Tech Hub: What's on your phone?

For better or worse, smartphones are the tools of choice, and the technology is ubiquitous with personal and professional responsibilities.

Here are three apps to consider:

Slack.

Work in a collaborative space? Or maybe you're part of a thought-leadership group with counterparts around the country. Slack keeps the conversation going, tracks who says what and streamlines the sharing process without having dozens (or more) individual conversations.

todoist.

One of the list-making apps, todoist allows users to make lists, prioritize them and even delegate items to friends or family. It's basically email but with tracking and centralized task management. The app can integrate with other productivity apps like Google Drive, Dropbox, Calendar Sync and many others.

IFTTT.

Do a search for productivity apps and you are likely to find IFTTT, an acronym for "If this, then that." It takes "recipes" -- such as if I'm doing this, then sync with that -- and synchronizes action. Take social media: if you add a photo on Instagram but want to share it on Twitter, too, the app will communicate from Instagram to Twitter but post it in a way that's native to the platform. There are other more advanced features, including those that connect with smart appliances. It's definitely not for everyone, and you might think it's over the top -- which it probably is -- but if you're good with tech and hyper-focused on productivity, it might be helpful.