Desks littered with stacks of papers, post it notes hurriedly written in alien shorthand and files named ‘Project – Final Final approved with changes and revisions v2.0’; a freelancer’s life can never be completely organised.
As fellow chronically disorganized humans i.e. freelancers, we have found that task management is key to successful projects. Clear and well set tasks not only help you make sense of what’s left but also assist in devising efficient ways to get your work done.
Although some people still rely on good old pen and paper, for most people smartphones and computers aide in keeping tabs on what needs to get done. While your phone may have a basic reminder application, you might want something a little more robust. Both the Android and Apple app stores are teeming with hundreds of task management apps, but picking the right one for your specific needs can often become overwhelming.
Our team at IndieFolio has gone through a plethora of Task Management apps over the years as we’ve worked on various projects with different people. We have found that there are certain apps which are currently a cut above the rest. These apps are preferred by us because of a host of factors including pricing, design, ease of use, cross-platform support, etc.
Here are nine to-do apps which we’ve found to be the best in ensuring our work gets done a little bit quicker:
Any.do
If you’ve found that standard to-do apps don’t work well for you and you want to try a more proactive organizer, Any.do might fit the bill. Rather than using different list categories such as ‘Home’ and ‘Work’, Any.do defaults to showing what you need to get done today, tomorrow, upcoming and our inner procrastinator’s personal favorite, “someday.” Naturally, you can put items into different lists as well, but the main interface is designed around managing what you want to get done today, regardless of whether it’s personal or something from work.
To add to that Any.do seamlessly syncs with your phone’s mobile calendar. It also keeps your tasks in sync across platforms be it android, iOS, desktop or web. And for those of us who never manage to check everything off, there’s a feature called the “Any.do Moment” that gives you a rundown of your day and lets you reassign tasks to different days. It’s also one of the few to do list apps with Amazon Alexa support.
Evernote
Evernote is one of those hall of fame productivity apps that pretty much everyone knows about. It supports multiple methods of taking notes and reminders, including voice memos, full lists, photos, videos and even the ability to attach word documents and PDFs to your lists. This was one of the first to-do apps to offer security features like password protection for your notebooks as well as the ability to collaborate with other people.
Habitica
Habitica is another of the to-do apps which choose to differ from the norm and offer a completely different take on the to-do list. This is apparent from the moment you open the app where instead of typing in your tasks, it asks you to create your character. Habitica uses a gaming RPG-style to motivate you to complete your daily tasks. Complete tasks and your character gains experience and gold that can be spent on making them more powerful. Not only does the gamification extend to task fulfillment but in case you daily to complete your tasks for the day, then your character will take damage.
Keep
Keep’s strength is its relatively simple design. The simple card style UI along with the vibrant colours make it instantly attractive. Along with to-do lists; Google Keep also allows for written notes, voice memos, and pictures to be stored and organized with a series of custom tags and categories. You can also invite collaborators to contribute to individual notes which makes it perfect for planning projects together with colleagues.
Memorigi
Microsoft To Do
Organizational tools rarely exist in a vacuum. If you’re wedded to Microsoft’s ecosystem with Outlook emails and Office work, then you might be excited to learn that Microsoft has its own to-do app. Created by the Wunderlist team after Microsoft bought them in 2015, To Do is loaded with all the features that a task management app needs to have while also providing cross platform support with Windows 10.
What makes To-Do stand out is its suggestions engine. There is an emphasis on My Day – wherein the app suggests tasks for you to complete over the day from across your various lists. This makes the app not just a blank canvas to write and tick things off from but closer to a sentient assistant helping you complete tasks. It even has a smart suggestion tool built in that will suggest tasks for you based on your previous record. It’s a neat feature and we really appreciate it.
Todoist
Trello
Wunderlist
While it has been purchased by Microsoft and To do is going to be the app that the team will continue to develop features for, Wunderlist still exists and is a featured filled stable app that is used by millions for their task management needs. It features easy methods for setting up new tasks, simple collaboration between users, and the ability to assign tasks to specific groups.
