10 Best Tools For Time Management │Best Tools

Are you unsure about which time management tools to employ? Fortunately, we’ve compiled a must-have list of the best tools for time management to assist you in changing the way you work.

You can rely on my knowledge as a former chronic procrastinator who is now at peak productivity.

If you’re like me, you’ve tried and used a variety of time management tools, but could never commit to one and use it consistently. We’ve all been there.

That’s why I went to great lengths to compile this massive list of the best time management tools available today.

So put your phone on airplane mode (or far away that you won’t pick it up) and keep reading to discover the time management tools that will sharpen your focus like a knife.

The difference between time management skills, techniques, and tools

Before we get into the best tools for time management, let’s define the distinction between time management skills, techniques, and tools.

Time management skills are soft skills that can assist you in better managing your time.

Boundary setting, planning, delegating, prioritizing, and other time management skills are examples.

Time management techniques and frameworks are two different approaches to time management.

Getting things done (GTD), Pomodoro timer, Eisenhower matrix, and many other time management techniques are examples.

Methods, guidelines, processes, and other recommendations comprise time management techniques.

These techniques recommend a variety of time management tools.

Calendars, note-taking software, time trackers, specialized time management apps, and so on are examples of time management tools.

Why Use Time Management Tools?

The purpose of time management tools is to help you better manage your time. You can become more productive, make better time decisions, and spend less time on things like reporting and invoicing if you use the best tools for time management.

With time management tools, it’s important to remember that it’s very easy to get excited about a new tool.

The hard part is using the chosen tool consistently.

That is why you must first have an interesting reason for wanting to improve your time management skills (for example, to earn more money or have more free time), then identify the best tool for the job, and finally, use the tool for an extended period to become accustomed to it.

The criteria you should consider when choosing the best time management tools

A critical question in the vast overflow of all time management tools is how to choose the right technology stack for your needs. By far, the best advice is to try out a few of them.

Try them out for a few days to see how they fit your needs. Almost all apps provide a free trial or version.

You cannot test all the hundreds of time management apps on the market. That is why we have compiled this list of our best tools for time management. Also, when selecting the right technology stack, keep the following five selection criteria in mind:

1. One app or many

2. Market leaders or newcomers

3. Software features

4. UX together with “look and feel”

5. Mobile first

Overview of the Best Tools for Time Management

Here is an overview of the best tools for time management in 2024.

Agiled
Ora
Toggl
Zoomshift
Timing
Timeky
HourStack
RescueTime
Marinara
Google Tasks

List of the Best Tools for Time Management

Time tracking apps are the most beneficial of all time management tools. Here are a few that I strongly recommend you look into.

1. Agiled

Agiled, a partner of AppSumo, is one of the best project and time management tools. Agiled’s intuitive UI/UX makes it simple to get started. Agiled makes it simple to create projects, tasks, and timesheets.

Agiled is an all-in-one business management software, so you can create timesheet invoices right within it.

Aside from time management and project management.

Agiled includes many useful features for freelancers, such as proposals, contracts, e-signatures, forms, invoicing, estimates, and CRM.

Pros:

Intuitive UI
Feature Packed
White Labeling
Affordable all-in-one business and work management for freelancers

Cons:

Advanced reporting is lacking

Pricing: A trial period is available. The basic plan costs $15 per month. Agiled Annual Premium Plan is available for $249 on AppSumo.

Best For Small businesses, teams, agencies, and freelancers who require centralized management of their operations.

Download App Here

2. Ora

Ora is one of the best tools for time management. It provides Kanban-style project management and a variety of project management and time-tracking approaches.

Simple, intuitive, and clean are three words that come to mind when I think of Ora’s interface.

Ora provides task cards, a to-do list-style agenda, and a timeline view that shows you the status of project deadlines.

It also supports other project management methodologies, such as Scrum and Sprints.

Ora, besides project management features, provides reports and team chat.

If you’re a small startup team or agency that values design and UX, I’d recommend trying Ora to see if it’s right for you.

Pros:

Simple start/stop time tracking with detailed reports
Intuitive interface and awesome UX
Feature-rich, while still easy to adopt like Trello

Cons:

Mobile app in beta
Lack of a knowledge hub
Sprints are different in Ora than other Scrum software and the learning curve is steeper

Pricing: Ora offers a basic, free plan for one user. It also has a startup plan for $6/seat (user) and a professional plan for $8/seat.

Best For Small teams, startups, software teams, and agencies – especially useful for time tracking and client work.

Download App Here

3. Toggl

Toggl is one of the best tools for time management because it’s easy to use.

We can use it both online and offline. Although it is web-based, it has a desktop, iOS, and Android apps that sync in real-time. There’s also a handy little Chrome extension.

Toggl’s interface is simple, easy to use, and visually appealing.

There is virtually no learning curve, so you will figure out how it works intuitively almost immediately.

With time tracking features, Toggl offers an all-in-one solution. It works well as a stand-alone time tracking app for you or your team. Here are some of my favorite features:

Toggl can be set to detect inactivity and notify you if you’ve been idle for more than x minutes. It also has a ‘Pomodoro mode’ that allows you to work in 25-minute increments with short and longer breaks.

Toggl tracks every app you’ve used for over 10 seconds, which is useful for identifying the ‘fringe’ time gaps that are wasting your time.

Toggl’s “Insights” feature is a useful fresh addition that allows you to learn which projects or employees are generating the most revenue. (You may not want to inform your boss about Toggl…).

Pros:

Super easy to set up and use
Chrome extension allows you to integrate with apps like Trello and plenty of third-party integrations
Great data structuring and reports to help you manage your workload
Helpful customer support

Cons:

No innate project management features
No invoicing tool
Mobile apps are not as functional as the desktop

Pricing: Toggl offers a free-forever plan for small teams (up to 5 people). Paid plans include a starter plan for $10 per user, a premium plan for $20 per user, and a custom enterprise plan with pricing based on your needs.

Best For: Freelancers who need to track time to complete tasks; startups and small businesses that need a better handle on project and customer time allocation at an affordable price.

Download App Here

4. ZoomShift

ZoomShift is an employee scheduling software with a distinct time tracking feature. It is one of the best tools for management to keep track of milestones and managing client expectations.

They designed ZoomShift to help your company make work schedules faster, save money on payroll, and make it easy for your employees to clock in and view their hours.

Pros:

Customizable time clock software and app.
Geofencing time clock to track time from anywhere.
Create weekly hours and customize the hourly rate.
Use predefined templates to schedule in minutes.

Cons:

Limited shift history data
No phone support

Pricing:

14-day free trial

Starter – $2 per active team member/month

Premium – $4 per active team member/month

Enterprise – Custom per active team member/month

Best For Small and medium-sized businesses with hourly workers because the app helps monitor overtime, break durations, real-time staff location via GPS, and the exact number of hours spent on duty.

Download App Here

5. Timing

Another of the best tools for time management is Timing. It is a Mac time tracker. Unfortunately, there is no web-based version. Fortunately, an iOS app is available to sync it and keep track of your time on your phone.

Timing has a very simple user interface. You don’t have to do anything because it tracks your time automatically. All of your activity that lasts more than a minute is tracked, and all entries that last less than a minute are grouped together.

Timing comes with predefined tracking categories, but you can easily add and rearrange them.

Simply drag and drop new categories/tasks in.

I like the user interface of this tool, as well as its simplicity and the fact that you can set it and forget it.

Pros:

Automatic time tracking
Offline time tracking
Calendar integration, Web API, and Zapier integrations (only on the Expert plan)

Cons:

Only available for Mac
No billing/invoicing feature
Not available on mobile
No free plans

Pricing: Timing does not offer any free plans, but the Productivity plan is available for as little as $4/month. The Professional plan costs $6 per month, while the Expert plan costs $9. The web-based app is also available on the Professional plan and higher.

Best For: Freelancers, small businesses, anyone who needs to bill/track their time, and those who frequently forget to start/stop timers.

Download App Here

6. Timely

Timely has some excellent features that make time tracking simple. It also works on all of your devices, making it one of the best tools for time management.

Timing is very similar to timely.

One of the most significant differences is that they do not limit it to Mac/iOS.

Memory Tracker is one of Timely’s most magical features (installation required). It is like Timing because it tracks all of your activities.

Even if you forget to start the timer while working for a client, you can use it to create billable time.

Timely, like Timing, generates reports you can share with clients and identifies opportunities to boost productivity.

You can also configure it to display the estimated versus the actual time required to complete the task/project.

Excellent for workload planning and making adjustments to stay on track!

Pros:

Simple set and forget time-tracking
Neat, simple UI
Extensive training including webinars, documentation

Cons:

No offline time tracking
No billing & invoicing feature
No freemium

Pricing: Timely does not have a free version, but they have a lengthy free trial. Pricing begins at $25 per user.

Best For: Freelancers, small businesses, and anyone who needs to track how much time they spend on tasks and how much time they waste on distractions.

Download App Here

7. HourStack

One of the best tools for time management is HourStack. It is a calendar-based scheduling and time tracking application. HourStack takes your existing task list and allows you to plan out your tasks in blocks with time tracking. It is available as a web-based service, as well as on iOS and Android.

HourStack’s interface is simple, but it appears dated compared to the beautiful SaaS UIs you see these days. That being said, I like the fact that you can track time in a calendar view.

Let’s see if the features compensate for the lack of beauty. After all, I value substance over appearance.

When using HourStack, you can track time, schedule projects, and report on them as an individual or as a team.

HourStack also includes some built-in integrations for integrating your tech stack.

Pros:

Time tracking in a calendar view
Scheduling features

Cons:

No Freemium
No automated scheduling

Pricing: HourStack offers a free trial but no freemium product. The basic plan starts at $7 per month. Professional plans begin at $15 per month per user, with custom pricing available for teams of 200 or more.

Best For Small to medium-sized businesses, agencies, or anyone who requires time tracking and transparency in their weekly schedule.

Download App Here

8. RescueTime

RescueTime is a straightforward and simple time management application. It’s available as Windows, Mac, and Linux apps, as well as an iOS and Android app and a Chrome extension.

RescueTime monitors how you spend your time in the background if you’re using a Mac.

The primary components of “Design & Composition” were Google Docs and Notes. Although RescueTime covers a wide range of categories, you can create your own and label them as productive or non-productive.

This is useful, but I imagine it will take some time to fully set up.

In terms of features, it provides what all other time-tracking apps provide: time tracking and detailed reports.

Pros:

Can automatically track time
Lives in your main menu and operates silently in the background
Advanced features, like app blocking and goal tracking
Free plan available

Cons:

Slightly annoying and time-consuming to customize and set up
The design of the website/apps is outdated and UI could use some improvements
No offline time tracking
No billing & invoicing feature

Pricing: A free plan is available. The monthly fee begins at $9.

Best For Companies of all sizes looking to boost employee productivity, as well as anyone looking to track and manage their time in the background.

Download App Here

9. Marinara

Marinara is the most basic of time management tools. It’s entirely focused on time management using the Pomodoro Technique, as previously mentioned.

Are you still unsure what that is?

It’s a time management technique in which you work for 20-25 minutes in fully focused intervals (the equivalent of one Pomodoro) and then alternate between short (5-minute) and longer (10-minute) break cycles.

Marinara embodies simplicity like no other tool.

You set the duration of your focus and break intervals and then start the timer in Chrome’s toolbar.

The traditional Pomodoro technique uses a timer with 25-minute focus intervals and 5-minute breaks. This works perfectly for me because I like to work in short bursts of hyper-focus. Of course, you can adjust the duration to suit your preferences.

Pros:

Ultimate simplicity
Toolbar icon with a countdown timer
Focus/break intervals are configurable
Track history & stats
Open-source

Cons:

Only supports Pomodoro-style time tracking
I often find myself forgetting to start the timer when I begin a task

Pricing: Free forever.

Best For: Anyone who wants to improve their focus and enjoys working in intervals with breaks.

Download App Here

10. Google Tasks

Google Tasks is an attempt by Google to create a stand-alone time management tool. Its own mobile apps are available for iOS and Android.

I’d best describe it as a digital to-do list. You add items and check them off as you finish them.

While the user interface is simple, the features are fairly basic.

One advantage is the Gmail integration, which allows you to access tasks from the apps in Gmail and do cool things like drag-and-drop emails to turn them into to-do list items.

It also has all the standard features you’d expect from a to-do list app.

Pros:

Simple, clean UI
Gmail integration

Cons:

Limited features

Pricing: Free

Best For: Anyone looking for a digitized to-do list that integrates with Gmail.

Download App Here

FAQs

What is the purpose of time management tools?

Why is using a time management tool important?

Time management allows you to prioritize your tasks and ensure that you have enough time to complete each project.
When you’re not rushing to finish something before a deadline, the quality of your work improves.

How does time management reduce stress?

When you have too much work to do, time management can help you reduce long-term stress by giving you direction. It gives you more control over your journey and aids in increasing your productivity.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a freelancer, agency, or startup looking to improve your time or project management, this article’s extensive list of time management tools should have something for you.

All you have to do is choose your favorite.

References

Recommendations

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10 Best Tools For Time Management │Best Tools

The difference between time management skills, techniques, and tools

Why Use Time Management Tools?

The criteria you should consider when choosing the best time management tools

Overview of the Best Tools for Time Management