As the world adjusts to working remotely, more and more people find themselves struggling to balance their work lives and home lives. If time management is something you want to improve on, it might benefit you to take advantage of the various time management tools out there – including some of the best work from home apps.
Many people like managing their time the old-school way, with a planner or a diary. But since we’ve entered a high-tech world, it’s important to find the time management app that works best for you.
- Best Time Tracker: TimeTree
- Best Task Manager: Todoist
- Best Password Manager: 1Password
- Best for Preventing Distractions: Forest
Some of the best time management apps include Todoist, Forest, and Time Tree. To learn more about these apps (and many others like them), check out our recommendations below!
A Quick Look at the Best Time Management Apps of 2023
If you’d like to compare time management programs and apps, the chart below offers a quick breakdown of our top picks.
|
App |
OS/Platforms |
Pricing |
Key Features |
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TimeTree |
Web, iOS, Android |
Free Forever; Regional Pricing |
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Toggl Track |
Windows, macOS, and Linux, Web, iOS, Android, browser extension |
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|
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RescueTime |
Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, iOS, Android, browser extension |
Paid plans start at $6.50 per month |
|
|
Todoist |
Web, browser extension, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, wearOS, Apple Watch |
|
|
|
Trello |
Web, browser extensions, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android; tablet users must use the web version |
|
|
|
Remember The Milk |
|
Free forever or $39.99 per year |
|
|
Focus Matrix |
iOS, macOS |
Free forever or about $10 one-time purchase per platform |
|
|
Forest |
iOS, Android, browser extensions |
Free forever or a one-time purchase of around $4; in-app purchases are available but not required |
|
|
Be Focused Timer |
iOS, macOS |
Free forever or about $10 one-time purchase per platform |
|
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1Password |
macOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, browser extensions, iOS, Android |
|
|
Time Trackers
Some of the best time management apps are time trackers, which allow you to record the time you spend and how you’ve spent it. Apps like these might help you adjust your habits if you notice that you’ve spent too much time on distractions and unproductive activities.
If you want to know how you spend your time during your workdays (or any day, really), here are some of the best time management tools at your disposal.
TimeTree
Pros |
Cons |
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|
Pricing:
- Free ‘forever plan’ offering basic functions
- You can subscribe to Time Tree Premium from your iOS or Android device. Pricing varies depending on your region and currency.
Managing your schedule is made much easier with TimeTree, a time management tool available on mobiles and the web.
This app is built with communication and sharing in mind, allowing you to share your calendar with others and keep scheduling conflicts to a minimum. All of these features make it one of the best time management apps for Android, PC, Mac, and iOS.
With this app, you can keep track of your home calendar, work calendar, and even your social calendar in a single place. TimeTree allows you to share your schedule and calendars with others within the same app, making it easier to find a time when everyone is available.
The main goal of this app is to prevent you from double booking or forgetting important appointments. You can use TimeTree as a personal and professional scheduling app.
Aside from making scheduling a breeze, TimeTree also offers memos so you can record your objectives and share them with your family, friends, or colleagues. You can create to-do lists, shopping lists, and even wishlists.
TimeTree provides you with a feed of everything happening within your calendars, including comments, likes, and updated appointments.
Although this app is free, there are in-app advertisements to help support the developers’ costs. If you don’t want to be served personalized ads, you can opt-out by following the instructions on this page.
TimeTree is available on Android and iOS. Those on desktop machines or tablets can use TimeTree through their web version.
Toggl Track
Pros |
Cons |
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|
Pricing:
- Free forever tier
- Starter tier at $10 per user per month/$9 per user per month, paid annually
- Premium tier at $20 per user per month/$18 per user per month paid annually
- Contact sales for Enterprise pricing
Toggl’s products are loved and used by millions worldwide, including giants like Uber, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and LinkedIn.
Toggl offers three products that are designed to eliminate stress and elevate productivity:
- Toggl Hire for candidate screening
- Toggl Plan for project planning
- Toggl Track for time tracking.
Toggl Track is a time-planning app that outlines exactly where your time is going. Tack projects and profitability thanks to detailed time monitoring and recording. With over 100 integrations, the app fits seamlessly into your current workflow.
Beyond time tracking and reporting, Toggl Track also offers idle detection, reminders, a timeline, and even a Pomodoro timer to increase focus and outline when to take your breaks.
You can use the app while you’re online. However, if you ever lose your internet connection, Toggl Track will save your data and sync it later once your connection returns.
You can use Toggl Track for free for teams of up to five users. The starter plan starts at $9/user per month (billed annually), and the premium plan starts at $18/user per month (billed annually). Enterprise plans are also available for larger organizations.
Toggl Track is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Browser plugins are also available so you can track time within other apps. Mobile users can enjoy Toggl Track on both Android and iOS.
RescueTime
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing: Paid plans start at $6.50 per month
RescueTime is one of the best apps for time management. It works by tracking your activity and helping you stay focused and motivated on your tasks at hand.
By informing you of how you spend your time during your workday, it can gradually help you adjust your habits, so you spend less time on distractions. Its smart coaching feature informs you when you’ve spent too much time on distracting activities or if you have been multitasking too much. With RescueTime’s goal system, you can also work on improving your discipline and focus over time.
RescueTime has a lite version of its time management program that you can use at no cost. If you’d like to try the paid features, a two-week free trial is available. Ready to commit? Paid plans begin at $6.50 per month.
It’s worth mentioning that RescueTime now offers a choice between RescueTime Classic and the new and improved RescueTime experience. Both help you improve your productivity, but the new RescueTime allows you to achieve a better life balance. You can learn more about the two versions at this link.
There are fewer time management apps for iPhones than Android apps, so if you’re an iOS user, this could be your number-one choice.
RescueTime is available as a browser extension. You can download it on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.
Task and Project Management
Apps that help with time management go beyond just time trackers and schedulers. Even task and project management apps can help you manage your time more efficiently (and can effectively be called a time manager app). Use them for yourself — or your team — to stay on track with projects.
If you struggle to keep track of your tasks and projects, these apps may help you out.
Todoist
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing: Todoist is one of the more affordable task and time management apps available. As of June 2022, the pricing includes:
- Free forever tier
- Pro plan at $5 per user per month or $48 per user billed annually (coming out to about $4 per month)
- Business plan at $8 per user per month or $72 per user billed annually (coming out to about $6 per month)
Todoist is an app that employs the use of boards and cards as an organization system. Create sections for tasks and their respective subtasks, set due dates, and create recurring tasks if necessary. You can also set priorities for your tasks and favorite the ones you need to work on the most.
If you want to add Todoist to your existing workflow, the app has plenty of integrations that make it easier.
Todoist is available for free, although with limited features. The pro plans start at $3 per month, billed annually. If you’re a business, you can use the app starting at $5 per user every month, billed yearly.
You can use Todoist right from your browser via their web app. You can also use the Todoist browser extensions. If you’d rather use the computer app, Todoist is available on desktop for macOS and Windows.
Alternatively, you can use Todoist on mobile, which is available on Android and iOS. One thing that sets this app apart is that you can use it on smartwatches (WearOS and Apple Watch).
Trello
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing:
- Free forever tier
- Standard tier at $6 per user per month or $5 per user per month when billed annually
- Premium at $12.50 per user per month or $10 per user per month when billed annually
- Contact sales for enterprise pricing
Trello is one of the most popular project management apps and services around today. Millions of people around the world trust Trello with their accountability and project management, as well as companies like Google, Costco, and Squarespace.
It employs Kanban-style boards to help you and your team manage your projects and tasks. Trello’s simple user interface means that even newbies can get around with relative ease (though you might need to spend some time exploring to see more of its features).
The boards and cards used in this app serve as your task management methods, where boards track projects, and the cards within these boards track specific tasks. Through the board and card system, set task priorities and stay accountable as you track your progress.
To give it a try, sign up for a free Trello account, although the features you’ll have access to will be limited. If you think you’re ready to go for a paid plan, a standard plan subscription starts at $5 per user per month (when billed yearly). Alternatively, the premium plan provides more features and starts at $10 per user per month (when billed yearly). If you’re a larger business, you can contact them for enterprise plans for teams of 25 and more.
Trello keeps everything synced when you log into multiple platforms, so everything updates across your devices.
A major selling point of Trello is that it’s available across just about any platform. There’s a web app and some browser extensions. Alternatively, you can use the native Windows or macOS app. It’s also on mobile, through iOS and Android. The only problem is that it’s not currently available on Linux, and tablet users will also have to go through the web app.
Related Reading: Asana vs. Monday
Remember The Milk
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing: Free forever or $39.99 per year
Remember the Milk advertises itself as a smart to-do app that’s made especially for busy people. Get your to-dos out of your head and let this well-designed app remember it all for you.
This app was to help people struggling to stay on track and manage everything they have to do, whether for home or work. Remember the Milk is available on many different platforms, so you can log in and sync to see all your updates in real-time. This app also has several integrations available to add it to your current workflow more efficiently.
Remember the Milk has reminders to help keep you on track. You can get notifications and reminders through SMS, instant messaging, e-mail, Twitter, and mobile apps.
You can sign up for a free account. It’s one of the best free time management apps, but if you’d like to upgrade for more features, it costs $39.99 per year.
Remember the Milk is available on your mobile device through Android, Blackberry 10, and iOS. Tablet users can download this app via iOS, Android, and Amazon Apps. You can also use Remember The Milk on your Apple Watch. If you prefer to use the desktop app, you can download Remember The Milk on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Focus Matrix
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing:
- Available in a limited free version
- Focus Matrix Pro costs around $10 on macOS and iOS
- If you want to sync your tasks between macOS and iOS, you’ll need to purchase the app twice (around $20)
Focus Matrix is a task management app that uses the Eisenhower Matrix to help you organize your priorities.
The Eisenhower Matrix (sometimes known as the Urgent-Important Matrix) is a four-block system that allows you to organize your tasks by priority:
- Urgent and important
- Urgent and not important
- Not urgent and important
- Not urgent and not important
Focus Matrix allows you to add tasks to each section. You can choose between the four-block view or the list view, depending on your preference. It’s worth mentioning Focus Matrix pairs well with another app by the same developer called Be Focused Timer (more on this below). Whether used on its own or paired with Be Focused Timer, Focus Matrix can help you choose which priority tasks to work on first!
Focus Matrix is available for iPhone, iPad, and macOS. Sync between your Mac and your iDevices, but you’ll first need to purchase the app twice on both operating systems.
Focus Keepers
All the time scheduling in the world won’t help you if you can’t stay focused If you’re constantly getting distracted, you might end up spending more time on tasks than you intended. Distraction can lead to delays that might snowball into more stress later on.
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing: One-time purchase of around $3.99; in-app purchases are available but not required
Forest is a time management app that claims to get you focused — and stay focused — on the things that matter. It functions much like a Pomodoro timer, where you should work between 10 to 120 minutes. When you start your focused time, you start planting a tree. At the end of your focused time, your tree will bloom. If you get distracted, the tree will die.
As you continue planting trees, you’ll grow your forest. There are achievements you can unlock to help gamify the experience. On top of that, Forest also plants real trees when users spend their virtual coins (earned through the app).
You can view the previous trees you’ve planted per day, week, month, and year. As you earn more coins (or purchase them through microtransactions), you can unlock more types of trees to plant in your forest.
Forest is available on Android, iOS, and the desktop through browser extensions. There are free versions, but the paid versions are also incredibly affordable, starting at around $3.99.
Be Focused Timer
- Visit the Mac app store
- Visit the iOS app store (for iPhone and iPad)
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing:
- Available in a limited free version
- Be Focused Timer Pro costs around $10 on macOS and iOS
- To sync tasks between macOS and iOS, you must purchase the app twice (around $20).
Be Focused Timer is a Pomodoro timer. It’s not incredibly unique compared to similar timers on the market, but we recommend this app regardless, as it works perfectly in tandem with the Focus Matrix app (listed above).
Some of the features we liked about Be Focused Timer include things like a chronometer to help you get a better idea of the passing of time and the ability to change the sound alerts for the notifications of your Pomodoro periods that are finishing. When synced with Focus Matrix, it becomes easier to track time and work in Pomodoro style for specific tasks.
Be Focused Timer is available on the iPhone and iPad. It’s also available on macOS. You can sync between your Mac and your iDevices, but you’ll need to purchase the app twice on both operating systems.
Time Savers
Time management apps are great, and all, but other tools can also help you save time and stay on track as you go through your daily to-do lists. Here are some apps and services that might help shave precious time off from your tasks.
1Password
Pros |
Cons |
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Pricing:
- Personal plans
- Individual – $2.99 per month billed yearly
- 1Password Families – $4.99 per month for five users, billed yearly
- Team and business plans
- Teams starter pack – $19.95 per month billed annually (flat rate for 10 users)
- Business – $7.99 per user per month billed annually (comes with family accounts and advanced protection access)
- Contact sales for enterprise pricing
Nothing can slow you down or ruin your flow, like forgetting your login information.
Today, cybersecurity is getting more complex, which means it’s more important than ever to develop strong passwords that differ from each other. Remembering your login info wouldn’t be such a big problem if not for the fact that there are so many websites, apps, and services that require you to sign in. It can be impossible to remember all your usernames and passwords daily — and it is no surprise that many people struggle.
1Password helps you manage all your usernames and passwords from one place. By storing and using all of your strong passwords from one secure location, logging in only requires one click.
This password manager is available on practically every platform. You can use the 1Password app on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and it’s even available on ChromeOS for Chromebooks. If you’d rather use this app on the browser, there are browser extensions for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave Browser, and Safari. This app is also available on Android and iOS.
How to Choose the Best Time Management App
You’ll need to consider how much data you want to capture about your habits and how much you’re willing to spend per month. Chances are, a simple free version of a task manager should be enough for most users. But if you need something a little more comprehensive — or need integrations with other apps — you’re better off with a premium paid app.
Businesses and certain individuals may benefit more from a cloud-based app that can be accessed from anywhere in order to share productive plans with others. Many apps are restricted to single-app usage (especially free ones), so keep this in mind when deciding.
You should also check which platforms you need the app to work on. There’s no point opting for the best app for Mac if it doesn’t also work on your PC when needed.
Criteria for Choosing the Best Apps for Time Management
There are quite a few things to consider as you’re choosing among the best apps for time management. Time management software can make or break your day-to-day productivity routine, so it’s vital to choose the right one for your needs and specific situation.
Below are some criteria to help you choose time management apps that can help you work smarter:
- User Interface – A user interface should look great, feel good, and make sense in daily use. You may want to avoid apps with convoluted user interfaces that are hard to navigate or have suboptimal designs. While you’re at it, consider apps with UIs that appeal to you aesthetically.
- User Experience (UX) and Ease of Use – UX design exists to ensure that users have a pleasant and optimized interaction with the product. UX design also plays into an app’s ease of use, comfort, and convenience. The best way to determine whether you like the UX of an app? Give it a shot by using free trials and free tiers until you figure out which app(s) you like most.
- Features – Time management apps come in various forms, meaning each app will offer a unique feature set. Think about finding an app that offers all or at least most of the features you’ll need on a day-to-day basis.
- Price – Apps come in various price ranges. Some are absolutely free, while others will cost you a one-time purchase fee. There are also apps that use a subscription pricing model where you must pay for a monthly or yearly plan to access paywalled features. Determine how much you are willing to spend and look for apps that fit within that budget.
- Platform Availability – Choose an app that’s available on the systems you use.
- Cross-Platform Sync – If you want to access your time management strategy on more than one platform or device, look for apps that offer cross-platform sync for the specific systems you use.
- Integrations – If you want to be able to expand your time management app’s functionality, look for apps that offer plenty of integrations. These integrations can allow you to use extensions or add-ons to add new features. Alternatively, integrations can allow you to embed your time management solution into your existing productivity tech stack and toolset.
On top of the criteria listed above, ask yourself the following questions to determine whether an app will fit into your daily productivity routine:
- Does the app add or reduce distraction?
- Does the app objectively help productivity?
- Do the features make sense for your needs?
These questions — along with the criteria previously mentioned — can help you find the right app(s) for your time management needs!
The Benefits of a Good Time Management App
There are a few reasons you should use a time management app to increase your productivity:
- Keep track of time on task and time wasted
- Fix bottlenecks in the production line
- Better collaboration tool for teams
- Estimate project costs more efficiently
- Find areas to improve upon
- Identify productive team members for promotions and rewards
- Potentially improve on mindfulness and mental strategies
Why Trust Productivity Spot?
At Productivity Spot, we aim to help make our readers’ work and day-to-day lives easier and more convenient. Through handy tips and tricks – as well as product and app recommendations – we share things that we can believe will be helpful to your productivity in the long run.
We do our best to provide only the best recommendations and most accurate information we can find. We spend tons of time researching information, products, and tips before we share them with our readers.
You can trust Productivity Spot to provide high-quality, accurate information: We understand that what we share with you can impact many of your decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Best App for Time Management?
The answer to this question is subjective: What do you waste the most time on? Do you need a time management app as an individual or a team. That being said, one of our favorite overall picks is TimeTree, a time management software that keeps track of where your time goes and allows you to readjust accordingly.
Does Google Have a Daily Planner?
There is no official daily planner released by Google, but several options that work seamlessly with Google Assistant can be downloaded. Alternatively, you can build your own daily planner in Google Sheets or try using some of the many templates available for sale online. Alternatively, you can try creating your own or using one of the templates available in the Google Sheets template library!
How Do I Keep Track of My Daily Schedule?
Many of the apps listed above can help you plan your day effectively, but you can also opt for a specialized daily planner. Using a task management tool like Todoist or Trello may help you stay on top of your daily agenda. Our best tip is to use whatever you have handy to brainstorm or list down your task management needs. Then, find one or two solutions to tie it all together!
What Is a Time Management App? How Do I Use One?
Each app works slightly differently, but they are best used to track your time spent on certain tasks. The hard part is using the data to make changes to your behavior (or your team’s patterns) to increase productivity. A hot tip: Use a journal to make sure you’re sticking to the changes and setting your intentions.
Are Time Management Apps Effective?
As with anything, your effort, discipline, and input matter here. There are countless articles out there touting time management as a way to reduce your daily stress — many of them even coming from reputable universities. If you are able to identify your stressors and develop a sound strategy around them, time management software can certainly help you stick to your new plans.
Can I Use a Time Management App for My Whole Family?
Yes! Some of these apps are better suited to family use than others. Simply look for options that provide the ability to use multiple calendars and task lists, then ensure that a sharing functionality is also available.
Conclusion: Use the Tools Available to You
Many people look for a great time organizer to help them balance their tasks, chores, and life more easily. But that doesn’t mean that you need to go and buy every new tool, planner, or gadget to create your own strategy! Use what’s available to you and add a time management app to tie it all together.
Above, we discussed some of the best time management apps, but using another tool (such as a focus app or task management app) can also help you prioritize better. There’s no harm in using a combination of the apps we’ve listed above.
Looking to become an expert in project management? Check out these courses on Udemy to take your productivity to the next level. You can also use these project management tools to get started.
Related:
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Chriselle has been a passionate writer for over 10 years, working with many publications worldwide. She currently writes for Productivity Spot, The Grad Cafe, and Hackr.io, among others.
