streamline their workflow without spending too much time learning a new tool.
How to start using it?
- Visit the Saner.AI website and sign up for an account
- Explore the app’s features, starting with basic note-taking and task creation.
- Try out the integrated internet search functionality to streamline your workflow.
3. Fix your grammar
Clear and error-free communication is crucial in any business. A Simple AI writing assistant like Grammarly can help you write better by catching grammar mistakes, suggesting style improvements, and even optimizing your tone.
It integrates seamlessly with your email, documents, and even social media platforms. The great thing is that it offers real-time suggestions right away without you having to set up anything!
Benefits:
- Email and Document Proofreading: Grammarly checks your emails and documents in real time, helping you avoid embarrassing mistakes.
- Tone Adjustment: Get suggestions to make your writing more formal, friendly, or concise, depending on your needs.
- Writing Insights: Understand your writing habits and areas for improvement with personalized feedback and tips.
How to Start:
- Install the Grammarly browser extension or download the app.
- Log in with your account and start typing.
- Grammarly will automatically provide suggestions as you write.
Use Case: Writing emails, reports, and presentations…
Ideal Users: Writers, marketers, and professionals looking to refine their communication.
Pricing: Free plan; Premium starts at $12/month.
4. Search faster with AI summaries
Perplexity offers a straightforward way to get concise, accurate answers to complex questions. You just need to type what you want to search for, and the AI model will search through the internet to give you the answer you want.
Benefits:
- Quick and Easy search: Instead of having to read through multiple SEO articles and links. Now you get your answer almost instantly with respective sources.
How to Start:
- Visit the Perplexity
- Type your question into the search bar.
- Get the answers
Use Case: Market research, competitor analysis, or curious questions
Ideal Users: Students, analysts, and curious individuals.
Pricing: Free. Premium at 20$/month
5. Control Emails
Superhuman’s sleek design and intuitive features like AI-powered email triage, shortcuts, and reminders make managing your inbox quick and effortless. It’s designed to help you process emails faster and more efficiently.
Benefits
- Inbox Prioritization: Important emails are flagged and moved to the top of your inbox, while less critical ones are deferred.
- Response Suggestions: AI can draft responses for you to review and send, saving you time on routine communications.
- Superhuman’s Speed: With its lightning-fast interface and keyboard shortcuts, Superhuman helps you blitz through emails more efficiently than ever.
How to Start:
- Request an invite on the Superhuman website.
- Set up your account and integrate your email.
- Follow the onboarding guide to learn the shortcuts and features.
Use Case: Daily email management. Focus on high-priority emails, quickly archive or snooze less important ones, and keep your inbox under control, saving you valuable time each day.
Ideal Users: Busy professionals with high email volumes, managers, executives…
Pricing: $30/month.
Quick Tips to Get Started
Start Small: Pick one AI tool that addresses your most pressing need. Implement it and get comfortable before adding more.
Set Clear Objectives: Know what you want to achieve with each tool. Whether it’s reducing time spent on emails or organizing project files, having a clear goal will help you measure success.
Leverage Tutorials: Many AI tools offer quick-start guides and tutorials. Spend a few minutes exploring these resources to get the most out of your chosen app.
Start Small, Think Big
You don’t need to be a tech genius or completely change the way you work to get the benefits of AI.
Imagine this: you’re a small business owner juggling a million tasks, a busy parent trying to organize your day, or a professional who just doesn’t have the time to learn a complicated new tool. Maybe you’ve tried apps in the past but gave up because they felt overwhelming.
That’s okay. You’re not alone.
Start small. Pick just one or two tools that fit into your daily routine, like something to organize your notes or a simple app to help you track your to-do list. These tools are designed for real people—not tech experts. They save you time and make your life easier by cutting through the noise and helping you focus on what really matters.
Teach doesn’t have to be scary, confusing, or something you avoid.
The right tools are intuitive and work in the background to support you.
You’ve got this.
