Trello
No one who has been on this blog a while is going to be surprised when I say that that Trello is my #1 favorite goal setting and productivity app. I love using it for quarterly goals, for making checklists, and for generally keeping life in order. I maybe haven’t talked too much about the other ways you can use it, but with boards you assign cards to, Trello becomes the perfect app for any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming, to plotting, to making notes for chapter edits. Trello is totally free and can be used on the web and with an app on your phone, or choose a premium subscription for more features and templates.
Todoist
Todoist is a checklist phone app with a web interface that allows you to make checklists and group them accordingly. Assign colors, recurring due dates, and share lists with others. Todoist is a free app, with a paid version for $3 a month that has more features and a dark mode.
Do It Tomorrow
Another totally free, super simple app is Do It Tomorrow. Add items to a checklist, and check them off the list. If you don’t check it off today, the line item will automatically move to tomorrow. View two days worth of tasks in a clean, notebook-style interface.
Memo Notepad (Adylitica)
If you thought you liked Microsoft OneNote, but don’t want to pay for 365, I’d recommend Memo Notepad. Made by the same company that makes the Do It Tomorrow interface, you can add notes onto a notepad, and click through different notes as tabbed. Use it for taking notes in different classes, outlining or writing scenes, shopping lists. It’s usefulness knows no bounds.
TickTick
My favorite checklist-making app is definitely TickTick. I paid less than a coffee for the premium version so I had access to extra lists and features. TickTick is my favorite for two reasons. First, because TickTick keeps track of every time you check something off, and can give you data about how much progress you’ve made. Second, because TickTick allows you to set up tags on each item, and priority markers, in addition to the normal things like recurring dates, groups, and color coding. When I’m at home and have 15 minutes to spare before I need to leave for an appointment, I can search for the tags I’ve set up–home and 15–and it will pull up everything I have listed that has those tags. Sitting in line at the DMV? Maybe I search tags for anywhere and 10, and pull up things I can do anywhere, like inbox zero, that will take me about 10 minutes to complete. I use this app for my weekly and monthly recurring tasks as well as a brain dump task list and a goal planning list. Layer smaller tasks into your bigger tasks for even more checklist capability.
What are your favorite productivity apps? Have you used any of mine, and if so, what was your experience? Let me know in the comments below!
Why do you prefer to use todoist when you already have ticktick? Personally, I use only ticktick of all these 5. I loved the idea to create tags by the amount of time it will take to complete a task. I’ll be trying that!
TickTick is definitely the one that has stood the test of time. I have, however, used todoist in the past and it was just fine. Sometimes different checklist apps work better for different people, so I try to give everyone options for things that I genuinely liked or have used.
Makes sense!