I’ll be straight with you. Nothing beats completing a task. I dab every time I complete a task as a form of celebration. I used to find it hard to concentrate on one thing for too long because my mind is always so busy. So, I ended up doing many things in a day without any significant achievement. Do you also feel this way? This is in the past for me, though. I started using some organisational tools that have helped me immensely.
For a few months now, I have significantly improved and do no less than two TOTALLY complete tasks per day. This is because I waged a war with my will… and employed tech. Like many people, I basically do everything online now. Naturally, being well organised is not left out. So, I want to share the wonderful tools that have been helping me make the best use of my time. I use these tools daily. Rest assured, therefore, that you’re getting a real-user review. See these valuable organisational tools to help you manage time:
Transco
Transco a note-taking that comes with a Mindmap! For someone like me whose mind is literally here and there, this tool is gold. I can easily jot different, yet connected ideas in one single spot and see them all together. For real, I was elated when I found this app because it was just what I needed. I like that it shows you the last time/date a file or folder was edited so you know which file to work with even if they have the same name.
The primary interface of Tranaco is the bulleted view. If you jot things down regularly, you might have found yourself using bullet points quite often. I have to give it to the designers for creating such an intuitive interface that makes it natural for users to easily transition from pen and paper to the Transco app. Before Transno, I used to prefer jotting my ideas on paper to achieve this. Because of the obvious issues of losing a jotter or not being able to carry them everywhere, I started looking for an app to solve those problems and found everything I need and more in Transco.
Among the top-tier features of Transco, I find the mindmap most useful. A mind map is a diagram that visually presents ideas to show their connection. Think of it as a tree diagram that links one item to another.
In addition, the app is cloud-based. This means that all your files and folders are automatically synced to the cloud, so you can access them on any device. If you often switch between devices like me, you’ll know the worth of this. I often use Transco on my laptop when I do not want to be distracted by my phone and it works perfectly. So far, I have not noticed significant differences between the mobile and web version. It’s the design consistency for me ❤.
This tool also provides templates such as organisational charts, reports, study journal, thought organisers, and so on.
One wonderful feature about Transco is that you can invite collaborators into a document. If you often collaborate with others, this is perfect for you. It is a useful tool for teams to brainstorm remotely. You can also use this to present documents to shareholders and team members with present mode. However, this mode is limited to only desktop and the pro version of Transco. With minimalism in vogue, I wonder if PowerPoint will take a hit if Transco somehow allows you to present with your phone. In the tech world, I have learnt that the most popular tools are only one innovation away from being forgotten.
The mobile and web app comes with a free and premium plan. The free plan is quite robust with useful features. However, the premium plan has even more quality features. If you use my link, you can get three months pro upgrade. With that, you can access more features like changing a paragraph to a header (perfect for detailed organisation) and making presentations.
To conclude, Transco is a note-taking tool great for people who need to pen down things they need no the go. I can think of many people who fall under this category; shoppers, web developers, students, teachers, designers, entrepreneurs, and so on. I don’t have a negative review about this tool yet, but I think a voice note feature will be superb.
TickTick
The name of this tool reminds me of this song. Lol. I change “beep beep” to “tick tick”. Little wonder, though, as this app indeed has all my love and affection.
TickTick is a project management tool. Basically, it is structured like a to-do list, only that it’s waaaayyy more than just that. Check it:
This organisational tool helps me keep track of my daily activities, habits, events, personal and work schedules, and so on. TickTick also does a great job sorting through all these for me. Since I have been using it, I have never had the issue of being confused over something. It sorts everything well. This is a blessing for my here-and-there mind.
To get started, you simply need to tap on the plus icon and input whatever you want. You can select the day and time of the activity. You can also activate the reminder as well as two option for when to be reminded. In addition, there is an option for repeating a task, which works well if you need to do something daily.
My favourite feature is Pomo Focus. It’s a timer you can set to track the time you spend on a task. It cuts off your access to any other app on your phone (except the apps on your allowlist) to ensure ultimate focus for you. Between each focus times, you get a break. Everything is customisable to suit your work style. I set mine to 36 minutes of focus and 5 minutes of a short break. I get a long break of 15 minutes after every two pomo. Did I mention that I have a here-and-there mind? So, I need those frequent breaks. Pomo works only on mobile, which makes sense.
You can also take notes with TickTick. Sometimes, I need to be reminded of something with extra details. The note feature helps me achieve this. More features include the stopwatch, tags, and habit tracker.
The free plan has many valuable features. However, if the app becomes a big part of organising yourself as it is for me, you’ll find reasons to upgrade to premium. Some of the must-haves that are not present in the free version are: unlimited sub-tasks under a task, a reminder for sub-tasks, creating the duration of a task, and weekly statistics. Like Transco (link), you can also follow my link to get a few months of premium access on TickTick. To continue, you’ll need to pay 850 Naira per month. This is super affordable for the valueble features you find on these app.
One last thing…
There you have it, the organisational tools that I use to manage my time. I didn’t mention one additional tool because I want to have your full attention. Ready?
It’s your will. Think about this. You have total administrative power over daily activities. So if you decide to ignore all your reminder and planned activities, no one can really punish you for that (well except your supervisor, teacher, the list goes on). No app in the world can combat your will and determination to get things done. That’s all on you. You don’t need to have a perfect record every day, but you sure can come close. Consistent practice will help. Also, don’t overwork yourself and take breaks when you need to.
Goodluck,
Lami!