Research Guides: Best Apps for Students: Task and Time Management

Task and Time Management

Any.do
Cost: FREE (iOS)
Any.do and its partner app Cal sync with your iPhone's reminders and calendar.

Pros: The app can predict task-related text while you type, which is a big timesaver. This app is sleek and fun, giving you motivational (if not cheesy) encouragement as you move throughout your tasks. On top of that, it uses simple, intuitive gestures--you can drag and drop action items swipe to mark tasks as complete. This is much speedier than some of its competitor apps. Ability to record tasks with voice.

Cons: Difficult to set a task with ease, without it landing in the wrong "folder." The default deadline if none is set is today, which means the app is less useful for things like a grocery list.
Microsoft To Do
Cost: FREE (multiple platforms)
With Microsoft To Do, you can:
• Stay focused with My Day, a personalized daily planner with suggested tasks
• Get your lists anywhere, on any device
• Share lists and assign tasks with your friends, family, colleagues, and classmates
• Personalize your lists with bold and colorful backgrounds
• Set one-time or recurring due dates and reminders
• Break your tasks into manageable steps
• Add notes to any task
• Attach files up to 25 MB to any task
• Sync your tasks between Outlook and To Do
• Group your lists together by topic or project
Whether it's for work, school, or home, To Do helps you organize and simplify your plans. To Do is free and available on all your devices.
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Replaces Wunderlist which goes away on May 6, 2020.

Focus Tools

Focus Keeper
Focus Keeper uses the Pomodoro Technique to help you study with planned small breaks built in, and then a long break after you've repeated several sessions. A great way to keep you on task!
Forest
FREE (multiple platforms)
This app helps you study and beat temptation to navigate to other apps like Facebook and Twitter. You can plant a tree which will gradually grow, as long as you don't leave the app. If you do, your tree will wither away!

Pros: Good app to motivate you to stay on task. Can be used on phone, tablet, or in web browser on your PC. You can even compete with friends or have a shared forest with friends! If one falls, all trees wither.

Cons: Perhaps a virtual tree dying is not enough motivation to keep you away from tempting distractions.
Self Control
Cost: FREE (multiple platforms)
A free Mac application that helps you avoid distracting websites (i.e. email, Twitter, FB, etc.) when you need to focus.

Pros: Great way to keep yourself from your most tempting distractions when you need to study.

Cons: Mac only. Doesn't keep you from your phone.