Managing time effectively is a struggle for both businesses and individuals. It can be difficult for business owners, students, stay-at-home moms, and everyone else in between. No matter which group or groups you fall into, there’s an easy, affordable, quick way to keep track of completed tasks, your ever-growing to-do list, your work and school schedules, and appointments, deadlines, and meetings. And you can do all that just by using one of the many simple apps for your iPhone or Android. It really is that easy.
1. Screen Time
Screen Time – For $0.99, you can download Screen Time and manage how much time your children spend watching television. But it can do more than just track time spent in front of the TV. Another included feature is assigning a daily allowance of minutes, which can be based on chores completed, grades in school, and so on. This iPhone app’s goal is to encourage parents to limit time their children spend on the couch and encourage children to go outside to play or participate in other beneficial activities. It even gives your children the option to save or even give up allotted minutes for a better reward.
2. Astrid
Astrid – Astrid is a free Android app. Its features include reminders, to-do lists, a task manager, and task sharing. It even syncs with your Google Tasks, Producteev.com, and Astrid.com accounts. This allows you to combine all your task management lists to one central location and updates all the lists with every task you add or complete. You can even share lists with other Astrid users, making it convenient to share a shopping list with your household, schedule meetings at the office, or plan a weekend getaway with friends. While the Astrid app is free, there are several add-ons and upgrades with additional features.
3. Pomodoro
Pomodoro – This iPhone app costs $1.99 per download. Named after the time management technique, the Pomodoro app can help you focus on your tasks. It will give you twenty-five minutes to work on your task and then alert you when you should take a five-minute break before you begin your next twenty-five minutes of work. However, if the twenty-five minutes of work with a five-minute break doesn’t work for you, you can customize the time lengths to fit your needs and your schedule. Also, there is a lite version that you can try for free.
4. Due Today
Due Today – For $2.99, you can download this app for your Android. Due Today allows you to set tasks for future dates, “float” tasks so they will always be in your “due today” box until you’ve completed them, pin larger projects to the main screen so you have easier access, and create recurring tasks every week, month, or year. Due Today also offers a free app, but it has less features.
5. Time Management Rescue Kit
Time Management Rescue Kit – This app is advertised to bring structure to your daily life by helping you manage your schedule and your many tasks—tasks that can easily become overwhelming—and all from your iPhone. The Time Management Rescue Kit allows you to create and prioritize tasks and even gives you some tips for managing your time successfully. And for $0.99, it may be the app you need to get your life back in order.
6. Out of Milk
Out of Milk – The point of this Android app (which is easy to guess) is creating a portable, easy-to-update shopping list. You can create an office supplies list or even a personal pantry list, so you know what’s in your pantry at home while you’re shopping for groceries. You can also create to-do lists and share those lists through text message or email. It’s a simple app and it’s free to download. While the Out of Milk app is geared toward personal use, it can be used for an office supplies shopping list or a similar shopping or task list.
7. ProTime Time Manager
ProTime Time Manager – This iPhone app costs $0.99 for each download and is geared toward business professionals. While many of the other time management apps focus on creating to-do lists and prioritizing tasks, ProTime Time Management tracks how business professionals are spending their time, how much time was spent completing a task or project, and it will even generate reports—whether they’re needed for your own records, your boss, or even your clients.
Finding the right app to manage your schedule can seem like a daunting task sometimes, as it’s just one more thing to add to your to-do list. Make it a priority to find, download, and use a time management app and everything else will fall into place. You may have to sort through a few apps to find the right one for your needs, but you’ll know it when you find it because you’ll become more productive, better organized, and less stressed. And that can make all the difference.
