It is tempting to think that some type of "time management software" will instantly and magically improve our time management effectiveness. Unfortunately, no such software yet exists. Having said that, here is a list of some time management software that can help you, to some degree, in managing your time better. Some of the software on this list is totally free and others have free trials available.
Cool Timer – This is a very simple application that you can put on your desktop and use as a count down timer. This is great for time management. For example you can say “I’m going to spend the next 60 minutes focused only on writing my book” You set the timer and then you cut off all other distractions (unplug your phone, sign out from Skype and close your email program). You then focus for an uninterrupted 60 minute block of time on writing. Very powerful and it also allows you to relax because you know how long you are working for. (PC only)
Rescue time – This is software you install on your desktop that will monitor what applications you are using on your computer throughout the day and provides reports of how you utilized each application. The great thing about the software is that once installed, it requires almost no effort at all and just does everything silently. Personally I have tried this software and not found it that useful and it’s certainly no panacea. However, it is free for individual use, so you might want to trial it to see if you can get some value out of using it for yourself or your organization. (This is for PC, Mac and Linux)
Slife – Similar to rescue time.
Manic Time – This is software you can use to monitor what you are doing throughout the entire day. This is useful if you want to track your time for a few days to see where it all goes, but probably is not something that you want to use permanently as it takes too much effort to track your day constantly in this way. (PC only)
Task tracking applications
I find the most powerful method of tracking tasks is a text document or excel spreadsheet. However, here are a couple of applications you can try. There are also many other applications you can use.
Toodledo – Integrates an online application with an iphone app.
Remember the Milk – A simple application for to do lists
Also Outlook and Gmail have simple task list functions.
Project management applications
Please see the article on project management applications.
GTD applications
If you are a fan of David Allen’s methodology, Getting Things Done, then you might be looking for an application that allows you to track projects, next actions and acts as a collection bucket for all your “to-dos”. There are a number of GTD application on the market, some of them free. I’m not particularly a fan of any of them to be honest as I think using a simple Excel spreadsheet on your computer is more effective than any of these tools. However, I have listed here the best ones so that you can try them out and see if they work for you:
iGTD – Simple MAC application
OmniFocus – Also for the MAC
Todoist – Online application
GTDinbox – Interesting application to turn Gmail into a GTD software tool
EasyTask Manager – For the Mac and iphone
Neptune – Web based tool
