Time management apps: 5 cross-platform tools you should try

Your personal computer or mobile device is a tool that can be used for either good or evil. Certainly, you can find entertaining apps aplenty that will easily suck unproductive hours from your day. But if you get yourself set up with some of the best productivity and time management tools, you can fly through your to-dos, get them done right, and have fun doing it. This brief guide to cross-platform time-management and productivity apps will take a look at 5 top recommendations. If you’d also like to boost your productivity with a complete strategy, you might consider a course in productivity mastery and time management.

Any.do (web, iOS, Android)

There are plenty of options when it comes to applications for managing your task lists, but few are as elegant, intuitive, and feature packed as Any.do. Install this app on your iPhone or Android device and you will quickly see what great mobile development is all about.

Built specifically for touch-screen interaction, the app allows you to easily drag and drop tasks to reorder them, strike out completed tasks and, of course, add new items.  The included “Any.do Moment” auto-scheduler allows you to set a daily time for the app to auto-launch and taking you through planning out your day.

If those features aren’t enough to sell you on the mobile app, there is more still. Taking advantage of your phone’s motion sensor, Any.do will let you add tasks by shaking the device.  When you miss a call, the app will send you a notification that allows you to schedule a time for follow-up.  And, not to worry, if those types of phone-tricks sound potentially frustrating, they are easy to disable from the application’s menu.

Any.do offers two-way sync capabilities with Google Tasks, and you can also access your task list from your desktop with a sleek and simple extension or app for Google Chrome.

Evernote (Windows desktop and mobile, OSX, iOS, Android, Blackberry, Web)

If you are interested in being more productive using modern technology, you have probably at least heard of Evernote. And if you have never tried the app, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a spin. This note-taking app stands apart from any other tool on the market today for its extensive features and compatibility.

Using the main Evernote app and its add-ons, you can schedule reminders for yourself, clip and annotate web-pages, re-format articles for readability and save them for later, make to-do list, record voice memos, jot down meeting notes, and so much more. If there is one tool you should install on all of your devices for greater efficiency, Evernote is it.

Make sure to take a look at the add-on apps Evernote has developed to extend its features, and make sure you connect to your Evernote account from the many apps that support integration with it. If you are a Ubuntu user, don’t think you should feel left out. You can install the third party Evernote client, Everpad, from your software center or by a simple terminal command (sudo apt-get install everpad).

Want to get to know this app really well? You can take an online course dedicated to learning all about how to use Evernote.

Dropbox (Windows desktop and mobile, OSX, Linux, Web, iOS, Android, Blackberry)

Most likely, you are familiar by now with the concept of cloud storage. And, as such, you probably know that using cloud services for storing and sharing files is a great way to save time and keep yourself well organized.

Well, many of us have discovered the virtues of these cloud services, which is no doubt why the number of options for cloud storage providers has absolutely exploded in recent years. It’s understandable if you are confused about which service to go with.

So let’s make the choice a little simpler. Dropbox, a pioneer that had a large part in popularizing the cloud storage concept, is still the best for most users.  A true cross-platform solution that integrates seamlessly on the desktop and mobile device and links to many additional third-party services, Dropbox is a must-have time-saving solution when it comes to file-sharing and storage.  By allowing you to store files to the cloud and share them with collaborators simply by saving them to a folder on your desktop, the service is a godsend in terms of managing your time.

Pushover (Android, iOS)

A one-of-a-kind solution for helping you make the most of your time, Pushover for Android and iOS allows you to create mobile notifications from virtually any source and for virtually anything you could want. The possibilities, and the implications for supporting a productive daily routine, are endless.

Want to cut out all of the distractions and only get real-time notifications for what’s most important? Pushover is a quick and easy way to do that. Want to make sure you don’t miss an important update related to a topic (whether in the news or your personal life)? Pushover can help you with that too.

Ultimately, due to its completely tailored service model, Pushover might take a bit of exploration before you understand what it can really do for you.  But if you install this app and get to know it, it won’t be long before it becomes an everyday staple.

IFTTT (web, iOS)

The modern web, which houses so many sites and services you use everyday, can get a bit cumbersome. Staying in touch on social media, managing photos and files on web services, sending routine emails, etc. it can all be a lot to manage. But if you’ve ever wished you had a way to make some of this stuff automatic, here’s some good news: that’s exactly what IFTTT does.

Although it’s currently only available for the web and iOS, this tool will save you time in your daily interaction with the web no matter what phone or computer model you use. Standing for “if this then that” IFTTT uses the APIs of many popular applications to automate functions between them. So, for example, if you want to Tweet articles and save them to an Evernote folder at the same time, the tool will set that up for you. If you want to get a Pushover notification when a co-worker edits your shared Google Doc, it will do that as well.

There are so many services and examples that it is impossible to list them all here. A better approach, if you want to know more about IFTTT, is to take a look at the many “recipes” available on the site, once you complete sign-up.  You can start using these pre-made options or build your own, using virtually all of the services you use on a daily basis.

If you want to see how to make IFTTT a cornerstone of a productive working model, try out this course on the ulaAtimate productivity trio today!