Time Management Apps: 19 Top Picks

As an entrepreneur, nothing feels more exhausting than an overwhelming schedule. You might block a few slots on your calendar or write down a to-do list, but they can only go so far. 

Instead, take advantage of time management apps to control your calendar, stay focused, and improve your productivity.

Some apps gamify time management. Others simplify to-do lists. Regardless of how you want to manage your time, The Hustle took a look at 19 time management apps for you to try.

1. Todoist

Todoist lets users go as simple or as complex as they want. You start by adding tasks to your list. Then, you categorize — adding due dates, prioritization, and reminders. Next, you delegate by adding subtasks, creating projects, sharing tasks, and discussing with other collaborators. You can even customize the process by adding integrations or filter views.

Price:

Best for: Individuals looking for a cost-effective way to track their day-to-day tasks, from personal projects to work assignments.

Available on:Mac, Windows, iOS, Android

2. Forest

Forest uses trees to gamify productivity. Whenever you want to focus on something, you plant a virtual tree within the app. As you work, your tree grows. If you close the app before finishing your allotted focus time, the tree will die. Over time, you will grow many trees that come together to form a forest of focus.

Price: $3.99

Best for: Users looking for a clean, cute way to incentivize focus with few add-ons.

Available on:iOS, Google Play, Chrome

3. Serene

Serene uses three techniques to up your productivity. First, you start your day with a goal — which you then break down into sessions. Next, you block distractions such as social media apps and phone notifications. Finally, the app allows you to use focus enhancers, such as music, timed breaks, and more.

Price: $4/month, billed annually

Best for: Entrepreneurs who need to hunker down regularly to focus on building different parts of their business.

Available on:MacOS

4. Loop Habit Tracker

Loop Habit Tracker helps you build and keep good habits. On the app, you create habits you want to form — such as reading for 30 minutes a day or waking up early. Every day, you mark whether you did an activity. The app then provides you with charts and statistics to show your progress over time.

Price: Free

Best for: Professionals who want to develop a regular daily routine.

Available on:Google Play, F-Droid

5. Habitica

If you find most productivity apps boring, Habitica offers an RPG-style way to gamify your life. You first create a series of goals, such as flossing your teeth or calling your parents. The app then attaches rewards (e.g., armor, pets, magic skills) and punishments to whether you complete these tasks. Task completion levels up your in-app character, which can battle monsters together with other “Habiticans.”

Price: Free

Best for: Video gamers looking for a fun, quirky way to build better habits.

Available on:iOS, Android

6. Asana

Asana includes an all-in-one planner, complete with task tracking, collaboration, project management, workflows, a built-in calendar, and more. You can delegate tasks to your team, assign due dates, and write instructions for the task. You can also create a personal tracker for work, ticking off parts of your to-do list.

Price:

Best for: Workers who collaborate with other stakeholders frequently.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

7. OmniFocus

OmniFocus helps professionals prioritize different tasks. You insert your tasks into its interface, adding any necessary due dates, tags, or comments. OmniFocus then shows you what to focus on during the day and week by prioritizing important items.

Price:

Best for: Professionals looking for a cross-platform, easy-to-use time management app.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS

8. Freedom

Sometimes you just need to go cold turkey. Freedom blocks websites and apps that pull you away from what you're supposed to be doing -- for example, social media and news sites. You can customize recurring "work sessions" that'll start automatically and cut off access to distracting content so you can focus.

Price: $6.99/month, $2.42/month for one year, or $129.00 yearly

Best for: Users who struggle to focus, get distracted easily, and are looking for an app that can help them enhance productivity and concentration.

Available on:Windows, iOS, Mac

9. Workflowy

Workflowy offers a flexible way to manage tasks and track projects. You can capture everything within the app, and attach files and images to tasks. The app also offers infinite nesting, meaning you can dig deeper on subtasks for different projects. You can even zoom out, getting a massive view of your workload, or zoom all the way in, looking at what matters now.

Price:

Best for: Entrepreneurs who need to simplify the complexity of running a startup or business.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

10. Notion

Notion combines your wiki, documents, and projects into one tool. You can collaborate by adding team spaces for different groups. Through their wiki creation, you can create a one-stop place for team resources, such as onboarding, guidelines, directories, and more. Finally, you can jot down meeting minutes and notes through their document section.

Price:

Best for: Professionals who work with multiple teams within a larger organization.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

11. Focus To-Do

This app uses the Pomodoro Technique to up productivity. You first set a goal to work on. Then, using the app’s timer, you work for 25 minutes before taking a five-minute break. After going through this process four times, you then take a longer break and repeat.

Price: Free

Best for: Workers who find it difficult to stay focused on tasks throughout the day.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

12. Zenkit To Do

Zenkit To Do enables users to track most aspects of their life, from meetings to trips to shopping lists. You can take advantage of their smart list features by tagging tasks as “favorites” or “today,” enabling you to prioritize.

Zenkit To Do also has the unique ability to integrate with other Zenkit products, including their project management, software development, mind maps, and more.

Price:

Best for: Individuals looking to merge personal time management with enterprise-level apps.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

13. Aika

Aika takes time blocking to the next level. You can schedule blocks with filters and tags on your daily schedule, and expand, move, and edit blocks as needed. Aika also offers insights to let you know how you spend your time. For example, you might realize you need to spend more time with your family or less time on a certain project.

Price:

Best for: Professionals who want to take more control over their work schedule — such as maintaining a better work-life balance or spending less time on calls.

Available on:Windows

14. Clear Todos

While other apps tout plenty of bells and whistles, Clear Todos boasts a clean, simple interface. The app focuses on making and managing to-do lists, and shows you what tasks to prioritize versus put aside.

Price: $4.99

Best for: Users looking for a way to digitize and optimize their to-do lists.

Available on:iOS

15. Clockify

Clockify helps users better manage, track, and bill their time. You can automatically and manually record time spent on a certain task, such as writing or designing graphics. Through the app, you can add tags and note whether a task requires billing. If you manage a team, you can even use Clockify to manage your direct reports and see when they work.

Price:

Best for: Freelancers, managers, and business owners who need a way to better track time for billing purposes.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

16. Toggl Track

Toggl Track helps users bill time, manage payroll, and ensure projects remain profitable. It can track your team’s time spent working, and measure billable time. The app also lets you see the breakdown of your billing budget — such as how much you spent on research time compared to writing in a given month.

Price:

Best for: Managers of freelance teams or hourly workers who need to optimize budgets.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

17. Focus@Will

Focus@Will uses scientifically tested music to keep you focused and productive. They boast a massive selection of music created by platinum-selling producers and backed by neuroscientists.

Price:

Best for: Professionals who work in busy, loud environments and struggle to focus.

Available on:Windows, iOS, Android

18. ClickUp

While other apps focus on an aspect of productivity, ClickUp is an all-in-one suite. You can track tasks and set goals, and even collaborate with others using a whiteboard and chat tool. With free templates, you can start managing a project without spending ages building out the tracker.

Price:

Best for: Workers looking for a place to manage large projects, collaborate, and brainstorm with others.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

19. Evernote

Evernote has a flexible and customizable way to manage your schedule, projects, and notes. You can combine notes with tasks. You can use their web clipper to easily save items on the web. You can even connect your notes to your schedule, such as meeting minutes. Evernote has templates for all of its tools, and users can customize their workspace however they want.

Price:

Best for: Individuals who want to customize their workspace to their preferences and tastes.

Available on:Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

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