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Personal Productivity Apps

If you’ve ever wanted to keep better track of what you do every day with hopes of developing good habits, look no further than your smartphone.

I have three personal productivity apps that can show you how you spend your time and where improvements can be made.

The Reporter app runs in the background and logs details about what you do and where you go, such as how many steps you’ve taken. But it also tracks details such as how loud or quiet your surroundings are throughout the day. Users take random surveys throughout the day to help determine variable such as how much time is being spent at work. The app is $3.99 for iOS.

Instant claims to show you your life on a dashboard. It tracks daily usage of your smartphone or tablet, how much you walk, run, and travel, and how much time you spend at specific places. The app is $2.99 for iOS and Android.

Streaks bills itself as a tool that that helps develop good habits. Simply complete six tasks, from eating healthy meals to reading, and the idea is they will become good habits. You can add whatever tasks you feel are most important to complete on a regular basis. It also works with Apple Watch. The app is $3.99 for iOS

Mike is a veteran journalist whose video "PC Mike" reports have been distributed weekly to all 215 NBC-TV stations since 1994, making him one of the most experienced tech reporters in the country. His tech stories and videos have appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, the Today Show, The New York Times, USA Today and in numerous national newspapers and magazines. In addition to the PC Mike tech blog, he also publishes the Roadtreking.com RV Travel Blog in which he travels North America in an RV reporting about interesting people and places.