12 apps that will help you stay productive on a workation

Workations can be individual journeys or team-wide events, local escapes or international adventures. Regardless of your chosen format, a workation inevitably brings changes to your setting and work schedule. Fortunately, some apps can help to seamlessly connect your new environment with your work assignments, ensuring maximum productivity.

While the specific tools you need might depend on your workation’s style, this article compiles a list of workation productivity apps that can make your team’s event smoother, helping you work smarter, not longer.

First, lay the groundwork and manage expectations

Regardless of your workationing style, make sure to be clear with your team about what’s the goal of your workation. Is the primary aim team building, or is it dedicated work on a special project? How many hours do you expect people to work each day? 

Establishing clear expectations is essential for everyone to align on the same frequency. Without it, your team members might have vastly different ideas about what a workation entails—some may think it’s regular work in a different setting, while others might leave their laptops at home to save space for swimwear.

Once you’re all on the same page, next consider a suitable workspace that will serve as your “office away from the office”. While working from a sun lounger on the beach or a pool terrace might sound tempting, such a setting screams unproductiveness. If you want any work to be done at all, ensure everyone has a decent table and a comfortable chair (away from direct sunlight).

12 workation productivity apps

With these basics covered, it’s time to explore digital tools and apps that facilitate optimized work—the very essence of a successful workation. We’ve divided these workation productivity apps into several categories to help you easily sift through and find what’s most relevant to your needs.

Efficiency & organization apps

If you want any actual work to happen during your workation, you need to have reliable productivity apps at your disposal. Efficient organization and time tracking are very basics of work away from the office.

1. Task management (Todoist) 

An efficient, well-organized to-do list is already half-way to workation productivity. Ideally, prepare your list already before you set out on a workation—this way you’ll be able to jump right in and not waste precious workation-time on remembering your to-dos. 

You can use any task management app that works best for you. Todoist is a good option thanks to its efficient project organization and handy reminders—an essential component as being away from the office might make us more forgetful.

2. Time tracking and productivity insights (DeskTime)

Workations typically entail a different work schedule, but how do you keep the team on track and productive? Time tracking is one of the answers. For example, your team can agree to work only half days during a workation, but make sure those are focused work hours. DeskTime can help to ensure this system works. 

Alternatively, you might divide your workday into shorter focused work sprints. Here too, DeskTime can be incredibly helpful by ensuring those sprints are truly filled with productive, efficient work. This approach isn’t about policing your team or stressing them to cram normal hours into less time. It’s about harnessing your team’s maximum potential to achieve your workation goals—and fostering each team member’s accountability in reaching them.

3. Note taking and brainstorming (Notion)

Sometimes, our ideas and brainstorm results simply don’t fit into a rigid list format. That’s when highly flexible apps like Notion can prove priceless. You can literally create any note, set reminders, write a diary, or draft charts. If needed, you can even build a comprehensive document storage system, knowledge base, or CRM within your Notion space.

For example, if you or your team have accumulated a “rainy day” task list over time, a workation could be the ideal opportunity to tackle and complete some of those deferred tasks.

Focus & motivation apps

It can be more challenging to focus during a workation. New surroundings, beautiful nature, and enticing food aren’t exactly strong motivators for hard work. Fortunately, there are apps specifically designed to help you concentrate and effectively switch off distractions.

4. Music for focus (Focus@Will)

Music can help mute external chatter and pull you away from distracting thoughts, but the type of music matters. Blocking out distracting sounds is one thing, but pairing it with music that is designed to boost your productivity, is like shooting two birds with one stone.

Focus@Will is an app that offers tracks developed with the help of neuroscientists and music experts. The effects of this music on brain activity and heart rate have been measured, tracking its impact alongside user-reported focus levels to ensure it truly enhances concentration.

5. Website and app blocking (Freedom) 

Notifications, messages, pop-ups, and other distractions constantly nibble away at our focus—whether on a workation or a regular workday. On a workation, this can be even more annoying, as you’re aiming to get more done in less time, right? Fortunately, apps like Freedom can be lifesavers when your own willpower is lacking.

6. Focus enhancement (Forest)

If focus music and distraction blocking aren’t enough, and you still feel tempted to start daydreaming, visit the fridge, or find other creative ways to procrastinate, the Forest app may be the solution. It lets you plant a digital tree and keeps it growing while you focus on your selected task. As soon as you quit, your tree dies. If you stay focused for longer periods consistently, you can grow a lush forest.

The best part? Forest partners with a real tree-planting organization, and virtual coins earned on Forest can be used to plant real trees. 

Communication & collaboration apps

On a workation, where team members might be spread across different time zones or simply enjoying varied schedules, seamless collaboration is non-negotiable. Proper communication and collaboration tools are the digital glue that keeps your team connected, ensuring projects progress smoothly, ideas are shared efficiently, and everyone remains aligned, regardless of their physical location. 

7. Asynchronous video messaging (Loom)

Nothing’s worse than dropping out of a teambuilding session or having to quit (or stop) a sightseeing tour because you have to join an online meeting. If the matter is really something that can’t be explained over email, tools like Loom can be helpful. Loom lets you record your camera, microphone, and desktop screen simultaneously—at a time that’s convenient to you. Then you can share your videos with someone to watch at their own convenience. 

8. Online whiteboarding (Mural) 

Whiteboards might seem like a cliché of team gatherings, but while physical ones are “so yesterday,” online whiteboards are incredibly dynamic. Visual collaboration tools like Mural are fantastic for interactive brainstorming, seamless team collaboration, visual planning, and problem-solving. These tools are invaluable for distributed teams—or even if some colleagues couldn’t join the workation—because they allow everyone to work together in real-time, no matter where they are.

9. Team building (Mentimeter)

Team bonding during a workation doesn’t have to be a high-pressure affair. Instead, try fun, low-key activities like quizzes that reveal interesting facts about your colleagues. Such games encourage lighthearted communication, helping team members get to know each other better without the need for intense, structured activities.

For instance, apps like Mentimeter are excellent for interactive quizzes and trivia. You can easily create custom quizzes about your team, company history, or just general fun facts. You can also play quizzes that are already available on Mentimeter or similar platforms. It’s a competitive and engaging way to inject short bursts of energy into the day and get everyone talking and laughing together.  

Leisure & wellness apps

Workations are about finding pleasure amidst your productivity. To truly make the most of this experience for your team, don’t just go with the flow—make it meaningful and enriching. Wherever you are, these apps will help you make the most of the “vacation” part of your workation.

10. Weather updates (Ventusky)

Regardless of how heavily you use them daily, weather apps become indispensable during trips and workations. It doesn’t matter which weather app you use, as long as it’s reliable and clearly shows temperature and precipitation changes throughout the day. Ventusky is a solid choice—visual, detailed, and accurate.

A good weather app can help you decide:

• When to plan outdoor team-building activities or sightseeing excursions.
• Whether to start the day with a focused work sprint or seize the only sunny hours for a beach morning.
• Whether to organize a work session in the park or opt for an indoor setting.

11. Navigation and local exploration (Citymapper)

Citymapper excels at public transport navigation, providing detailed routes, real-time departures, and disruptions, also offering bike routes to get from point A to point B. Depending on your preferences, you can also use Google Maps or other transport apps for efficiently planning leisure time around work.

12. Audio tours (VoiceMap)

Integrating sightseeing into your workation is a significant value-add. Audio tour apps like VoiceMap provide location-aware narratives that play automatically as you walk. This app creates an immersive experience, allowing you to focus on the sights and sounds around you rather than constantly consulting a screen or guidebook. While many tours within these apps come with a small fee, the modest investment is well worth it for the rich, localized insights and the freedom to explore at your own pace.

Making your workation a success

Workations are far from ordinary, and since most of us are new to them, there’s no rigid playbook for success. Embrace flexibility, and be ready to take detours and unexpected paths along the way.

When it comes to workation productivity apps, the best approach is to experiment and discover what truly enhances your team’s workflow. Think of our app suggestions as a guiding framework, highlighting the fundamental aspects you’ll want to consider.Start by creating fertile ground for productivity, then pick the right tools to support it. Time tracking and productivity boosting with DeskTime, for instance, forms the basis of a successful workation. It enables crucial flexibility while simultaneously promoting accountability across your team.

Article written by

Ieva Sipola

Ieva Sipola is a productivity and technology writer who has been a long-time contributor to the DeskTime blog. Her work has also appeared on Lifehack, The Ladders, Pick the Brain, Hackernoon, and numerous blogs. In addition to writing, Ieva loves traveling and collecting quirky stories and experiences.