The virtual world is, most of the time, more enchanting than the real world. We love iPhone and other smartphones because they are portals that allow us to enter a world of our choice—when you have a good smartphone in your hand, you don’t care about your surroundings.

As a result, its not surprising that most of us end up abusing the technology instead of using it responsibly. I am addicted to my smartphone and am guilty of breaking all the rules of responsible smartphone usage: I have bored my friends and colleagues by babbling about my apps for days, I have berated my friends who use a different smartphone, and I have used my iPhone while watching a movie in a theatre.

I realized that it is not just me who does all this—everyone around me does it too. People bellow into their phones in public, they ignore the person sitting next to them to talk on their phones, and they panic if they can’t locate their devices. Although usually polite and considerate, I too turn into a boorish technology abuser when I have my mobile in my hands. This year, I intend to follow ten rules of smartphone use and be more responsible with my iPhone, and they may help you too. Here they are:

#1 Set a Time Limit

Facebook, YouTube, games and a thousand entertaining applications tempt you to give up sleeping forever. Desist. Set a time limit: avoid using your smartphone after a certain time at night and before a certain time in the morning. Get a good night’s sleep.

#2 Don’t Play Games All the Time

I spend hours playing games on my mobile—hours that could be used doing something constructive instead, and I bet you make the same mistake. After all, games are designed to be addictive. Play games, but only if you can put a limit on the amount of time you spend on them.

#3 Pick Important Calls

A smartphone is not merely a device for receiving and making calls; it is like a fast mini-computer with thousands of applications. So, there is a tendency to ignore calls and continue with other activities (at least, I tend to do that). If someone calls you to talk about something important, you should take that call—it’s just good manners to do so.

#4 Avoid Obsessive Browsing

24/7 internet connectivity is like fire: it’s a good servant, but a bad master, and most of us are slaves to it. Make a determined effort to avoid unproductive and obsessive browsing.

#5 Don’t Photograph & Share Everything

This is something I am constantly guilty of doing. I want to capture every event of my life and everything around me, which isn’t necessarily bad, but I miss the present moment by focusing on capturing it and sharing it online. If you do the same, then you are missing out on real life and looking at the world through a tiny camera lens.

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#6 Don’t Ignore People

Even the most polite smartphone users ignore waiters and cash register personnel. While standing in line, we often talk on the phone to make good use of our time, but then we continue talking and just use gestures to interact with those providing us with service. Keep the caller on hold for a while and make a connection with the people in front of you.

#7 Don’t Text Insulting Messages

It is easy to be rude and insulting while you are debating an issue via texts, especially when you are commenting on sites like YouTube. You may end up using abusive language or childish arguments because of the sense of anonymity involved. Try to avoid saying things that you would generally not say to someone’s face.

#8 Don’t Shout While Talking

Even rude smartphone users don’t like other loud, rude mobile users. If you take a call in an elevator and start talking loudly, you will attract the focused hate of all the people around you. Whenever you are in a public place, avoid talking on your phone, or at least speak softly.

#9 Don’t Text While Driving

This is not a question of etiquette, but a question of safety. Even if you are great at multitasking, it is not a good idea to mix driving with texting—it’s a recipe for disaster. No matter how good you are, you have to take your eyes off the road and look at the phone screen to read or write texts. Avoid texting while driving it at all costs.

#10 Take a Break From Your Phone

Dependency is never a good thing. If you cannot live without your smartphone for a single weekend, you are addicted to it. If possible (and try to make it possible), switch off your phone and stay away from it for 48 hours. Do this at least once every year.

Over the years here at Lifehack, we’ve discussed plenty of apps that you can use to improve your overall productivity.

There are certain ones that many of our contributors and editors (past and present) have adopted over the long-term — there are always the stalwarts that stick around. But there are also new apps that crop up every day, adding more and more depth to the app category.

Some of the apps are incredibly plain and simple, while others are more robust and offer more features than you can shake a stick at. And everyone has the one they prefer.

It’s been our job (and still is our job) to keep abreast of all of the productivity-type apps out there. As a result — and as a bit of a refresher — we’ve put together a list of 40 best productivity apps for iPhone to provide you with an all-in-one resource for you.

Productivity apps to help you get things done

1. OmniFocus

This app is, while pricey, considered to be one of the (if not the) most robust and full-featured productivity apps on the market.

Download it here.

2. Forest

Train yourself to put your phone down and stay focused on the task at hand by playing with this planting game. It’s fun and will help you achieve more.

Download it here.

3. Things

Another robust choice, this app is a favorite amongst “productivityists”.^[1]

Download it here.

4. 30/30

Recently covered here at Lifehack

, 30/30 is a newcomer to the game that incorporates lists and timing of tasks into an elegant and easy-to-use interface.

Download it here.

5. Any.Do

A beautiful-looking app that is both easy on the eyes and your wallet.

Download it here.

6. PocketLife Calendar

This calendar app is specifically designed to be stylish and super easy-to-use. You can organize your life easily with different modern features.

Download it here.

7. Asana

We’ve covered Asana here at Lifehack

, and it is being actively developed by a strong team committed to making collaborative task management a more efficient and effective experience.

Download it here.

8. ToDoist

This app keeps track of everything – from simple errands to your most important projects – so you can get it all done and enjoy more peace of mind along the way.

Download it here.

9. FlowTasks

From the folks at MetaLab, Flow is a gorgeous collaborative task management app that is easy-to-use and incredibly functional.

Download it here.

10. Calendars 5

This calendar app focuses on events that help you to keep track of upcoming events and tasks easily. It has everything you need to organize, track and complete your to-dos.

Download it here.

11. Clear – Tasks, Reminders & To-Do Lists

A fun and innovative list-making app that relies on swiping and pinching to make things happen. Clear created a lot of buzz when it launched, and might be the perfect to-do list gateway app for many.

Download it here.

12. Due

A robust reminders app that lets you store and maintain reminders of all types. It’s replaced Reminders for me when it comes to the basics, and it’s worth a look if you want to keep the mundane stuff out of your head and cluttering your mind.

Download it here.

13. Checkmark 2

I use this app

for location-based reminders (such as groceries I need to get or single items I need to pick up from various locations). Checkmark is simple to use and a valuable addition to my productivity arsenal.

Download it here.

14. TeuxDeux

Created by Tina Roth Eisenberg and Fictive Kin — Teux Deux is simple and incredibly stellar in terms of design. If you like lists (including the popular “Someday Bucket”) and want to associate dates with tasks, then Teux Deux will be right up your alley.

Download it here.

15. Wunderlist 

Another incredibly popular choice is Wunderlist. Part of 6Wunderkinder’s software family, it sports a gorgeous design and is incredibly functional. We’ve talked about the app a couple of times here at Lifehack, so check those posts out here.

Download it here.

16. Nirvana

For the GTD enthusiasts, there’s Nirvana. Straight from the source: “Nirvana frees your mind to focus on actually getting things done. If you’ve had enough of generic to-do lists, it’s time for Nirvana.”

Download it here.

17. Priorities

An elegant-looking task management app that has received decent reviews,^[2] this could be the one for you if you’re not a fan of OmniFocus or Things — especially if you need (or want) to share tasks with others.

Download it here.

Productivity apps that help you build habits

18. Productive

With this app, you can plan your habits with an easy-to-use interface, schedule habits for any time of the day, set smart reminders for each time of the day and stay on track with useful feedback. This app is perfect for anyone who wants to build a habit that sticks.

Download it here.

19. Habitica: Gamified Taskmanager

You can complete tasks and build habits in a more fun way with this app. Input your Habits, your Daily goals, and your To-Do list, and then create a custom avatar. Check off tasks to level up your avatar and unlock features such as armor, pets, skills, and even quests.

Download it here.

20. Streaks

This app follows the model of the popular “don’t break the chain method” in that you use the app to track how you are donig in the pursuit of your goal. Great for goal-setting — and an easy and elegant interface to boot.

Download it here.

21. Remember The Milk

Another popular to-do list app, Remember The Milk has a huge following. It has plenty to offer, including the ability to share tasks with others.

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Download it here.

22. Day One Journal

When it comes to journaling, nothing really beats Day One. Its latest update added a slew of features that will make you want to start making journaling a habit.

Download it here.

Productivity apps that makes organization easy

23. Evernote

Touted as the world’s most widely-used productivity app, Evernote an be used simply as a notetaking app or can be customized to be your GTD app of choice — among other things.

Download it here.

24. Pocket

You can save an article, video or link you want to read or watch later to Pocket from anywhere including your computer, Safari, email, and your favorite apps like Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, and Feedly.

Download it here.

25. Sync.Me

This app identifies unknown phone calls, warns you from annoying spam calls, and adds a caller picture to your contacts from Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Download it here.

26. Droplr

One of the most popular file-sharing apps out there today. Straight from the source: “Stay productive on the go. Droplr for iPhone keeps you in sync and makes sharing on the iPhone natural.”

Download it here.

27. Dropbox

Before iCloud, there was Dropbox. And there still is Dropbox, which is still widely used by both Mac and PC users all over the globe. It’s like having a flash drive in your iPhone. A must-have.

Download it here.

28. iDolly 

In conjunction with Dolly Drive and DollySync, iDolly allows you to edit and share your documents from your iPhone.

Since all your changes sync automatically to all your devices, the current version of a document will always be accessible because Dolly Sync keeps everything in sync. Very handy.

Download it here.

29. Soulver

It may seem odd that a calculator app shows up on this list, but this is no ordinary calendar app. Ben Brooks over at The Brooks review describes Soulver as follows: “It is what calculators would have been if they were invented at the same time computers were, instead of what we have with most calculator apps.” ^[3]

Download it here.

Productivity apps that help you work smart

30. Captio

A simple capture tool. Straight from the developers: “It’s simple. Open Captio and start typing. When you’re done, hit Send. The note is immediately delivered to your email inbox.”

Download it here.

31. Drafts

A tremendous capture tool that allows for simple capture, followed by sending items to various applications such as OmniFocus, Things and more.

Download it here.

32. NoteShelf 2

This is a perfect note-taking app for you. You can take beautiful handwritten notes, type, annotate PDFs, record audio & create lists. You can organize them into categories or groups.

Download it here.

33. Doodle

This app links directly with the Doodle service, which is one that allows you to plan and organize meetings far more efficiently and effectively. Lifehack contributor Steve Dotto has written about Doodle more in-depth here.

Download it here.

34. TextExpander (Legacy)

I have saved countless hours of time with TextExpander, and despite its inability to be as robust on iOS as it is on the Mac, it is still a worthy app to have in your arsenal.

Download it here.

35. Launch Center Pro

A quick launcher for the iPhone that doesn’t just launch an app…with some of them it can do much more. This app saves you time by launching complex actions in a single tap.

Download it here.

36. GoodReader

This may seem to be an odd one to make this list, but here are plenty of reasons why it is here with this article.

Download it here.

37. LogMeIn

Want to be able to control your Mac from wherever you are? Then get this app.

Download it here.

Productivity apps that improve security

38. 1Password

There is simply no better password manager out there. I’ve even put together a 1Password Emergency Kit worth looking at here.

Download it here.

39. LastPass Password Manager

You can store passwords and logins, create online shopping profiles, generate strong passwords, track personal information in photo and audio notes.

All you have to do is remember your LastPass master password, and LastPass autofills web browser and app logins for you.

Download it here.

40. Truecallers

Identify and block spammers, search for unknown numbers and call friends easily with this app. With a community-based spam list from over 250 million users, you’ll need this app.

Download it here.

There are plenty of other options out there (and we’ve heard from readers in the past as to what they enjoyed using), but these 40 are among the best.