Looking Back at 2021

2021 has shaped our lives in so many ways, including how we work and collaborate. ‘Remote first’ reigned supreme while hybrid work surfaced as teams transitioned back to the office. As we reflect on this past year, we couldn’t be more proud of this global community and everything we have accomplished together. Join us as we look back on this year’s top trends and highlights in work and productivity. 

2020 was a lot like a shaken snow globe, each of us in our own bubbles having our world turned upsides down, patiently waiting for the world around us to settle and to be able to see clearly again. 2021 brought a new sense of normalcy, and adaptation to the world of remote and hybrid work. As 2021 progressed, we learned everything we could about new ways to improve how we worked: asynchronous communication, deep work, and work about work. While on the surface, all of these were hot buzzwords this year, digging a little deeper reveals their value in creating a workplace environment that's more fulfilling, balanced, and efficient. Asynchronous communication is a key strategy for avoiding Zoom fatigue since it de-emphasizes real-time interaction and instead encourages thoughtful written communication (without Zoom). Deep work is a practical way to improve your productivity by encouraging you to work with 100% focus on meaningful tasks instead of filling up your day with busy work. Work about work is another term for that busywork, and being smart about minimizing work about work allows for more time for working on tasks that contribute to true priorities and the bigger picture.

2021 in Numbers

This year was one for the history books, but the hard work of the Shift community resulted in wildly impressive productivity stats.

The Shift Community—#1 in Productivity

Despite all the chaos that 2021 encompassed the Shift community was 9% MORE productive this year than 2020. 2021 is our most productive year yet with 2.8 million hours saved across the entire Shift Community — that’s a total of 320 years! Well done, everyone!

Working in One Productive Place

Remember how we mentioned that context switching in Shift leads to a lot of saved time? We weren't kidding. Using Shift instead of a traditional browser or using apps right on the desktop has saved our users more than TWO MILLION hours. Thats a total of 320 years!

Focused Work in the Browser

One of Shift’s core features focused web tabs avoid the distractions of a traditional browser. With 17 million web tabs opened, Shift users took full advantage of that feature to get their work done.

Context Switching Made Easy

Switching between accounts 226 million times is a mind-boggling amount. But without having those accounts inside Shift, those switches would likely have added up to a lot of lost time due to the risk of getting distracted when making the switch. Luckily, that isn't what happened here—all of these account switches were done with focus and intention inside Shift.

Building Your Ultimate Workstation

Shift users installed 533,000 apps this year. With the ability to fully customize your desktop workstation, adding your email accounts is only the beginning. You can add as many apps as you want, with as many different logins as you need, to take your productivity to the next level in Shift. The average Advanced user connects 7 apps and 4 email accounts. 

Shift Around the World

Shout-out to New York for taking the cake as this year's most productive city! Shift now reaches audiences in over 150 countries.

There is Something For Everyone

No surprise here. Shift serves customers in almost every industry. Use Shift, and don't see your profession here? We would love to hear how you use Shift at work.

Supporting Our Community

With over 1,500 apps supported in Shift, if you use an app, we probably have it. But, we're always trying to improve and make your life even easier. That's why we're continually working to support new apps and added 206 to our directory this year. You can add as many apps as you want, with as many different logins as you need, to take your productivity to the next level in Shift. 

Dark Mode is Still Winning

In a way, it's comforting to have some things stay the same this year. Dark mode is consistently our users' favorite color scheme. In fact 79% of our users use dark mode. If you use light mode, let us know on social why it's your preference over dark mode; we're curious!

No More Password Headaches

You can now manage your passwords directly in Shift, so you'll never lose a login again. The Shift community is loving this feature, and have added over 1.7 million passwords!

Looking Ahead

We are so excited to launch the upcoming version of Shift (version 8) in 2022! Shift version 8 is for high-performance daily drivers; lighter, and faster,  with additional app and extension support, and an upgraded look and feel. With our ever-growing Shift community, we have been growing too. In fact, our team grew by 20% this year! Shift also took on eight different co-op students, in various roles and capacities. 

Thank you to the amazing people in our Shift Community. The release of new features in Shift wouldn't have been possible without you. We're so grateful for your feedback and inspiration, every single day. Cheers to 2022,  a new year of productivity!