Smartphones are excellent tools that can perform a myriad of functions. However, we’ve all become so dependent on our phones that most of us stare at them for hours daily. While phones are a good source of valuable information and knowledge, we often get distracted whenever we pick them up. The surge in social media apps and short-form content has us doomscrolling, losing track of time.
I was suffering from the same issue, and that’s when I decided to do something about it. I obviously couldn’t ditch my phone, so I figured out a solution that involved my smartphone, but could help boost my productivity. While Digital Wellbeing on Android is good, it is not as effective. My solution is an app called Ruppu. At first glance, it may seem like a standard to-do list app, but it has one feature that has made it a mainstay on my smartphone. Here’s how I used Ruppu to overcome procrastination, improve my productivity, and stop endlessly staring at my phone’s screen.
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Simple to set up and use
Straightforward UI
I use Google Keep as my default note-taking app across all my devices. Its simple UI doesn’t complicate things by adding too many elements. That’s also the reason I love Ruppu. As soon as you open the app, you’ll see all your existing notes, to-do lists, and other items. There’s a large button with a ‘+’ icon that expands when you tap on it. You can then choose whether to create a new note, add an image, create a task, assemble an app bar, etc.
Ruppu lets you add several different elements to your notification shade. There’s a standard note with text, to-do lists, location pins, QR codes, app lists, links, contacts, and images. While most are self-explanatory, the app list is unique and worth elaborating on. Essentially, Ruppu lets you create a list of frequently used apps and displays a persistent bar of shortcuts to those apps in your notification shade. This way, every time you access your notifications, you can quickly jump to work-related apps.
You can quickly pin and unpin all these elements from the notification area. You can create multiple lists and elements, but not all of them need to be displayed in the notification shade at all times. Pin the ones you want to see, and unpin them once you’re done. The app also allows you to organize tasks based on different categories, like work, shopping lists, contact cards, etc.
Persistent notifications add accountability
Guilt-trip yourself into working
Unlike standard to-do and reminder apps, Ruppu’s USP is that it displays a constant notification that keeps reminding you of your pending tasks every time you check your phone. This plays a big role in making you more accountable for your work. With other apps, you have to manually open the app to see the list of assignments. That doesn’t usually happen when you’re scrolling away.
Every time I bring down the notification shade and I’m greeted with my to-do list, I instantly feel guilty for wasting time and quickly get back to work. It triggers some sort of fear that I won’t be able to complete my tasks on time if I don’t return to work, which is enough motivation for me to set my phone aside for the time being.
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Works for more than just productivity
Adds a lot of convenience
Apart from making you more productive, Ruppu also has other advantages. I have already mentioned how the app list is useful to jump between different important apps without going back to the home screen. Apart from that, the ability to pin an image is also beneficial, since you can have a motivational quote or something of that sort to get you going.
Other use cases of this feature include pinning a shopping list so you can quickly glance at everything you need, displaying your contact information so that you can simply open your notification shade to share your details with others at a meeting, or pinning a link to a website you frequently visit, so that it’s just a tap away. The possibilities are endless.
One app is all you need
At first, it may seem to you that a simple app isn’t going to make much of a difference. However, the difference it brings about in the way you go about using your phone is remarkable. Every time I receive a notification on my phone, I see the persistent reminder from Ruppu to get to my tasks, and that automatically makes me feel guilty for spending any more time on my phone. There’s also a sudden rush to finish my tasks soon so that I can get rid of the notification at the earliest and watch a show or head out for a walk, so that also acts as a motivating factor. If you’re like me and you procrastinate a lot, you need to give Ruppu a shot.
Ruppu
Ruppu is an app that aims to improve your productivity by displaying a persistent notification with your tasks for the day until you complete them.
