To-do lists have come a long way from the days of scribbling notes on scraps of paper and then frantically rummaging through everything on your desk in search of a lost Post-It note.
Today, we are blessed with entire app stores full of digital to-do lists and daily planners. No more scraps of paper or trying to decipher your own handwriting – these problems are a thing of the past.
Yet modern to-do day planner apps are much more than just digital notepads. You can use them to plan and manage your entire workflow, set deadlines for each task, and set reminders so you don’t miss or forget anything. With some of the more complex task scheduling applications, you can manage entire projects, and multiple teams, and simplify highly complex workloads.
If you’re looking to increase personal or team productivity, this is the first tool you should add to your kit. And to help you choose the right app for you (or your team), here are the 7 best to-do list and daily planner apps available right now.
Top 7 To-Do List Day Planner Apps
In this article, I’ll start by introducing the top 7-day planner apps and task schedulers I’ve used (I’ve used a lot), with a quick introduction and overview of what they have to offer. Then, in the second part of this article, I will compare them in more detail (features, price, UX, etc.) to help you choose the best app(s) for your needs.
We all work differently and require certain things from productivity day planner apps. This is something that I was very conscious of when choosing these recommendations, and they all have something to offer.
Here are the day planner apps we’ll be looking at today:
- Journy
- nTask
- Anydo
- TickTick
- Things
- WeDo
- Google Keep
Some of them are simply great to-do list day planner apps and planning tools. Others are more complex and offer a range of project management and productivity features – all of which will be explained in this article.
With so many to-do lists and task management day planner apps available these days, choosing one can be overwhelming. But once you are done with this article, it will be much easier for you.
Here is your first recommendation.
1. Journy
Journy is your personal development planner. The app will help you get rid of your bad habits and get you out of your rut. It helps you find inspiration, keeps you motivated and helps you create and achieve new goals in various areas such as health, character development, mental health, finances, fitness and relationships.
Download Journy App
Draw your life differently!
Journy is the most impressive cross-platform companion for tracking your daily habits and plans
Fully customizable
Measure and track everything under the sun. Track your own schedule and track your own goals. Get informed any time you want to achieve something significant.
Eliminate bad habits from your life
Basically, start tracking bad habits like nail biting, smoking or excessive drinking. It’s easier to break them down when you see examples. Journy holds you accountable.
Add some positive habits
If you’re up for the challenge, pick up a new good habit like reading a book or taking regular walks to keep yourself fresh.
2. nTask
nTask says it’s “more than just a task manager” and I can tell you that’s no lie. This app is packed with features for task management, project management and general business running.
You can run nTask in a browser, and its mobile app is available for iOS and Android, but there are no native desktop day planner apps for Windows or Mac. While it would be nice to see these native apps available for desktops, the nTask web app works very well.
If you’re looking for more than just a simple to-do list app and a versatile productivity suite, nTask will be one of the richest options you’ll find on this list of recommendations.
3. Any.do
Unlike nTask, Any.do is truly a task management app and doesn’t try to be anything else. It’s also a beautifully designed app that’s available on all major platforms, and the web app means you can access it in a browser on almost any device.
If you’re looking for a task management app that’s available on your smartwatch, this will also be one of your few options — and luckily, it’s a very good one.
Any.do is a joy to use with a sleek interface design and smooth operation. You get all the basic features you’d expect from a tool like this: to-do lists, task management, etc. However, the calendar and daily planner integration is excellent, and the interface is very responsive.
4. TickTick
TickTick is similar to Any.do in many ways. Although they look very different, both strive for minimal design and smooth operation. They also keep things simple when it comes to task features, giving you everything you need to manage tasks without trying to do anything else.
Either way, you end up with a streamlined app that does exactly what it says and everything you need is available within a click or two. Again, TickTick has an excellent calendar interface integrated into its app, giving you a broader view of your to-do lists.
TickTick is another app that doesn’t have native desktop day planner apps, but you can access the web app from any connected device. The downside, of course, is that you can’t use TickTick offline.
5. Things
Unfortunately, Things is only really an option if you’re an Apple loyalist, and it’s a shame there isn’t even a web app available on board for Windows and other OS users. However, if you use a Mac and an iPhone/iPad, it has its advantages: Things is designed from the ground up for macOS and iOS – and it shows.
In addition to being designed and optimized for Apple devices, Things also offers some unique features that you’ll end up wishing were more common.
For example, its “Upcoming Events” interface constantly reminds you of what you need to do in the next few days, so you won’t get caught up with tasks you’ve forgotten.
6. WeDo
WeDo was originally designed for students but has evolved into a decent work/life task management tool for professionals as well. The emphasis here is on finding a work-life balance with WeDo, and the app aims to make it achievable for you.
In addition to creating tasks, setting deadlines, and all the usual things you’d expect from a task management app, WeDo wants to help you develop good habits, and you can create separate habit lists.
Another interesting feature is that the app asks you how long the tasks took you after completing them and how you felt about them. All of this is added to your reporting data and you can see how your speed/mood improves on repetitive tasks and aspects of life (work, diet, exercise, etc.).
7. Google Keep
While many of the tools in this article are task management day planner apps built around the to-do list concept, Google Keep is much more limited in terms of features. Strictly speaking, Google Keep is a note-taking app with a checklist feature that works like a to-do list.
You can also create bulleted lists, add voice notes, write text notes, and add images to the dashboard and organize them with color codes and labels.
With Google Keep, you can set reminders for your tasks—including location-based reminders—and that’s about the extent of it. Don’t choose Google Keep if you want advanced features, but it’s a good choice if you need a simple to-do list app that’s available on almost any device.
