“Time blocking” is a productivity and time management technique that Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Cal Newport use to get more done in less time.
It’s a great option for busy folks who need to be ultra organized with their time. The catch? Time blocking can be time-consuming. Luckily, there are free apps to help streamline the process for you. Below, discover the 12 best time blocking apps!
An introduction to time blocking
Time blocking is all about scheduling specific tasks into designated time slots. This helps you use time intentionally and purposefully. Rather than bouncing around from item to item, you know exactly what you should be working on, and when.
Time blocking helps you:
- Prioritize your most important tasks
- Spend the right durations of time on each task
- Make time for deep work
- Know what you’re supposed to be working on
- Move right to the next most important task
- Improve your estimates for how long a task will take
For a more in-depth guide to time blocking, check out What is time blocking? You can also check out our article about the differences between time blocking and timeboxing.
12 free time blocking apps
Below we’ve compared each time blocking app based on functionality, ease of use, and price to upgrade to a premium plan — listed in alphabetical order.
1. Clockwise
Clockwise is a scheduling assistant that coordinates the way you, your team, and your company prefer to work through the power of AI and automation. It works by moving meetings to their most efficient times, automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, and maximizing Focus Time for you and your team. Clockwise is the smart and easy way to block time for deep work, helping you and your teammates experience a more sustainable workday.
Key features
- Focus Time: Enjoy long, uninterrupted blocks of time in your calendar, perfect for focused work
- Asana integration: Block time in your calendar for specific tasks, pulled directly from Asana
- Clockwise AI Scheduler: Send scheduling requests directly to Clockwise via chat in this first-of-its-kind calendar experience powered by GPT
Clockwise onboarding is simple and smooth. Just set your working hours and preferences around meetings and lunch and you’re up and running.
Format
Clockwise is available as a web app, Google Chrome extension, and Firefox extension. You can also integrate with Slack and Asana.
Pricing
Clockwise offers a free version. Teams, Business, and Enterprise plans starting at $6.75 per user per month.
Click here to try Clockwise for free!
2. Google Calendar
Google Calendar is one of the most widely utilized calendar apps with an estimated 500 million users worldwide. The interface is user-friendly and gives you complete control over time blocking your schedule. You can share events or entire calendars with others via Gmail. However, there are a few features you may not be taking advantage of.
Key features
- Add to-do lists, set notifications, and automatically schedule calendar events from your Gmail account.
- Customize your color-coding and view (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).
Click here to read our full guide on how to time block in Google Calendar.
Format
Google Calendar is a web app and has iOS and Android apps.
Pricing
Google Calendar is free for personal use. The Business version is $5 per month.
3. HourStack
HourStack is a task and time management app with a drag-and-drop time blocking feature. It also includes a built-in time tracker to show you the amount of time you are spending on specific tasks. Contrast this with how long you expect to spend to get a realistic understanding of your tasks and learn how to time block within your schedule to maximize productivity.
Key features
- You can use lists, calendar view, and color coding within the user interface to see your week at a glance.
- It integrates seamlessly with Asana, Trello, Google Calendar, Slack, Github, and other programs to help you schedule tasks. Hourstack is easy to use and integrates with your time tracking with time management to maximize your productivity.
Format
HourStack is available on the web, iOS, or Android.
Pricing
For personal use, HourStack is $12 per month. For teams the pricing is $15 per user per month.
4. Plan
Plan is a time blocking app with a built-in to-do list that integrates with your Google or Outlook Calendar.
Key features
- In addition to making time-blocking dead-simple, it offers multiple workspaces and useful analytics, which they call “insights.”
- Onboarding is a breeze, and the user interface is both beautiful and intuitive.
- Integrations currently on offer are as follows: Box, Github, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Gmail, Outlook, Jira, and Zendesk.
Format
Plan is a Mac and iPhone app.
Pricing
Plan offers a free option and paid options start at $6.67 per user per month.
5. Planyway
Planyway is a drag-and-drop tool for integrating a Kanban board for task management with your Google, Microsoft, or Apple calendar.
Key features
- View your calendar and work management platform in split-screen mode. Then, drag and drop tasks onto your calendar for instant time blocking.
- Planyway offers push notification reminders you can set at any date or time of day for priority tasks.
- You can create tasks and subtasks, set priority and sort by priority, and label tasks to group them.
Format
Planyway is available as a web app and a Mac, Windows, and Chrome app. You can also access Planyway through their mobile apps.
Pricing
Planyway requires upgrading for two-way calendar sync, which starts at $4 per month if you pay annually, and $6 if you pay month-to-month.
6. Sunsama
Sunsama is a digital daily planner. What makes Sunsama unique from other productivity apps is that it guides you through planning your day every day, so you can be sure you’re spending your time in an intentional way. Sunsama encourages you to reflect on your past day, add tasks via integrations, and push back non-essential tasks.
Key features
- When you log in, it asks you what you need to accomplish that day and the amount of time you expect each of those tasks to take. It then schedules your task list for you to maximize deep work.
- You can also create to-do lists sorted by day.
- It syncs with external programs such as Trello, Jira, Asana, Gmail, Github, and others to help you manage tasks in a single location.
- The Slack integration is especially powerful; you can share your daily plan with your teammates and turn your Slack messages into tasks.
Format
Sunsama runs on web, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Pricing
Sunsama offers users a free 14-day trial. After that, the individual plan costs $16 per month (billed annually) or $20 per month (billed monthly). The pricing for the Business plan ranges from $20-$40 per month per user.
7. Ticktick
Ticktick’s strength as a time blocking app is in the ease with which users can schedule tasks.
Key features
- It's designed around the Pomodoro Technique, another time management technique where you focus on deep work for a specific amount of time (generally 25-minute intervals). Ticktick has a built-in pomodoro timer that helps you keep track of your workflow.
- A task management app at its core, a standout feature of Ticktick is how easy it is to update your task list while on-the-go via voice input, email, Sire, or widgets.
- When you complete a task, the app gives you an Achievement score which helps incentivise users.
- You can set certain tasks to repeat or get notification reminders for important tasks.
- Integrates with Slack, Gmail, or you can integrate with other favorite apps via Zapier.
Format
Ticktick is an iPhone and Android app.
Pricing
Ticktick offers users a free version or you can pay $2.99 to access the Premium version.
8. Timebloc
Timebloc is a daily planner and time tracking app that's easy to use while you're on mobile.
Key features
- Color code and tag your tasks.
- Incorporate your daily routine and edit your blocks of time.
- You can also set notifications so that you don’t forget about any important tasks throughout the workday.
- Timebloc shows you statistics that help you understand how you spend your time better. It breaks your time down into categories like work, study, leisure, ect. This gives you insight on how you’re using your time and can help you schedule your time to reach your goals more effectively.
Format
Timebloc is a mobile only calendar app, available for iOS and Android.
Pricing
After your free trial ends, pricing for the Timebloc annual subscription is $26.49.
9. Trello
Trello is one of the most popular project management tools today and is modeled around Kanban boards. Start your board from scratch or choose from one of Trello’s various templates.
Key features
- Trello offers impressive customization options from board backgrounds to card covers.
- For time blocking, create a column for each workday and then assign specific tasks to each day. On each card, break the task down with to-do lists, specific time slots, due dates, and other details that you need.
- Seeing the week’s tasks at a glance will help batching similar projects or schedule tasks at the time of day that works best for you. A clear awareness of what you need to do will help you get more done in a shorter amount of time.
Format
Trello is a web app and has Android and iPhone apps.
Pricing
Trello allows you to use up to 10 boards for free. For unlimited boards, pricing is $10 per user per month.
10. Todoist
Todoist is one of the most popular productivity apps that exist today, with a focus on task management and to-do lists.
Key features
- You can create as many to-do lists as you need which can be shared with other relevant people. You could make a to-do list titled “grocery list” where you and your partner keep track of what you need to pick up at the store, or another one titled, “client presentation” where you and your coworker keep track of what still needs to get done before that big meeting on Friday.
- Todoist also allows you to set notifications, recurring tasks, subtasks, priorities, due dates and more. The due dates will show up in the in-app calendar view, helping you prioritize the most important tasks.
- Todoist integrates seamlessly with calendar apps such as Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar, and others.
- Great alternative to Any.do.
Format
Todoist offers a web app, desktop app (Mac, Windows, Linux), iPhone and Android apps, and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari).
Pricing
Todoist offers a free version, a Premium version for $3 per user per month, or a Business plan priced at $5 per user per month.
11. Clockify
Clockify is a user-friendly time tracking app that helps individuals and teams optimize their work hours. Its intuitive time blocking feature allows you to allocate a specific time frame for each of your work items, ensuring improved focus and efficiency to complete tasks.
Collaborate seamlessly with team members and keep a record of all your time spent on tasks and projects, enabling you to analyze productivity and plan future time slots. Clockify offers a free plan, making it accessible for individuals and small teams to get started with effective time management and task management. If you’ve ever used TimeCamp, you’ll find that Clockify offers similar features with the additional time blocking feature.
Key features
- Record your work hours with an easy-to-use time tracker, or enter hours manually (great for employees and freelancers alike)
- Manage your time as a team by inviting team members to schedule time in a single workspace
- Generate your timesheet in an instant
- Visualize your time with a calendar view, add events from Outlook or Google, and block out activities for better planning
- Gain insights into your time slots and usage with detailed reports, charts, breakdowns, and status views
Format
Clockify is available as a browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge), desktop app (Mac, Windows, Linux), and mobile app (iOS, Android).
Pricing
Clockify offers a free plan that covers essential time management features. Access advanced functionalities with Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans starting at $3.99 per user per month.
12. Fantastical
Fantastical is a powerful calendar app designed to act as a daily planner for Apple users. Create events and tasks effortlessly, stay on top of important deadlines, and even collaborate with team members — all within a single, intuitive platform.
With flexible pricing options and a range of powerful features, Fantastical empowers you to optimize your work hours, boost productivity, and make the most of each day.
Key features
- Free plan lets you schedule time to complete tasks alongside calendar events, and receive timely due date notifications to stay organized and on track
- Group different calendars and task lists for easy management, with the option for automatic activation based on location or time slot
- Easily share files and photos directly from Fantastical to your iCloud, Google, or Exchange events
- Streamline scheduling recurring events and tasks with quick templates generated from existing entries
Format
Fantastical is available for macOS and iOS.
Pricing
Fantastical offers a free 14-day trial with access to basic features. For individuals, premium plans start at $4.75 per month, while teams can access the same benefits at $4.75 per user per month.
Bottom line
When it comes to improving productivity and overcoming procrastination, time blocks work — and these apps are a great place to introduce time blocking into your workflow.
Clockwise combines the power of time blocking with the magic of AI to create your ideal work day, everyday. Try it for free today!
About the author
Judy Tsuei is a Simon & Schuster author, speaker, and podcast host. She has been writing for Clockwise for several years while also being featured in MindBodyGreen, BBC Travel, Fast Company, Hello Giggles, and more. As the founder of Wild Hearted Words, a creative marketing agency for global brands, Judy is also a mentor with the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed accelerator. Judy advocates for mental and emotional health on her popular podcast, F*ck Saving Face. Follow along her journey at WildHeartedWords.com.
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