Getting organized can be hard, especially if you are not very organized to begin with. If you’re anything like me, you pine after the countless ‘Getting Organized’ boards on Pinterest and hope that one day, you’re life could be somewhat organized. Well, it can be! It doesn’t take a lot to begin on your journey to better organization. Even the smallest thing, like starting your day with a to-do list, can take you from a disorganized hot-mess to a functioning adult. Whether you’re in college, or out in the real world, it’s time for you to get a hold of your life. So get ready, because I’ve pulled together my top 6 (free) apps for organizing your life:
The Apps:
Todoist
This app is geared towards helping you get more done. It has a clean, simple design that is easy to navigate and understand. This app is great for managing your daily check list or bigger, long term projects. If you like order and simplicity this app is great and even better if you are willing to shell out $28.99/year for the premium plan for those extra features.
Pros:
- Available on Web, iOS and Android
- Desktop Apps for Windows and OSX
- Add-ons for Firefox and Chrome
- Plugins for Email apps
- Easily create recurring tasks
- Create sub-tasks
- Minimalist design
Cons:
- Free account missing some majorly essential features that other apps provide
- Need to upgrade to a premium account ($28.99/year) to get reminders via email or push notifications on your phone
- No labels and filters on the free plan
- Heavy premium account advertising
- Very basic free account
Wunderlist
You’ve all probably heard of Wunderlist by now. I’ve used this app from time to time and have found it to be pretty useful. This app is simple and easy to use and has some great features included in the free account. Wunderlist includes an array of intuitive options and menu selections. Getting started with this app is easy peasy.
Pros:
- Available on Web, iOS and Android
- Desktop Apps for Windows and OSX
- File attachment capabilities
- Up to 25 subtasks per to-do item
- Personalized backgrounds
- Free timed reminders
- Notes
- Star important tasks
- Create multiple categories
- Great interface design
- Easily share lists
- Filter task options
Cons:
- Recurring task feature is lacking
- No location-based reminders
- Syncing can be unreliable on mobile
Google Keep
Google Keep is great if you are inspired by the awesomeness of every day. This app is perfect for jotting down little notes (text or voice), checklists, and storing inspiring images. It integrates with ease across all of your devices using google drive.
Pros:
- Easily make a checklist
- Attach pictures
- Voice messages
- Offline editing (will sync later)
- Search function: easily search through notes for specific word
- Ideal for jotting down an idea or thought
- Simple and easy to use
- Great design
- Backed by Google
- Free
- Allows color coding
Cons:
- Limited features
- Can’t do basic formatting of text (bullet point and numbered lists; bold, italicize and underline)
- No file attaching
- No recurring tasks
- Poor organization (lacking subtasks)
- Not great for bigger projects outside of your day to day
Any.Do
This app is great for those of us who tend to get a little overwhelmed by all the things we need to do. Any.Do focuses on showing you today, tomorrow and later. Any.Do is availlable for iPhone/Android and has a chrome extension.
Pros:
- Free (for basic version)
- Encourages daily to-do review
- Easy to use
- Simple design, easy to navigate
- Any.Do moments (5 per month with basic version)
- Daily planner
- Flexible viewing (either by category or due date)
- Auto-complete feature
- Organize tasks with folders
Cons:
- Doesn’t have a calendar view
- Cannot easily delete a task
- Limited Any.Do moments for free version
TickTick
If you are looking for a lightweight task manager, TickTick is for you. You can manage everything right from your phone with this cross platform app. This app is packed with a lot of great features to really help you get your life in order.
Pros:
- No clutter, clean and simple design
- Calendar view
- Supports #hashtags (labels)
- Location based reminders
- Supports recurring tasks
Con:
- Free version only allows 19 task lists (which is still a lot)
- A lot of advertising for premium version
Trello
Trello is a go to for anyone who is a visual thinker. Organize your to-dos and ideas with the simple and easy to use card design. See what you have going on easily. The overall design is consistent across the browser view as well as the app.
Pros:
- Free ( $45/year for premium version)
- Real time collaboration
- Simple and easy to use card design allowing for flexible workflow
- Also great for group collaboration (Group projects anyone?)
Cons:
- Can’t delete boards once they’ve been made
- No calendar feature
- Limited number of labels
- Difficult to work with more than one card
Now that you know the tools, pick the one that best fits your organizational needs. Don’t be afraid to test the waters. It may take a few test runs before you find what works best for you.