Calendar Apps to Stop Missing Deadlines
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| design by our in house team's |
You've all had to watch a long and lengthy list of things that you need to do, which looks like a novel, and you know that you have an important deadline tomorrow and wonder where the time went. We don't waste time on the UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) of our apps; we're building tools that will actually help students, freelancers, and entrepreneurs to get things done.
It's not like we didn't get a copy of the deadline to write down. But it's because the reminder didn't get us to do the work. From what we've tested, here are the calendar apps that have filled that void and a couple that are too showy and not showy.
Google Calendar: The Trustworthy Backbone.
As you can see, most of us already have a Google account. Google Calendar is not the most vibrant, but it is likely the most dependable base for managing regularly occurring obligations.
Our experience is that the most useful feature is the seamless integration with Gmail. When we make a booking or make a meeting, it often ends up on the calendar before we even think of adding it manually ourselves. The shared availability features are great for freelancers who have to take calls from clients. The biggest drawback is that Google Calendar is not about tasks; it's about events. If you don't know what to do inside the three-hour block/block of time labeled “Work on Proposal," then it doesn't help you. We use it as our time capacity sheet, NOT our action plan.
Fantastical: The Apple User's Secret Weapon is the name of the app. The app is called Fantastical: The Apple User's Secret Weapon.
When you're in the Apple family (Mac, iPhone, iPad), Fantastical is the sleekly elegant app for good reason. It's more effective at processing natural language input than just about anything else available. We've tried typing something similar to “Lunch with Chidi next Tuesday at noon at Blue Bottle” and seen it correctly break that down into a date, time, and location.
It is very clean, and the Mac version has a menu-bar widget, which makes checking your day very simple. But caution: It is Apple only! Fantastical is completely out of the picture if you ever need to switch back to a Windows PC for work. It's a pretty neat gadget, but it won't do you any good if you're platform-fluent.
TickTick: The Best for Task-Focused Deadlines
This is the one that we would often recommend to students and creators who find themselves in the dilemma of “I know what to do but I don't know when to do it.” TickTick is a hybrid of a task list and a calendar view, but the trick is in the detail.
You can add more than one reminder to a task. You can use a reminder three days before, the night before, and an hour before the deadline. It has a built-in Pomodoro timer and habit tracker, which may sound like a gimmick until you realize that your focus tool and your schedule are all in one place. The free version is also pretty generous, so you don't have to immediately upgrade to the premium version.
Motion: The “Do It For Me” Option
If you can't figure out when to work flexibly, check out Motion. It is an AI-powered calendar that can schedule tasks around your current calendar events.
You tell Motion where, when, and how to put the two-hour project into a busy Wednesday, and it does. It also recalculates on the fly! Motion shuffles the work blocks to fit if the meeting is moved. The downside is the price. The other options here are also cheaper, but the automatic scheduling might seem inflexible for those who enjoy being in control of their schedule. It's a good option for those with dynamic schedules who cannot take the time to make a manual plan.
The Honest Take: Tools Don't Fix Workflow
Let's just get one thing straight: If your system is crap, no calendar software will help you keep deadlines.
If you have tasks that you're writing down, but you never allocate a specific time to them, or if you set a reminder and ignore it, it isn't the fault of the tool. The most common error we see is that people use a calendar as a task tool! A calendar is a capacity sheet—it tells you when you are full. A task list is a commitment sheet—it tells you what you owe.
We recommend using one of these tools and, after 30 days, continuing the use of the same tool. Avoid switching between 5 apps to find the right combination. Google Calendar and a basic task list can solve 90% of the use cases. If you need more structure, TickTick is the best all-around choice for individuals. Both Apple users and Motion users are spoiled for choice, with Fantastical a luxury offering and Motion a mighty (but expensive) time management system.
As always, the best application is the one that people use!
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