Sometimes the contemporary world makes you run at an incredible pace. The majority of people often feels overwhelmed by the tasks and responsibilities they have to deal with. In a desperate attempt to fit all our responsibilities into 24 hours, we make mistakes, lose concentration, and experience a lot of stress. This is a situation when investing your time and energy into improving your time-management skills can reward you with plenty of benefits. As soon as you learn to distinguish important things from distractions, set up clear and achievable goals with realistic deadlines, organize your work space and your mind, make efficient schedules and plans, you'll witness a significant boost in your productivity and your quality of life. When you know how to spend your time wisely, your life instantly becomes more manageable.
Of course, taking control of your daily routine might be hard, but as modern society made our lives significantly more complicated, it has also provided us with plenty of technological solutions to cope with that. As technology gets more advanced, the number of tasks we have to perform manually constantly keeps getting smaller. Surely, programs can't replace humans, but it is definitely nice to use them as our assistants that can:
● Contain all of your plans for a day, a month, or a year
● Schedule meetings and organize events
● Help you to manage your tasks and projects
● Remain focused until you get things done.
Obviously, there is no time-management app that will satisfy everyone's needs, but you can take a look at this selection of the best time-management platforms and choose the one that suits your preferences the most.
1. Bitrix24 manages all aspects of your life
This time-management app is a toolkit that offers you more than 35 solutions for any possible challenge. It can be your daily planner, event organizer, and calendar. It has document storage, a database, and a variety of communication tools. You can integrate it with Google Drive, Dropbox, and many other useful platforms. Plus, all of these functions are free, if you're not looking for premium capabilities.
Basic Features
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HR instruments: a clock-in/clock-out system with customizable settings to keep the records of the employees' work time, a special mode for supervisors to approve changes in clock-in/clock-out times, view subordinates' records, confirm work time and issue warnings. Work & efficiency reports to evaluate employees' performance on the individual, group, or company level with detailed statistics on new, complete, and overdue tasks.
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A daily planner and event organizer: private and shared calendars to schedule meetings and events, notifications and reminders, repeated time slots for regular tasks
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A database with information on customers, partners, and employees
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Task management: initiate task sequences, assign roles, responsibilities, and resources, set up deadlines
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Communication tools: audio/video calls, online conferences, and group chats
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Analytical tools: dashboards, Gantt, burn/burn down charts, checklists, efficiency reports, and Kanban boards, etc.
Availability
2. Trello – all tasks aboard!
Trello became an incredibly popular time-management app due to its simple, but elegant and effective solution to monitor your task performance progress. The algorithm is quite straightforward: you place task cards on the board with columns. New tasks go straight to the "To Do" column. If you're already working on the task, it joins the "In progress" board. If it's already accomplished, it goes to the "Completed" section.
Basic Features
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Instruments to delegate tasks and generate task sequences
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A calendar with meetings and projects
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A panel with the board's statistics
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Tables to combine data from several boards
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Notifications and reminders
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The ability to set time limits and assign resources
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A schedule with meetings and events.
Availability
3. TimeTree – when one calendar is enough
With this time-management app, there is no need to separate your personal plans from your work meetings. TimeTree is a solution that allows you to combine family dinners, movie nights with friends, and work events in one calendar. Now, you won't forget anything after getting mixed up in multiple schedules. It is the ultimate set of tools to help you achieve a work-life balance.
Basic Features
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A calendar with all the plans & arrangements (work related or personal)
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The ability to share events and appointments with your colleagues, partners, friends, or relatives
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Integration with your contact list, so you can reach out to any person related to the upcoming events
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Notes on any meeting or plan, e.g. a meeting's agenda, domestic chores, or shopping
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The ability to grant access to your memos to show people something important, like your wish list, or share your schedule with them
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A personal feed with news, likes, and comments to provide you with regular updates.
Availability
- Mobile version (Android and iOS).
4. Focus@Will - when you need to stay focused
This time-management app presents you with an unconventional instrument to enhance your brain's ability to concentrate and stay productive. Neuroscience and the art of music joined forces to create tunes that help you stay focused. The developers claim that listening to music from their application's playlists will boost your efficiency by up to 400%. If you play it for 20 minutes, it will help you not to lose focus 10 times longer (for 200 minutes to be precise). This will give you more than 3 hours without distractions, such as boredom, Internet, noise, etc. This is definitely important if you have to prepare for something like a conference or exam.
Basic Features
Focus@Will offers its listeners an impressive collection of 50 music channels to choose from. So, although all tunes are instrumental, you can still find something that suits your taste. Plus, they have a special channel for those who suffer from ADD and ADHD.
Availability
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Web (any modern browser)
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Mobile (Android/iOS)
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Desktop (Mac/Windows).
5. Pocket – fill your virtual pockets with interesting stuff
This is a very useful time-management app for those who tend to find many treasures online and then have no time to study them. With this application, you can save everything in your Pocket, including scientific articles, video lectures, and even interesting tweets. Then you can read, watch, or listen to them when you have the time.
Basic Features
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A pocket to store valuable online findings, such as articles, webpages, videos, etc.
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Access to all of your findings
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The ability to leave comments and highlight interesting parts
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Text-to-speech mode for those who don't have time to read
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A discovery feature to find something educational or entertaining in your Pocket's feed.
Availability
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Web-version (browser widget/client for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari)
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Desktop version (Mac and Windows)
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Mobile versions for phone, tablet, or e-reader (Android/iOS/Windows iPhone/Kobo/Blackberry).
6. IFTTT ("if this, then that") – combine devises and automate actions
This is a time-management app for those who struggle with the incompatibility of applications, devices, platforms, or services. If you want to make particular devices/applications/services work together, you'll need to create conditional "if this, then that", called Applets. If a certain action takes place on the first device, application, or service, the other one will be notified by IFTTT and follow the algorithm of conditional logic. Your Applets can be as complicated and detailed as you like because you can initiate queries and multiple actions.
Basic Features
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Smart home. Use your phone to automatically turn your porch lights on when your Uber driver arrives.
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Social media. Insert your Instagram posts directly to Twitter without any links.
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Business. Import tasks from your Gmail inbox to the Todoist.
Availability
- Mobile versions (Android/iOS).
7. Clockify – puts you on the clock
This time-management app literally tracks the time you spend on completing your tasks. You can use it to measure your productivity or to find out your exact billable hours and payroll.
Basic Features
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Timer with automated start time, the ability to select the apps you want to track, "Idle detection" mode, and customizable reminders
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The ability to submit the number of hours manually
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A report with detailed information on your performance over a particular period of time (week/month/year).
Availability
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Web (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
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Mobile (Android/iOS)
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Desktop (Mac/Windows/Linux).
8. Remember the Milk – for those who tend to forget
This time-management app is developed to manage your to-do lists in the most efficient way. You can take care of all your tasks with one single platform and finally stop worrying about forgetting something important (like milk).
Basic Features
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Smart Add to create tasks and assign deadlines, priority, or other characteristics
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A list of tasks to group (can be marked with tags and colors)
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An infinite number of subtasks
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Instruments to share and delegate tasks
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Tools to filter, sort, and search for tasks
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A smart List to find tasks that match specific criteria, like "can be done in 15 minutes" or "perform today"
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Reminders (and not only about the milk).
Availability
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Web-version (Chrome, Firefox, and Safari)
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Desktop version (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
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Mobile version for phones, tablets, and smartwatches (Apple Watch/iPhone/iPad/Android/BlackBerry/Fire).
9. Forest – keep calm and grow a tree
This time-management app is a simple, but truly creative solution to overcome procrastination and stay focused for as long as you need. Whenever you need to stay focused to accomplish a task, plant a virtual seed that will turn into a tree. This tree will bloom as long as you manage to refrain from distractions. Your mission is to be productive, so the forest can grow.
Basic Features
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Add the websites you want to avoid to your blacklist. Work on a task for 30 minutes without distractions and watch the tree grow. But remember that if you get distracted, the tree will die.
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As your ability to concentrate improves, your forest will grow too
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Spend virtual coins you've earned in the application, and the Forest team's partners, Trees for the Future, will plant an actual living tree.
Availability
10. RescueTime – find out what consumes your time
This time-management app can be of great use to those who want to quit doing multiple tasks simultaneously or avoid getting distracted. RescueTime tracks the time you spend on browsing particular webpages and using certain programs. The platform stores and analyses it to present you with individual recommendations on what steps should be executed to change the situation and boost your productivity.
Basic Features
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Automated tracking of time for each webpage and program
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A blacklist for software that steals too much of your attention
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A complete block or a time limit on using these programs
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An alarm to notify you that you are spending too much time using certain applications
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A personal daily Focus Work goal based on your performance
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Automated reminders to stay focused
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Detailed reports and brief end-of-day summaries
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A Focus Session to test yourself. It completely blocks everything that consumes your time during the session and then compares the results with your average score.
Availability
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Web version for Chrome & Firefox
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Desktop version for Windows & Mac
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Mobile version for Android & iOS.
11. Habitica – no more "all work and no play"
Obviously, this is not an ordinary time-management app. It is a combination of boring everyday routine with the fun elements of RPG games. Your mission is to create a list of daily tasks, rituals, or habits and stick with it for as long as you can. You will be rewarded of punished depending on the results you've achieved. In addition, you can earn experience points, buy new armor, go on a quest, and do plenty of other interesting staff. Plus, one of the most amazing features is that you can share this fantastic experience not only with your colleagues, but also with your friends and family.
Basic Features
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Set up goals, create to-do lists of tasks and habits.
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As soon as you finish a task, mark it as "complete"
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Receive notifications and reminders
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Join an individual or community quest, form a party to hunt monsters together, upgrade armor, adopt a magical pet, etc.
Availability
12. Miro Mind Map – let your mind draw a map to your destination
This time-management app is based on a rare visualization technique. If you strive to explore a goal, a problem, or an idea, you need to put it in the center of the map and let your mind flow to connect it with other ideas, solutions, measures, obstacles, or actions. As soon as you see the whole picture, you'll gain better understanding what your next steps should be.
Basic Features
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A wide selection of templates for roadmapping, agile planning, task & project management, or design iteration
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Analytical tools: user story maps, fishbone diagrams, Kanban boards, business model canvases, affinity diagrams, etc.
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Customizable mind maps with an unlimited number of child nodes (related thoughts and ideas) with branches and sub-branches
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"Auto-arrange" mode that gets the map organized automatically
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A variety of communication and collaboration tools, such as presentation mode, screen sharing, and video conference, built-in video, chat, comments, @mentions
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The ability to import or add spreadsheets, documents, pictures, digital markers, sticky notes, and even other mind maps
Availability
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Desktop version for Windows & Mac
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Mobile version for Android, iOS, and Microsoft.
13. MyLifeOrganized — an organizer that is always available
This time-management app is designed to organize your life, starting from domestic chores, and continuing with major work assignments. This planner allows you to do everything with your tasks and to-do lists. You can effortlessly check, structure, upgrade, and rearrange them when you feel the need to.
Basic Feature
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Customizable to-do lists
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Time limits & task dependencies
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A smart list feature selects the most urgent task, so you know what you need to deal with right now
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An unlimited number of subtasks
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Automated and location-based reminders.
Availability
15. Kiwake – an alarm clock that's hard to trick
This alarm clock is an effective time-management app because it uses the whole arsenal of tools to make you start your day in the most productive way possible. This means you'll have to say "goodbye" to the snooze option and welcome morning exercises.
Basic Features
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To turn off the alarm, you'll have to take a photo of a certain object that shouldn't be near your bed
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Play a quick game to become fully awake
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Examine your schedule for the day
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The alarm only goes off after all the 3 stages are completed
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There is a cooldown time for those who love to stay in bed longer. It allows you to stretch a little for 3 minutes.
Availability
16. Nimbus Note – keep your notes in order
This time-management app is perfect for those who want to finally organize that huge pile of notes that lies all around your workspace.
Basic Features
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Add, organize, label, and sort all kinds of notes and small documents, including business cards
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Comprise a to-do list out of related notes
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Add with audio, video, and images
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Use text recognition tool to edit electronic documents.
Availability
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Web version (all modern browsers)
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Desktop version (PC, Mac)
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Mobile version (Android, iOS).
17. Waze — navigates you through traffic faster than anybody else
This time-management app saves you plenty of time by allowing you to commute faster. It picks up the fastest route, navigates, warns, and notifies you about everything that happens on the road in real time, making your trip as pleasant and quick as possible.
Basic Features
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Real-time updates on traffic situation
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Navigation
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Alerts of road accidents, police patrols, and the lowest gas prices nearby
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Notifications for you and your friends, family, or colleagues on when each of your group is going to arrive.
Availability
18. Loop – reinforce your good habits
Loop is a time-management app designed to encourage you to stick to your healthy habits and turn them into strong behavioral patterns.
Basic Features
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Set up a reminder to cultivate your habits regularly, one or three times a week
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You can snooze or dismiss a habit if you want to take a break
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It gathers data on your exercises, analyze it, and then assesses your productivity. If you reinforce your habit as planned it gets stronger, but if you allow yourself to skip a day or two, it becomes weaker. However, the program doesn't annul your progress.
Availability
- Mobile application for Android.
19. Bear – notes, thought, and ideas organized in a creative space
This time-management app allows you to be creative and organized at the same time by keeping your notes, thoughts, and ideas in order and letting you edit, manage, or rearrange them.
Basic Features
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Add notes, edit them, link them to one another to transform them in a blog post, a story, or an article
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Attach pictures to illustrate your thoughts
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Add hashtags to catalog your notes
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Turn on focus mode to eliminate distractions and focus on important things.
Availability
- Desktop & mobile versions (iPhone, iPad, and Mac).
