How To Turn Your Tablet Into A Productivity-Boosting Second Screen


Tablets are great entertainment devices, but when compared to a computer they’re hardly as quick and useful for getting things done. But if you want your tablet to be more than just a fun little toy, it’s really just a matter of the right apps, attitude, and configuration. Here’s how you can turn your tablet into a handy, productivity-boosting tool.

We’ve argued why tablets are actually great productivity tools and how they’re great for offloading distractions, but we’ve never walked through how you can actually optimise your iPad or Android tablet to boost your productivity. Your tablet is really great for grabbing quick, commonly-used information whether it’s pre-defined in your calendar or dynamically updating online. In this guide we’re going to look at how you can use a few apps to offload simple tasks to your tablet to clear out the clutter on your desktop and free it up to handle your bigger daily tasks.

Step One: Download Some Work-Friendly Apps

For the most part, you already have a lot of the apps you’re going to need to keep you productive. Your calendar, email, address book, clock/timer and calculator are all useful utilities you may want to have at the ready. These are all great apps for quickly checking information, setting an alarm, or whatever, but those apps are only so helpful. There is much more you can do. Here are a few suggestions.

Simplenote (iOS) or FlickNote (Android) are must-have apps if you keep a lot of plain text notes. While you’re probably typing them on your computer, when you’re doing work it can be helpful to have a particular note by your side for reference purposes. While you could look at a separate window on your desktop, this eats up screen real estate. Bringing up the note on your tablet can keep your screen focused while still providing the reference information you need. If you’re handling lots of spreadsheets and other office-type documents, you may want to pick up an office suite for iOS or Android as well.

Dropbox (iOS / Android) is very helpful if you use the service to sync your files across computers (or just store them in the cloud). If you use a different service, get its specific app instead. Many apps have Dropbox integration nowadays, however, so it’s become a great way to get your files on your device. The Dropbox app itself is handy, but apps that support Dropbox natively can grab files a lot faster. Either way, some sort of easy access to your files is vital if you need to bring anything up on your tablet quickly so you can look at it for reference as you work.

Skype (iOS / Android), or any VOIP application, can essentially turn your tablet into a phone. When you need to make quick calls it’s often a lot easier to just tap a name on your screen. You also have the advantage of Wi-Fi, which is a bit more stable than a mobile connection. While I use my phone to make calls on the go, Skype has been immensely helpful in keeping me connected when I’m working. Calls don’t drop and the connection is always significantly more clear. It’s also really easy to respond to incoming calls quickly when my tablet’s big screen is propped up and easy to access.

Step Two: Create Useful Bookmarks And Shortcuts


A lot of the work we do nowadays is online, and even if not there are plenty of sites that offer useful information and tools to aid us in our work. Whether it’s your company wiki, a project management tool, or just a helpful web site, you can add them as bookmarks for super-quick access. If you don’t know how to do this on your iPad, just read these instructions (or watch the video to the left). Android can add bookmarks and other shortcuts for things like quick driving directions, by simply tapping and holding on an empty part of the home screen. This will provide you with options to add the shortcut you want.

The shortcuts you’ll need will depend on you, but chances are you’ll have a few and things will start getting cluttered along with all the apps. To solve that problem, just move on to step three.

Step Three: Create A Productivity Page On Your Home Screen


Tablets were designed to be consumption devices, for the most part, so it’s easy to get distracted when you have a bunch of games staring back at you from a beautiful, glossy screen. Additionally, if you mix your productivity apps in with everything else you’ll have a hard time locating the app that you need. For these reasons, it’s helpful to have an entire page on your home screen dedicated to getting things done. This way you can flick over to that page during the work day and flick back when you’re done.

You can organise the page however you want, but the idea is to keep it nice and clean. You’ll want to choose an organisation scheme that suits you best, but here’s what I’ve found works well:

  • Create a top row of apps you use most often so they’re in the first place you look.
  • Create a second row of commonly-used apps if you need to. You may not have that many apps to launch so don’t worry if you don’t.
  • Create a third row of bookmarks to sites you visit frequently for quicker access. If you have a lot, sort them with folders. Android users who are utilising a home screen replacement app like ADWLauncher EX can also create shortcuts to Gmail labels, notes, and other items for quicker access.

Obviously iPad users are a little more limited in the kind of organisation they can do, so sometimes a multi-folder structure will work best. Only you’re going to know what’s best for you, but an organisation scheme that prioritizes usage frequency should work well for most people.

Step Four: Get Your Computer And Tablet Connected


While most of this guide is going to concentrate on using apps and bookmarks/shortcuts to quickly grab useful information as you need it, sometimes you’re going to need to quickly pull up a web site, an image, or some other information that isn’t already bookmarked. There are plenty of ways to do this, but one of our favourites is the Site to Phone extension and app because it works with nearly every browser and mobile operating system. It will let you send links directly to your browser to your tablet with just a click. Alternatively, iPad users might want to check out MyPhoneDesktop for sending more kinds of information not only to your tablet but back to your desktop as well.

For more ways to break down the barrier between tablet and computer, check out our full guides for both iOS and Android

Got any other tips, tricks, or methods for boosting your productivity with your tablet? Share ’em in the comments!


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