I’ll be the first to admit that organisation and time management are two traits that I’m not naturally blessed with. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve left the house half dressed with the contents of my bag flying everywhere, late for work and already starting the day with stress.
Naturally this isn’t exactly a good way to live and quite frankly irresponsible to say the least. Getting myself organised and managing my time is something that I really have to work hard at to avoid said ‘bag flying everywhere’ scenario.
Sure, as I’ve got older I’ve become more responsible but there are still plenty of steps I take to ensure I don’t fall back into old habits, including the following 5 apps that have transformed my daily life. So, if like me, you need a kick up the backside to keep organised and stay on top of the tasks at hand, check out these apps – you won’t regret it.

Gong

Gong is a beautiful app that allows you to store and manage all of your events in one place. In essence it works in a very similar style to most calendar apps available, however Gong is packed with some really awesome features to keep you in tune with your events.
The first thing to note is that Gong looks stunning. Your events are displayed in a highly interactive, circular timeline that allows you to scroll through a day-by-day schedule that displays the number of events you have on each separate day. The user interface is extremely easy to understand and events can be created and managed in seconds.
What sets Gong apart from the rest is its inbuilt chat function that allows you to speak to people involved in an event. Contacts and friends can easily be added to any event, eliminating the need to use any other apps. Gong makes it easy to add notes and locations to events and syncs seamlessly with your phone’s calendar and contacts.

 

Toggl

Toggl is a great app for tracking time. It works perfectly in a business environment by allowing you to track how long certain tasks take so you can provide accurate costs. If you work as part of a team, Toggl will calculate data from each team member to show how each person is performing and will even break down your data into individual clients and projects so you can see how your time is being spent.
Toggl’s extremely simplistic interface makes it great for personal use too. Even the most basic and mundane tasks can be tracked at a click of a button allowing you analyse where you can save the most time, giving you more time to do the stuff you enjoy.
Toggl is also available on desktop and there are 4 pricing plans to choose from including a free version.

Any.do

Any.do is a really simple task management system that allows you to set and keep track of your daily tasks. Sure, there are a number of apps on the app store that perform this sort of service but I’m yet to find one as effective or as user friendly as Any.do.
In just a few clicks (or touches) you can add a task, set a date and turn on the reminder function to make sure you don’t forget… Piece of cake! There is also a calendar function so you can see tasks further ahead.
Furthermore, Any.do has a really intuitive ‘Assistant’ feature that can help you complete certain tasks by providing reminders and tips. For example you can ask Any.do assistant to buy groceries and it will set a reminder on your phone as well as provide results for local grocery stores.
Any.do is a really easy way to manage a busy day and make sure you don’t miss deadlines or forget important events. It is also available across a range of devices so you can keep on track no matter where you are.

Instant

Instant is an automatic lifestyle tracker that allows you to see how long you spend completing everyday tasks. At first glance this may seem similar to Toggl, however this app is great for tracking daily activities automatically and allows you to analyse the more personal areas of your life.
For example; Instant will tell you how long you spend on apps such as Facebook and Twitter and how many apps you use on a daily basis. It will tell you how long you sleep for each night and the duration of your exercise each day, it will even tell you how long you spend in certain places and the time it takes you to travel between each place.
Instant will track your data and provide you with really informative reports into your daily activities, the app also has a nifty ‘coach’ to help understand your data and will allow you to set certain goals throughout the day.
Granted Instant can’t physically make you more organiseed, but it is a great way of identifying areas of your life that you could save precious time or perhaps inspire you to spend more time exercising and less time checking out social media.

Habitica

With all this talk of time tracking and managing tasks, sometimes it’s good to take the pressure off – after all being organised doesn’t have to be boring, right?
Introducing Habitica – the app that treats your real life like a role playing game!
Okay, so I know this may sound a bit silly but trust me Habitica is a really fun and motivating way to help you achieve your goals, especially if you like gaming.
The game itself is a 16bit role playing game; you play as a character that improves and levels up as you complete real life tasks. Tasks are broken down into 3 categories; “To-Do’s”, “Dailies” and “Habits”. For each task you complete you earn in game rewards that you can use to progress through the game and customise your character in a really awesome way.
Habitica is highly sociable, you can connect with friends and battle monsters together. The more tasks you complete together the more powerful your team becomes.
Habitica might not be the most productive way to manage your time or to be organised, however it is an interesting and highly effective way to become more motivated and it adds a fun element to achieving your daily tasks.