The best way to identify an app is to look at your current challenges with time management. Do you get distracted too easily and never complete a task? Or perhaps you end the day without achieving much, wondering where all your time went? We all have challenges when it comes to being more productive. The best time management apps around vary depending on your needs. That’s why we’ve put together a list of 15 of the best time management apps to help you with the most common challenges. If you’re not taking advantage of some of the hundreds of time management tools (such as an effective planner like this), you’re missing out. Let’s dive straight into the list.
15 Time Management Apps You Need To Try
1. Rize – Use Your Time Wisely
If you don’t know what you did all day or feel that you haven’t accomplished much at the end of the day, you will be excited to know about Rize. Rize not only tracks your time but also gives you valuable insights to improve your productivity, build better habits and increase your focus. The highlight is that you don’t need to constantly input information, this is automatically done for you. You can see how many hours you have worked, how much of that time is focus time, how much time you spend context switching, and which websites distract you most, among many other features. Tracking and managing your time efficiently has never been easier. Available on Desktop
2. Notion – Keep on Top of All Your Tasks
Think of Notion as a single platform with different productivity apps, helping you keep your notes and work in one place. You can collaborate, share documents and notes, and create a central knowledge base for your team, supporting you in all your project management needs. You can use Notion to replace your to-do lists, project management, note-taking apps, spreadsheets, etc. It saves you time and money and helps you keep on top of your time management and organization. Available on iOS, Android, and Desktop
3. Forest – Boost Motivation to Complete Tasks
Forest is a unique reinvention of time management apps. This unique and fun app helps you stay focused and incorporates the Pomodoro technique, breaking work into chunks with short intervals. The concept is simple: If you stay focused during this time, your virtual tree will grow. If you lose focus, the tree will die. As the app’s name implies, you can grow multiple trees to create a virtual forest! On top of this particular time management tool being really fun, it reinforces the need to focus on the task. Go ahead and build a wonderful and colorful virtual forest to use as proof to you that you can focus! Pro tip: Staying focused all the time isn’t easy, especially when distractions are everywhere these days! Grab the Full Life Planner and learn how to sharpen your focus! Available on iOS, Android, and Desktop (Firefox Add-on)
4. Spark – Finally Reach Inbox 0
Even with hundreds of communication tools available to us, email use continues to grow. Whether your job is based largely on emails or not, managing your email and staying on top of it is key to productivity. You will be shocked to see how much time can be wasted with email by not having structure or automation to support you in staying on top of your game. According to a survey by Adobe, people spend at least 3.1 hours checking and reading emails at work.[1] Spark has many features, from removing distractions to only notifying you of important emails to snoozing emails. You can also send an email to your Task Manager to add to your to-do’s, reply quickly with templates, as well as get reminded to follow up on emails and schedule to reply to certain emails later. Finally, reach inbox 0 with Spark. Available on Desktop
5. Serene – Focus on Tasks at Hand
One of the biggest time wasters is giving in to distractions, multi-tasking, and not completing tasks because of this. Serene takes productivity to the next level in three easy steps and helps you to get more done in your day. It helps you to:
- Plan your day – Define your goals and tasks for the day and when you want to do them. 2. Block Distractions – When starting a task, Serene blocks websites, updates your statuses (ie. unavailable on Slack), and eliminates distractions overall. 3. Focus Enhancers – It helps you to stay focused on the task with timers, music, breaks, etc.
It is an all-in-one time management tool you want in your kit. Available on Desktop
6. Fathom.Video – Zoom Is Your Minute Taker
Since COVID-19, the Zoom app has been downloaded 485 million times in 2020.[2] Although Zoom has been a huge contribution to productivity, so much time is wasted capturing notes and important information, never mind losing focus on what is being said. Fathom is an excellent time management tool for meetings and super easy to use. During your meeting, you can highlight important moments, such as decisions, questions, action items, etc. These are sent to you after your meeting with a transcription of the meeting and highlights. This tool syncs your notes to Hubspot, Salesforce, and other CRM platforms accordingly and automatically. Available on Desktop
7. MyLifeOrganized (MLO) – Manage Your To-Do Lists Effectively
Excellent time management techniques entail to-do lists and having a system to manage your tasks. However, even with various apps and methods, they can be overwhelming for people. This is where MyLifeOrganized comes in. This task management software helps you target what you should be focusing on to reach your objectives. MyLifeOrganized is one of the best time management apps for focused work. It automatically generates to-do lists with priority actions for your immediate attention so that you can track your progress methodically. Available on iOS, Android, and Desktop
8. 1Password – Have All Your Passwords Remembered
How much time do you spend looking for login details or having to reset passwords? 1Password is still a must-have time management app as it allows you to keep all your passwords in one encrypted database – protected by one password. According to research, more than half of Americans have had to reset five passwords each month on average.[3] This saves you time when you forget your passwords and need to retrieve them and also allows you to use various passwords for different accounts so you don’t compromise on security. Available iOS, Android, and Desktop
9. Alarmy – Joyful Alarm Clock
Waking up early to have time for yourself and set yourself up for the day is the ingredient to mastering your day. Alarmy makes it impossible to sleep in or snooze by giving you a few options of challenges to complete before the alarm turns off. You can play memory games, do math, take photos, squat, and many more. By the time you have completed the challenge, you are already awake, and your mind is active. There are other great features, such as personalizing your sounds and recording how you feel, to gain insights. Get more out of your day with Alarmy. Available on iOS, and Android
10. Focus@Will – Boost Your Attention Span
This amazing app combines neuroscience and music to boost your productivity. According to the developers, it’s possible to increase your attention span by up to 400% using Focus@Will, making this one of the best time management apps available, which is why it stays on our list.[4] Focus@Will is ideal for those who find it difficult to focus while studying, working, or reading. It also helps you control your ADD. Available on iOS, Android, and Desktop
11. Alfred – Interact With Your Computer in a Smart Way
This small and simple tool lets you launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes. This is one of the greatest time management techniques as it removes the need for searching through multiple folders to find what you need. The only downside is that it’s only available for macOS. Available on Desktop (macOS)
12. Habitica – Gamify Your Habits
Having the right habits can either save you hours of time or waste hours, and how productive you are, depends on your habits. The challenge is that the initial excitement and motivation to develop new habits wears off quickly, and when there is no consistency in building the new habit, it will never replace the old. This is where Habitica becomes your partner in success. Track your goals, to-dos, and habits. Stay accountable for achieving your goals with features such as rewards, punishments, and streaks. Finally, have fun getting things done! Available on iOs, and Android
13. Quire – Unfold Your Ideas
Quire is another excellent and innovative time management app that boosts your team’s productivity. The strength of this app is in its features for collaboration and ease of sharing. Through the various time management techniques this app offers, you can streamline and adjust your workflow based on your team’s needs and preferences. Available on iOS, Android, and Desktop
14. Doodle – Scheduling Has Never Been Easier
It can be quite frustrating going back and forth spending more time than needed coordinating a day and time that works for everyone to get together. Doodle comes to the rescue here. Whether you’re planning a meeting or a party, Doodle sends everyone options and times and tracks the time that works best for everyone to schedule. It keeps everyone up to date with all current and upcoming events and also syncs with Zoom, Google Meet, Outlook, Microsoft teams, and Zapier for easier collaboration. Available on Desktop
15. Dropbox – Store and Send Large Files Easily
Dropbox stays on the list of the top apps that allow you to transfer content from your computer to other devices and access it anywhere. It is free, and it is easier to use than the others. With the Dropbox app, you can even access and share important files on the go. It is an easy way to share your files and documents with others for improved productivity. Available on iOS, Android, and Desktop
Final Thoughts
The above list covers what we consider to be the very best time management apps and tools available. And the good news is that many of them are completely free of charge! So, what are you waiting for? Select the ones that will be the most valuable to you, and begin boosting your productivity now! Featured photo credit: freestocks via unsplash.com
