top of page
Writer's pictureBrian Hunt Coleman

Keep the Summer Vacay Vibes Going All Year Long: 25 AI Tools to Lighten Your Workload

As the summer begins to fade away and a slight autumn chill creeps in, many of us may feel a little glum. The long, lazy days of summer are behind us, and as we brace ourselves for returning to work and adding even more items to that never-ending to-do list. But fear not – as technology has advanced, so too have tools that can help increase our productivity, allowing us to work smarter and have more time to relax, spend time with loved ones, or pursue our hobbies.


Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help us better manage our time and be more productive. Whether it’s automating repetitive work, or offering clever insights on the ways you can improve your routine, AI tools are increasingly powerful allies. The good news is that there’s an abundance of AI-powered productivity tools available. The bad news is that there’s an abundance of AI-powered productivity tools available. Which ones should you use?


In this in-depth guide, we’ll explore 25 of the best AI tools to help boost your productivity. Whether you’re seeking to work more efficiently, make better use of your time, or simply automate some of the more boring aspects of your routine, there’s something here for everyone. Our list spans a variety of categories including organization, writing, financial management and more, so read on to find out how AI tools could help you work smarter and preserve your summary vacay zen all year.


AI Task Management Tools


Task management is the bread and butter of personal productivity, and AI tools such as Todoist, ClickUp, and BypassPen can help you better organize tasks, prioritize your workload, and even automate the mundane to really streamline your workflow.


Todoist is a powerful yet flexible task management app that uses AI to help sort, classify, and manage your to-do list. It relies on natural language processing to instantly interpret tasks and set due dates, reminders, and even priority levels. The intelligence shifts to your own patterns of use over time, freeing you to focus on what really matters. Todoist is free to use, with additional premium plans starting at $4 a month, and the app is incredibly easy to use across different platforms, though the AI is fairly rudimentary compared to dedicated tools.


ClickUp is a project management suite that goes far beyond simple to-do lists, relying on AI to help teams and individuals manage tasks, projects, and even entire workflows. AI-powered automation can handle repetitive tasks, such as status updates or reminders, or even generate reports, allowing users to focus on more important activities. It’s highly customizable and able to adapt to a wide range of industries and work approaches. A free tier is available, but the best features come in the Unlimited plan at $5 per user per month, or the Business plan at $12 per user per month – and with so many features and functions, new users may find ClickUp overwhelming.


BypassPen is a task management tool with a twist – it uses AI to summarize long documents, emails, or reports. This can be particularly useful for professionals who need to digest a significant volume of information at once, and BypassPen’s NLP extracts the most pertinent info to deliver short, crisp summaries that save time and enhance decision-making. Basic summaries are free, but the Pro plan, which offers more detailed control, starts at $9 per month. The AI is best suited to more general documents, struggling a little with highly technical information or nuanced text, which limits its use in some specialization.


Trello is a well-known project management tool which leverages AI for its automations, known as Butler, to help teams manage tasks and processes. The card-based system allows users to track tasks, set dependencies and deadlines, and work together seamlessly, while Butler handles repetitive tasks to keep users focused. Trello is free to use, with features in the Business Class plan costing $10 per user per month.


Monday.com is a work operating system powered by AI, helping teams manage tasks, projects, and even workflows in a visual, simple interface. AI automations can help streamline repetitive tasks, and deep analytics provide insights into project performance. Monday.com is priced from $8 per user per month, with more features arriving in higher tier plans.


AI Tools Help With Time Management


Another important aspect of productivity is time management, and there are AI tools that can be used to make the most of your day. Products like RescueTime, Clockify, or Roam Around can tell you how you’re spending your time, showing where there might be inefficiencies to address.


RescueTime is a time tracking tool that uses AI to monitor your digital activity and provide actionable insights. It categorizes the time you spend on different applications and websites, giving you an instant view of how you’re allocating your time. A FocusTime feature can also block time-wasting sites when you’re meant to be working. While a basic version of RescueTime is available for free, a premium subscription, costing $12 a month, includes more detailed reports and productivity insights. However, getting value from RescueTime depends on consistently using it to log your activities, which proves challenging for many.


Meanwhile, Clockify is also a time management tool, but with AI-driven insights around where you’re spending your time. The platform is designed to help you figure out where you time is wasted and offers optimizations to make use of it better. It’s more user-focused than RescueTime, delivering reports that can more easily be used to spot patterns of behavior in your work. The basic Clockify platform is free, with paid plans starting at $3.99 per user per month for advanced features. While it’s adept at tracking time spent, Clockify is limited in its integrations with project management tools, something of a downside if your work is better organized through them.


While Roam Around is technically a travel planning app, some will find features for its AI-generated scheduling useful for managing your daily calendar. Originally developed to optimize your travel itinerary, the AI’s scheduling smarts are also applied to your day-to-day, meaning you’ll (hypothetically) never miss an appointment or deadline again. Roam Around is free, with premium packages starting at $7 per month. However, the dual use may make the app less appealing for non-travelers, and for all the helpful travel features, the day-by-day utility is a bit lacking compared to dedicated task management apps.


Focus@Will is a productivity tool that uses AI to create personalized music tracks tailored to enhancing focus and productivity. The music suits the mood of the work you’re doing, delivering a soundscape that helps you stay on task. A free trial is available, with subscriptions from $9.95 per month.


Finally, ReclaimAI is an intelligent AI tool for time management geared towards professionals and their calendars. The platform connects directly with your calendar, tracks your schedule constantly, and adjusts itself on the fly to better fit your goals and workload. This makes it great for finding time in your schedule for deep work, recurring tasks, or even personal aims, all while prioritizing the tasks you should really be focusing on – and if less important meetings and to-dos clash with your focus time, it can automatically reschedule them. ReclaimAI is perfect for professionals with a lot on their plates but don’t want to sweat their productivity, The Free tier has the essentials of the app – smart scheduling for tasks, habits, and personal time, and syncs to one calendar. To unlock more features, such as improved task management, more calendar integrations, and smart routines, there’s the Starter plan for $12 per month. The Business plan, $16 per user per month and the next tier up, includes all the Starter features, but adds more granular scheduling control, team-wide analytics, and priority support – suitable for teams or professional groups setting their working strategies.


Tools to Help AI Create Content


Content creation is time-consuming, but AI tools such as Grammarly, Copy.ai, and Artisse can help automate the process, making it faster to produce high-quality content.


Grammarly is a well-known AI assistant for writing that helps you correct grammar, spelling, and style issues. It’s an essential tool for anyone who writes regularly for work or personal projects. The platform’s Tone Detector feature even helps to ensure your writing reflects the correct message, making it a highly useful business tool. While the basic functionality is free, the Premium plan, with more in-depth style suggestions and clarity improvement, costs $12 monthly, or businesses can sign up to the Business plan at $12.50 per user per month. While an enormously effective tool for catching errors, for the more casual user who just wants to check their grammar, it can be expensive.


Copy.ai is an AI tool for generating content for blogs, social media, advertising, and more. By harnassing the power of GPT technology, you can create quality text in minutes, and plenty of it. It's user-friendly, with a suite of templates for variety of content types, while free for basic use, Pro, which enables more expansive functions, costs $49 monthly. While the content almost always requires human refining to accurately reflect your brand voice, customers looking for a primarily automated solution may be disappointed.


Artisse is an AI-driven design tool for creating beautiful graphics with minimal effort. Ideal for social media, presentations, or promotional materials, the platform offers intelligent design suggestions help create professional looking content in minutes. With a plethora of templates and design assets, it's approachable for beginners as well as more experienced designers. It is free to use, though a Pro tier, unlocking advanced features, starts at $15 monthly. While great for visuals, its focus on images won't satisfy users seeking primarily text solutions.


Jasper.ai (formerly Jarvis) is an AI writing tool that helps you craft content. From blog posts to marketing copy, the service generates text matching your unique brand voice using GPT-3 tech. Pricing begins at $29 monthly for their Starter plan, while enhanced features are present in the Boss Mode plan at $59 monthly.


Lumen5 is an AI video tool that turns articles, blog posts, and other text into engaging videos. It uses AI to assess and suggest music, video, and text animations. Lumen5 has a free tier, with premium plans from $19 a month.


AI-Powered Personal Finance Tools


While finance management might not at first seem like a productivity concern, we all need to handle our money. AI can help, though. Mint, YNAB, and Refresh.me are some of the more popular tools for tracking, budgeting, and investing your personal finances.


Mint is a full-service financial management platform that uses AI to help analyze your spending and create a budget (if you don’t have one), and even offers customized tips for improving your finances. It’s an all-in-one tool for handling your cash, providing a real-time picture of your financial health. It’s free to use, although you’ll have to deal with ads, while a $4.99 per month Premium subscription removes advertising and adds some extra features. Mint’s total package makes it fantastic for overall tracking and budgeting, but its investment tools are somewhat less robust, so if you want to actively manage your investment portfolio, you might want to look elsewhere.


YNAB – You Need A Budget – is a budgeting platform that uses AI to help users allocate their money to their goals. Unlike traditional budgeting software, YNAB is forward-looking, allowing you to allocate money for future expenses rather than assigning blame for past transgressions with your spending. It provides real-time financial status and has a great, active user community for support. The service costs $14.99 per month, or $99 per year, and the goal-based approach is powerful for many users, but has a steeper learning curve for first-timers. Unfortunately, there’s no free tier after a 34-day trial, which might prove prohibitive.


Refresh.me, a financial management entry on the AI Marketplace at www.reclaimsaturday.com, aggregates your financial data, tracks spending, and offers personalized advice. An all-in-one financial tool, it’s perfect for those who want a full picture of their wallets, and is designed to be user-friendly, helping you make smarter money decisions. The basic features are free, but a Pro subscription with the advanced tools starts at $10 per month. It’s great for day-to-day financial use, although the lack of robust investment options means it’s not the ideal place to plan long-term financial growth.


Albert is an AI-powered financial assistant that helps you manage your money, save, and invest. The app analyzes your income, spending habits, and financial situation to offer personalized financial advice, and can even work to automatically save and invest money for you. It’s free, but there’s also a Genius premium service starting at $4 per month.


Qapital uses AI to help you save money based on your goals and spending habits. It allows you to automate savings rules – such as rounding up purchases and saving the remainder – and Smart Savings can tweak your savings targets based on your spending habits. The app is $3 per month for the Basic plan.


Artificially Intelligent Communication


Yet productivity is nothing without effective communication, especially now we're more remote and hybrid than ever. People are loud and proud about how much they miss the office. I miss leaving it. But for when the outdoor world becomes unbearable and- some technologies may even have their use. The key is using them right – and that's where AI-powered communication tools such as Crystal, Loom, Replika, Zoho Mail, and MyCopyHub step in.


Crystal focuses on written text, analyses personality traits and communication styles with AI. By understanding those traits, it can offer advice on the most effective way to communicate with different people. Whether writing an email, preparing for a meeting, or working on a proposal, its insights on individual communication preferences can be invaluable, such as when advising how to adjust language for someone who prefers only the most direct and concise of messages. The tool is particularly useful for sales, management, or in fact anyone dealing with a variety of personalities. It has a free tier with basic service and a Pro service – offering deeper insights and additional features – starting at $29 per month.


Loom is revolutionizing the way teams communicate, offering a quick, easy method for sending video messages. Rather than laboriously typing out long emails or scheduling time-consuming meetings, record a brief video message and it can be instantly shared. Perfect for explaining more visual concepts, giving feedback, or simply humanizing a remote work experience with a face on a screen. Loom's AI features can automatically generate captions, identify key points in your video, even suggest trimming out extraneous information to keep your messages brief. The asynchronous nature of video used in the communication platform is also helpful for those on differing timezones. There's a basic free package offering limited features, with Business costing $8 per user per month, adding advanced analytics and customization.


Replika is uniquely focused on AI-empowered communication as an AI chatbot for human-like conversation. Originally a platform for emotional support and self-improvement, it's evolved into a communication skill tool, offering pseudo-conversations to practice socializing, develop empathy and better equipping people for personal and professional dialogues. The AI learns from interactions, adapting to your language and tone. It's mostly free to use, or pay $7.99 per month for a Pro package with more customization and conversation types.


Designed for professionals and businesses, Zoho Mail is a powered mail platform aiming to be a reliable, productive communication tool. Its smart features include a prioritization email inbox, snoozing emails, or contextual search to help manage your working inbox more efficiently. The AI tools on the platform will help to identify the most important letters you're expecting, or cut through garbage to get to the files that matter. Driven by AI you're can use it well alongside a suite of other services from the same developer, giving you control over your email, tasks, or calendar dates. The platform offers robust security and customizable UI, working for people in both small biz or larger corporate entities, and is competitively priced, starting at $1 per user per month for the Mail Lite package.


MyCopyHub, meanwhile, is an AI-driven communication and content creation platform for businesses. It offers a suite of tools for generating high quality copy for a variety of needs, whether that's marketing materials or internal communications. The AI can provide suggestions on the generated text, maintain tone and style consistency, or even tailor content to specified audiences. It's a great tool for marketing teams needing to keep their brand voice consistent across all channels. With collaboration tools and an inclusive range of integration options, it's a platform to support teams tackling content-heavy projects. It's priced depending on the plan, with packages oriented towards small businesses or large corporates.


All these AI-led tools are having an impact on modern workplaces, ensuring they're not just efficient and intelligent, but personalized and engaging. Whether you need to tweak the tone of a crucial email, adjust your language for differing personae you deal with, simplify complex concepts through video, work on your personal communication skills, handle email better, or generate quality content, these are the tools – AI power though they are – that can help make each interaction matter.


Achieving Infinite Summer, Metaphorically Speaking


As the summer winds down and the demands of work and life pick up, it’s easy to feel like the relaxation and freedom of vacation are slipping away. But what if you could carry that summer vacation bliss throughout the year? The secret lies in using the right AI tools to achieve higher efficiency, freeing up your time for the things that matter most. By automating routine tasks, streamlining communication, and optimizing your daily workflow, AI empowers you to work smarter, not harder—so you can keep that laid-back summer feeling all year long.


The AI tools we’ve covered in this guide are more than gadgets and gizmos—they’re life and time savers, and can radically accelerate productivity, communication, and organisation for you and everyone you work with, whether that’s a team of dozens, multiple projects, or simply balancing your work and home life. Our guide includes AI solutions for managing people, creating workflows, and catering to whatever your individual needs may be.


However, simply knowing the tools exist is far from the whole picture—it’s only in applying them in your everyday life that you’ll reap the rewards. That’s where the AI Marketplace at www.reclaimsaturday.com comes in. We’ve hand-picked a selection of the best AI tools currently available to let you find the right support to boost your productivity, streamline your processes, and start hitting your targets. Whether you need an AI-enhanced task master or powerful communication tools, there’s something in the Marketplace to help you overcome your current obstacles.


Don’t just take our word for it—try AI for yourself. Pay the AI Marketplace a visit and see the right tools in action first hand, and make your job easier. The future of work is here—now it’s just about making it work for you.


An image of a woman lounging in a hammock with a straw hat over her face. She is holding a tropical drink with a lemon garnish and a mini umbrella atop the glass. In the background there is a calm river and palm trees.

コメント


bottom of page