I know you’re out there trying to make the most of your time and money. Luckily you don’t need to spend a dime to stay organized and get things done. There are plenty of free online time management tools available.
I recently shared some time management tips over at the Quicken Blog. I centered my tips around the use of a simple prioritized to-do list, and a calendar to help drive an effective use of your time.
I realize to make this work, most people in the corporate world will probably use some combination of MS Outlook Calendar and Tasks (or a simple text editor). Most “offline” people likely use a simple piece of paper and a daily planner to manage their time.
But what about freelancers? Or what if the offline folks are looking to come online, but don’t have access to Outlook? What are some good options for them?
I did some research and discovered (thanks to FreelanceSwitch.com and go2web20.net) that there are actually a ton of free online time management tools. Here’s some of the one’s that looked worth while. All should be free or in some type of beta.
Free Online To Do Lists
“Todoist features a simple and intuitive interface that helps you get organized without getting in your way. You can also use keyboard shortcuts to achieve blazing efficiency.” It also comes with a built-in calendar. http://todoist.com
”Ta-da List is the web’s easiest to-do list tool. Make lists for yourself or share them with others. It couldn’t be simpler.” This also works on a mobile browser. Looks pretty lean and mean. Nice app. http://tadalist.com/
“Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.” This is a very popular tool. Probably the most recognizable of the bunch here. http://www.evernote.com/
”ForceDo is a free online to do list. You can add as many tasks as you want and start a timer which will force you to get things done. ForceDo will help you beat your procrastination.” This is another tool that uses the getting things done methods. http://www.forcedo.com/
”Manage tasks quickly and easily. Get reminded, anywhere. Organize the way you want to. Locate your tasks. Work together to get things done. Add tasks wherever you are.” This looks to be a great tool for task management. If you’re looking for something compatible with other programs choose this one, http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
Free Online Calendars (and more)
Touted as the World’s best online calendar, 30 Boxes comes with access to your own calendar page that allows you to quickly add in your calendar items. The tool does a lot more and is big on connectivity with friends and family. http://30boxes.com/
Create events, set reminders, connect with others. This tool does it all and if you’re already a Gmail user, it makes the most sense to go with this calendar. http://www.google.com/calendar
”Matchbox Calendar is an online calendar which allows you to share and plan events in your life.Plan events, Read news, Organize timetables, Arrange meetings, Integrate your calendar, Share your calendar with friends.” http://www.matchboxcalendar.com/
“A reminding service.You add events on important dates or subscribe to shared groups. myMemorizer will then send you a reminder as an e-mail or as a SMS/Text Message to your cellphone.” http://www.mymemorizer.com/
”Soshiku is a simple but powerful tool that manages your high school or college assignments. Soshiku keeps track of when your assignments are due and can even notify you via email or SMS.” http://www.soshiku.com/
Free Online Time Tracking
”RescueTime is a tool that allows you to easily understand and optimize how you and/or your team spends their time and attention. You install a small application on the computer and they magically track what software and which web sites are actively being used.” http://www.rescuetime.com/
Free Online Project Management
Thymer is currently in beta. I’m not a project manager, but this tool looks really cool. “Thymer has a novel one-page-design, uses Natural Language Processing to figure out what you want, and has a lightweight, intuitive and powerful interface that makes common tasks as simple as humanly possible. http://www.thymer.com/
Easily organize your actions and projects online with this neat tool based on the getting things done concept. Has a nice iPhone app to accompany the tool. The free version is somewhat limited. http://vitalist.com/
More Free Time Management Tools
”Nirvana is all about getting things out of your head and into a trusted system, then effortlessly drilling down to the thing you should be doing right now.” http://www.nirvanahq.com/
”To-do’s are too simple, calendars are overly complex, sometimes you just need to be reminded. Superminder is a micro-application that will make sure you don’t forget.” http://www.superminder.com/
Do you use any of these tools, or know of more free online time management tools? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Hi and welcome to ptMoney.com. I'm PT. Please visit often, download my
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great list, I have a real problem with time management mostly because I want to do everything and dont prioritize my goals. I have tried a number of the things you listed here and havent improved much but I dont really put a ton of effort into it..I dont have time for that
RescueTime is pretty awesome though in tracking, I like to see how I compare with others.
Cool list…I’m a paper calendar guy myself but trying to get more high tech.
I’m going to go crazy and post a recommendation for a competitor. If you want to know how you are actually spending your time (which is key to understanding how to use it more effectively) TimeSnapper is a very good free tool.
I do actually prefer the tool I wrote myself (Qlockwork), but then I would wouldn’t I? And that’s not free.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about RememberTheMilk. I think I’m going to check it out.