If you are like most people, a busy workload or school schedule could be quite challenging to handle. Often, you are too busy to organize an organizer, listing down your priorities, or set a date to make a list of your goals. The truth is, these things and “reminders” often end up as new trash on top of our tables or a small smudge of text on our walls. But you could always make organizing easier, faster, and hassle-free with the help of your smartphone and productivity apps.

Productivity apps help you manage and organize your workload, streamline your priorities and goals, and neutralize your sanity by decluttering your mind from too many things you need to remember. According to Statista, there were 197 billion mobile app downloads in 2017. Billions of apps are up online waiting to be downloaded and explored—you only have to choose which app is worth its fire. Here are five productivity apps you might want to check out:

1. TickTick: To Do List with Reminder, Day Planner

TickTick helps manage all your to-dos, capture ideas, and make the most of your life. It enables the user to make schedules, manage time, be reminded about deadlines, and organize life at work, home and everywhere else with just some clicks. The app helps you make the most of your day and get things done weather when you have an idea you want to capture, personal goals you want to achieve, a work you need to accomplish, or when you have to make a collaboration with other colleagues, even to create a shopping list.

One of the best things about this apps is that it is easy to use as it has intuitive design and personalized features. Other features of the app include syncing across your devices, handy widgets, flexible repeat function, sleek calendar design, use of lists, folders, and tags for easy identification, flexible statistical function,  and seamless collaboration. TickTick is available on google play store and iTunes for free.

2. WeDo

With WeDo featured in Forbes and The Verge as “your second brain,” this productivity app will help you finish tasks twice more efficient and faster than before. Right off the bat, its playful interactions, minimal yet colorful aesthetics, and instantly familiar UI will catch your attention. WeDO is fun to use as it has themes and emojis, is versatile in use cases, and practical in functionality.

WeDo Official Website

One of the unique features of this app is its optional daily motivational quote which will help keep you inspired. Forbes also considered this app ‘good-looking and operates flawlessly, which makes it a top contender amongst today’s to do list apps.’ Downloading for iOS and Android is free, and you can also use it on the Web.

3. Wunderlist

Wunderlist’s claim to fame is “the easiest way to get stuff done.” This productivity app helps you tick off all your personal and professional to-dos whether you are planning something, making and sharing a shopping list, and easily make multiple lists. Three of the best things about this app is that you can prepare for anything, get reminded when it’s due, and collaborate with other people who use the same app.

You can also group related lists in one easily accessible folder, add notes to make sure all your ideas are captured, turn emails into actions by simply forwarding them, use tags to add more context on your to-dos, and print them with just one click anytime you feel like doing so. The Wunderlist productivity app is available for free on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows, Kindle Fire and the Web.

4. Flocus

Not finishing your task on time leaves you more baggage for the next day. Flocus is a productivity app designed to help users to set deadlines so you’ll never miss a task. With a timetable available, achieving a goal will be more organized and hassle-free. It enables you to stay on track. This app is accessible as it allows the user to see what’s going on instantly – and quickly move things around just by dragging and dropping.

You can also celebrate your achievements with big, fat, green check marks when you review your week to see what you’ve accomplished. This app makes you not forget a thing as it works even while you are asleep. Your uncompleted tasks automatically float over to your next day overnight. It is available for download on google play store and apple app store.

5. reQall

This app allows users to type or speak reminders into their mobile devices. It features easy organizing of notes and can link to related items in Evernote. To set reminders, you have to record what you want to be reminded about, and the app will automatically upload your audio to its servers. Then, it converts the message to text and analyzes what you’ve said. You can also categorize your tasks into time-sensitive tasks, things, people, and places. This app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. — Bea Grace Pascual, SLU