We all have the best intentions to get to our to-do lists each day, but once we get started on this to-do list, we tire out and recharge with a break. The iPhone to-do list apps below allow you to track everything that you want to do in a given day in a compact format that can be carried anywhere. These tools come complete with a listing of tasks, reminders and calendar features that will help you stay on top of your productivity.
This application is an innovative to-do list application designed to allow the user to keep track of all their reminders and upcoming event items. It includes a sophisticated calendar module that comes with a variety of features that can help aid in planning one’s schedule day by day, including reminders of the appropriate recurring events, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. This can help ensure that you never schedule two appointments at once or forget about an important event.
Things
Things is my personal favorite of the bunch. While it appears simple, it actually has a lot of powerful features but is still super intuitive and easy to use, even for non-power-users.
For one, you can easily capture new tasks into Things from anywhere, no matter what app you’re in, thanks to the Quick Entry feature. I also love the fact that you can create “Goals” and add projects into them, and you can see your progress from there. And when creating tasks, it’s easy to add notes, make it recurring, assign a due date or deadline, add tags for organization and searching, create nested checklists, and flag priority items.https://d33f54f4072a31cf68595353fa9a0f02.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
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I’ve been using Things for a few years now, and it’s my go-to app when it comes to staying on top of everything. This is especially true when you integrate your calendars into Things as well, so you get everything in your schedule at once.
Todoist
Todoist is another great service to check out, and it’s especially useful for those who like automation and insights.
With Todoist, you’ll get your basic task management features, including a way to quickly add a task with a natural language parser. But the real magic with Todoist lies behind all of the app integrations, including IFTTT, Slack, Zapier, Amazon Alexa, and more. There are more than 60 of them to go through, so there are a ton of possibilities with what you can do with Todoist.
While Todoist is free to use forever, you can also upgrade to Premium for things like long-term goals and planning. But if you don’t need the extras, then the free version should be fine.
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2Do
If you like the idea of GTD, but don’t want to be over-intimidated by software like OmniFocus, then you should give 2Do a try. It’s like OmniFocus, but much easier to pick up and use.
One of the best features of 2Do is the ability to create simple tasks, checklists, or even projects with sub-tasks. Every task item in these can have notes, attachments, and even multiple alarms (sometimes we need that extra push). 2Do also not just does lists, but there are smart lists, which utilize filters and custom views. There is tag support to make organization a breeze, as well as a ton more features.
I used 2Do (along with everything else here) a while ago and must say that it’s definitely one of the more underrated to-do apps out there.
Wunderlist
(Free + IAP)
One of the most popular to-do list apps, Wunderlist provides an easy daily planning for work tasks, household routine, movies to watch – literally everything you might forget. Reminders and due dates will help you avoid missing deadlines and failing to get important tasks done. Hashtags and folders simplify organization of a work process. Share your to-dos with colleagues, friends or family; comment the items and add notes to capture your ideas. The app is available for the widest range of devices: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows, Kindle Fire and the Web.
TickTick
(Free + IAP)
The app offers task lists with subtasks, deadlines, reminders and attachments. The free basic version has limited number of lists, tasks and users. Apart from unlimited tasks and bigger user count, the Pro version includes calendar view, task filters, Siri integration and some other advanced options. This tool might be one of the best to-do list apps for teams, as it allows sharing lists and assigning tasks to colleagues.
One List
(Free)
Those who hate the minimalistic (some would rather call it depressive) color schemes of most to-do lists probably remember the Clear iOS app. It had stunning colorful interfaces, but now it seems to be abandoned by the developer. One List for iOS is one of the possible replacements: it has bright task lists with customizable themes and allows color-coded prioritizing, setting due dates and configuring reminders. “One list to rule them all,” as the developer promises.
Google Keep
(Free)
This note and to-do list tool for Android and iOS is a convenient way to capture tasks and ideas, collaborate with others, plan projects or events. The app is available from almost any device and offers task lists, tagging and reminders (including location-based ones). Add photos to your notes to avoid long verbal descriptions. What’s more, instead of typing your notes, you can just record a voice memo and Google Keep will transcribe it.
Microsoft To Do
- Best for: Individuals.
Microsoft To Do is the reincarnation of Wunderlist, a popular to do app that Microsoft purchased in 2019 and then shut down in 2020. While the name is different, Microsoft To Do shares a lot of the same features as Wunderlist and has a design that looks strikingly similar as well.
Despite coming from Microsoft, Microsoft To Do is fully cross-platform. While it does include some sharing features, Microsoft To Do is primarily for individuals looking for a solution to manage their own tasks.
Overall, it can be a good option for simple task management, but it lacks the advanced features that some of the other tools offer so it’s probably not the best option for power users.
It can also be nice if you’re already using Outlook for emails because it integrates with some of Outlook’s features.
Task management features
- Task categories/lists. Create different categories of tasks, e.g. “Work”, “Home”, “Grocery Store”, etc.
- Sub-tasks. Break down tasks into different steps that you can check off.
- Due dates and reminders. Add due dates to tasks and get reminders before they’re due.
- Attachments. Attach files to tasks.
Available apps
- Web
- Android
- iOS
- Windows 10
- Mac
Collaboration features
- Shared to do lists. Create shared lists that you can collaborate on with other Microsoft To Do users.
Other notable features
- Outlook integration. If you’re using Outlook, Microsoft To Do has a built-in Outlook Tasks integration that lets you view all of your tasks in one place.
- Other Microsoft integrations. It also integrates with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams, which are other features that may be useful for people in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Pricing
- Free plan: 100% free
Remember the Milk
- Best for: Individuals (though it does let you share to do lists with others).
Launched all the way back in 2005, Remember the Milk is one of the oldest to do apps out there. In 2021, it’s still alive and chugging along, though it’s not quite as popular as it once was.
Overall, Remember the Milk can be a good option for individuals looking for a personal task management system. It does include some collaboration features, like sharing lists with other users, but these are more suited for family use than serious business use.
For example, it can be handy if you and your partner want to share a to do list.
Task management features
- Smart task adding with keyboard. You can set up tags and due dates using just your keyboard. It’s not quite natural language processing, but you can use shortcuts to quickly add details. For example, typing ^ expands a due date list.
- Useful task adding integrations. Add new tasks via email, Alexa, Siri, or Twitter.
- Sub-tasks. Break down tasks into sub-tasks (and even sub-sub-tasks).
- File attachments. Use Google Drive or Dropbox to store file attachments.
- Unlimited lists. Create separate lists to store tasks.
- Zapier integration. Use Zapier to automatically add tasks.
Available apps
- Web
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
- iOS
- Android (including a dedicated Fire app)
- Blackberry 10
- Apple Watch
- Email integrations (Outlook and Gmail)
Collaboration features
- List sharing. With the paid version, you can share your to do lists with other people.
Other notable features
- Outlook sync. If you’re using Outlook, you can automatically sync your Remember the Milk tasks.
Pricing
- Free plan:
- Paid price: $39.99 per year
Conclusion
It’s hard to remember everything when there’s too much to do at work or in everyday life. Some still prefer to put to-dos and ideas on paper, but technologies offer a better way to handle forgetfulness. Apps for mobile devices, PCs and the Web remind you when something needs to get done, help you share your ideas and collaborate with others to accomplish tasks sooner.