Productivity in VR: What does the future hold?

Also known as a list of apps I should probably just build, but for now, I’ll let them be my public wishlist. <3

Like many people, I mostly use my Oculus Quest for gaming, with the recent exception of starting to use it for workouts with Supernatural.

It’s clear that Meta is investing more into building productivity apps, however, which I find exciting for two primary reasons:

1. The ability to collaborate in 3d spaces.
2. The opportunity for extreme focus.

I’ve worked remotely for two years, primarily in my house with two dogs, a baby, and a husband. While I love them all dearly, sometimes they’re loud. Combined with the ever-present distractions of Slack and my cell phone, it’s exciting to me to consider how “putting on the headset” can become equivalent to “stepping into the office.”

I think it’ll be a long time before we wear headsets for a full 8-hour workday, but until then, I think there will be a lot of really interesting applications of VR technology to improve various aspects of our professional lives.

The rest of this article is something of a wishlist. Just some ideas of what apps we’ll see in the next few years. Enjoy, and share some of your own in the comments!

Virtual conferences

Thanks to Covid, many in-person events were forced to go digital. And while I think everyone’s excited to return to “normal,” I think we’ll continue to see hybrid event models for quite a while.

Think about it: Conferences are expensive, beyond just the ticket price. Unless you happen to live in the area, there’s also travel, lodging, and food expenses.

By providing digital options for attending events, brands can greatly increase attendees and the reach of their sponsors. And by leveraging VR, these online versions can become almost as immersive as real-life.

Imagine walking around the venue, listening and talking to people in real-time, all from the comfort of your own home. Imagine watching presentations, while also having a giant digital notepad or whiteboard floating off to the side, without actually blocking anyone’s view.

Imagine sitting or standing or walking in real life while actively listening to the speaker, instead of sitting in crappy fold-up chairs set too close together.

I think this has the potential to make some events even more enjoyable than actually attending in real life.

Public speaking

Let’s keep daydreaming about conferences for a second, but switch to the speaker side of things. Need to practice speaking for your biggest audience ever? Load up an auditorium of realistic avatars to overcome those nerves.

Use a digital teleprompter that your audience can’t see.

Code lighting changes or special effects based on your actions or words, for well-timed spectacular presentations.

I think VR can impact 1:1 conversations also, though, not just “large-scale” events.

Want to practice a difficult conversation you need to have at work? Fire up a conference room simulation.

VR can create safe ways to practice face-to-face conversations over and over, helping you prepare for any human interaction scenario.

Focus apps

I think one of the most near-time possibilities is apps that help you block out any and all distractions to help you focus on the task at hand.

Imagine writing in a Google Doc, in a virtual sanctuary on top of a remote mountain – with notification disabled. You could customize your perfect environment for peaceful work, regardless of your physical restrictions.

Collaboration tools

A virtual whiteboard is my dream. Miro is hopefully close to this, although the first version of their VR app sounds like there’s much to be desired. (I haven’t tried it yet though, so that’s based solely off early reviews I’ve read).

I can’t wait to move sticky notes around, draw on the board, and invite coworkers to join me for digital brainstorming sessions.

I’m also a sucker for work retreats, full of various activity sessions, discussions, presentations, etc. I’d love to see an app that helps you plan a full schedule of different types of group activities, with ways to take notes, share to external apps, and keep everyone on schedule while keeping it easy to move between activities.

I’ll keep adding to this list as random ideas come to me. Feel free to share your own below!