Time is one of the most valuable resources of today’s world and it is a crucial factor for everyone, especially for working people or students who would like to achieve more and do it as fast as they can. Luckily, for any person in need of a tool to improve productivity, there are several tools out there that are open-source. Here are 20 great open source tools to consider:
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Table of Contents
1. LibreOffice
It is worth mentioning that LibreOffice is a free software to type documents and create tables and presentations. It can also work with files in MS Office format, allowing users to share files with those who have not yet transitioned to free services. The need to have an autosave function, ability to customize the program and the way it integrates with different file formats to make working on documents more efficient is achieved by LibreOffice. Learn more at https://www.libreoffice.org/
2. Thunderbird
If you are looking for an open source email client then go for Thunderbird as it has been found to be a good email client. It is bundled with features such as smart search, filter options along with presets, plugins to unlock additional capabilities, and synchronization compatible with personal calendar and to-do list applications. Depending on the types of messages that are received and the amount of work that is done with them, Thunderbird has powerful tools for sorting. Get it at https://www.thunderbird.net.
3. Firefox
When comparing the web browsers Firefox can boast of speed, ability to be customized and strong emphasis on users’ privacy. You can set practical productiveness add-ons like a to-do list, reminder tool, and even tools that block distractions. This option enables Firefox to synchronize settings across different devices, making it easier for you to browse from any device without interruption. Download Firefox at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/.
4. CherryTree
CherryTree is quite useful, free of charge, note-taking software for personal brainstorming and memo collection. It includes such tools as syntax highlighting, bookmarks, search and replace operations, and capability to build a notes hierarchy. It means that if you collect all your notes and documents in one place, which CherryTree does, you can achieve a great deal. Find more details at https://www.giuspen.com/cherrytree/
5. Joplin
For note taking and task management, Joplin is a good and openly-sourced app. There are application versions for all popular operating systems of both desktop and mobile devices, and all these applications work in real time with the help of the cloud. Notes, tasks, bookmarks, screenshots, drawings, and basically anything you would write — Joplin will capture it. Then it can be sorted with notebooks, tags, lists, and links to another note. Learn more about Joplin at https://joplinapp.org/.
6. Standard Notes
Standard Notes is one of the secure apps for anyone who would like to have tight protection with their notes. It encrypts your notes using what is considered to be the latest technology in the field of encryption to ensure your information is safeguarded from other people. Features that include tagging, sorting, pinning the favorite, and offline access are some of the usability aspects in the website. Extensions and editors let them provide their own twists for developers, writers, and other users. Get started for free at https://standardnotes.com/.
7. Todoist
Task management is not a complex process, and for this purpose, theTodoist is an excellent and highly productive open-source app. It currently includes features like natural language input, smart scheduling, reminders, subtasks, labels, filters, productivity analytics and more. With available apps for smartphones, tablets and desktops, Todoist helps you reduce stress levels by capturing the life’s tasks in one integrated application. Check out Todoist at https://todoist.com
8. Google Keep
If you are looking for an extremely minimalistic open source application for notes, Google Keep will be the answer. Thus, it has an intuitive design that enables easy copying of text, images, sounds, lists, and other items. It is possible to add colors to the notes, give them labels, make search queries and share the notes. Google Keep is synchronizable online and offline; it allows you to type ideas anytime you have an idea. Get started at https://keep.google.com/.
9. Zotero
Are you having a hard time with reference, researches and bibliographies? Zotero is the popular open source reference management software mainly used by academic and researchers. It assist you to gather notes, prepare reference lists and sort out your research sources in a simple manner. There are some great productivity features like cloud sync, Word, and Google Docs integration, and over 300 citation styles. Find out more at https://www.zotero.org.
10. Evernote
Now let us discuss Evernote, which is one of the most used note apps that went open source in 2023. You capture ideas effortlessly with text formatting, sketching, the ability to attach files, tagging, OCR for images and many more. In my opinion, the Web Clipper feature is the best one – it can help save web content. You should consider getting a paid account to unlock more features in the Evernote note-taking service. However, as I have already mentioned, even the free version has decent basic capabilities. Get Evernote at https://evernote.com/.
11. Notion
Notion is not fully open source at the moment but it does have a developer API and several widget integration options that do offer some rather good starting points for customizing your workflow with the tool. Practicality is Notion’s superpower – this is a tool that consolidates notes, documents, to-do lists, and team projects into a single interface. It is now possible to design systems suitable in regard to your productivity requirements due to easy templating. Sign up for an account at https://www.notion.so/
12. Simplenote
When it comes to capturing text notes, the Simplenote offers little learning curve because the app is designed as simplest as it can get. This is record taking where notes are searchable and shareable from any device. Some of the key features of Simplenote include tagging, putting the note up on websites, and making backups. There is one more advantage of using Simplenote – the ability to link third-party applications to it. Get started at https://simplenote.com/.
13. Freud
Freud is an application for the creation of mind maps that can be used to organize the information and ideas in a visible and accessible way. Organize your thoughts and ideas in engaging flowcharts to illustrate relationships between them. Discuss possibilities, work out strategies, design courses of action, and view the world through Freudian eyes. Find it at https://github.com/jhaddy/freud/.
14. Taskbook
Among task management and notes taking apps, we have the open source app for task management called Taskbook. Record Jotting and list your tasks in one interface either exclusively offline or in partnership with the internet. This is supported by the use of tags, reminders, keyboard shortcuts, Markdown, and many others. Give Taskbook a try at https://github.com/klaussinani/taskbook/.
15. OpenProject
To effectively manage inter-group relations, communicate with your teams on projects and tasks, you can try OpenProject – a free open source project management software. It contains features for planning, resources, calendar, time frames for work, documents, communication, and others. It is integrated with GitHub, JIRA, and other related platforms if required. Get OpenProject at https://www.openproject.org/.
16. Turtl
Secure your notes and documents with the utterly private, encrypting open source app – Turtl. It is also capable of sharing with other users while at the same time making sure that the files shared are secure. Cross-device coordination, rapid ideation, and final note organization — Turtl has been designed with these goals in mind. Check it out at https://turtlapp.com/.
17. Boostnote
Although it may not be as feature rich as Evernote, it offers a fun coder-friendly way of taking notes and has nice features like GitHub integration and Markdown support. Here you can have an access to the desktop, web, and the mobile application, which are synchronized automatically. The developer community involved in Boostnote is vibrant with constant updates in themes and improved features. Get Boostnote at https://boostnote.io/.
18. Org Mode
The Org Mode adds advanced and customizable functionality of notes and tasks to the widely used Emacs text editor. It has support for to-do lists, tag/ category, scheduling, file links, search, code snippets, and over 200 other functionalities to enhance productivity. See what Org Mode offers at https://orgmode.org/.
19. Obsidian
Obsidian defines itself as a second brain you use to build your library of notes and documents that is. This is where it truly excels – for the linking of notes that can unveil connections you might have missed in your work. Obsidian can be installed on different kinds of devices and it has numerous features that can increase productivity. Try it out at https://obsidian.md/.
20. Taskwarrior
But before we end let me introduce the simplest yet flexible and customizable open source tool for task management – Taskwarrior. It includes task list creation, categorization, prioritization, and filtering, automation, evaluation, and possibility to sync up tasks between devices with different operating systems. Give Taskwarrior a look at https:taskwarrior.org/.
Conclusion
This is because the open source world is full of a plethora of solutions to increase productivity in organizing data, working on tasks, and cooperating on projects and many other aspects. Hopefully this article helped you come up with what tools to look into! Whether you are already using some of the solutions presented here and want to integrate more open source software into your everyday tasks or you are getting started with implementing open source solutions in your work and personal life, you will surely find something useful in this list.
