The Productivity Pro’s Ultimate Guide to Organizing Life calendar tips

It’s finally 2024 — and with a brand new year comes ample opportunity to take a closer look at our lives and find new ways to change the way we’re doing things (AKA set some lofty New Year’s resolutions). In the spirit of improving ourselves, one day at a time, we’re diving into the world of productivity in the twenty-first century. 

We live in a day and age where digital technology is constantly at our fingertips, which means there are a million different apps out there, just ready to sort through the chaos in our work and personal lives. 

But having access to so many options can definitely lead to analysis paralysis — leaving you right where you started! From task management to time tracking, collaboration to self-improvement, we’ll guide you through the digital maze, so that you can find the right tools to turn your lofty resolutions into tangible results over the next twelve months. So, buckle up for a journey into the future of productivity, where uncovering the right apps can totally transform your 2024 into a year of efficiency, growth, and personal fulfillment.

What exactly do I need to be looking for when building my organizational dream team? 

First, let’s start by running through a couple of very important questions that will help us get some clarity on what exactly we’re looking for. 

What are the top three areas in my life that are most important to me?

This could be climbing the corporate ladder with your career, developing deeper relationships with friends or family, growing your side hustle, exploring new hobbies, or heading back to school. Narrow it down to the top three that could use a little productivity push over the next few months.

What would free up more time in my life or make things easier for me?

Productivity isn’t just about getting things done — it’s also about making things easier for yourself and freeing up time to focus on other things.

If you’re spending a lot of time on manual tasks, there’s a pretty good chance you could be alleviating that extra work with the help of the right application or tool. 

What matters most to me in the tools I choose to use on a regular basis?

Look, we’re not asking you to do all this work to find the best productivity apps for your lifestyle just to have you stop using them after a few days because they don’t seem to make much of an impact in your life. We want to help you uncover the ultimate organizational hack that totally changes the way you live your life. 

As you try out different solutions, ask yourself these types of questions to get to the bottom of what’s going to work best for you:

• Does this app make my life easier?
• Does it free up time in my day?
• Does it help me in some tangible way?
• Do I feel less stressed/more organized when this app is being utilized?
• Do I feel like I’ve better prioritized what I spend my time doing now?
• Do my friends or family also use it? How do they feel about it?
• Does it keep everything I need to know at any time all in one place?

Now that you’ve got some thoughts gathered about how you’re going to test the usefulness of different applications in your life, it’s time to get inspired! Here are some of our favorite organizational and productivity apps out on the World Wide Web — many of which are free to use!

Top Calendar Applications

The key to productivity? Getting in control of your calendar! Use one (or multiple!) of these calendar apps to plan out your life in an easy-to-access location. 

• Google Calendar
• Apple Calendar
• Microsoft Outlook Calendar

Reminder Applications

Stay on top of your to-do list when you start using a digital calendar paired with a reminder application. Works best when it has timed reminders that will alert you throughout your day! Here are some great options to consider.

• Todoist
• Any.do
• Microsoft To Do
• Google Keep
• TasksBoard
• TickTick

Project Management Applications

If your goal is to get more organized at work in the new year, then you’re going to need a powerful project management tool to do the job. Check out some of these top-rated work management tools to stay ahead of the game.

• Asana
• Trello
• Monday.com
• Wrike
• Notion
• Smartsheet
• ProofHub

Time Tracking Tools

Stay on track, no matter the task, with the right time tracking applications. Whether you need to limit distractions or get in the zone, there are plenty of tools right at your fingertips. Here are just a few to get you thinking.

• Toggl Track
• Pomofocus
• HourStack
• Timely
• Memtime
• TrackingTime
• RescueTime

Communication Tools

We all need to talk to a variety of people, at one time or another. Depending on the situation, there are plenty of options for you to choose from! Here are a few to download and try for yourself before deciding on a favorite. 

• Gmail
• Microsoft Outlook
• iCloud Mail
• Microsoft Teams
• Google Chat
• WhatsApp
• Discord

• Twobird
• Slack
• Zoom

Event Management Applications

We would be remiss to forget to mention how AddEvent makes the event planning and management process as easy as can be! Regardless of whether you’re planning a massive, multi-day event or just a series of virtual webinars, AddEvent organizes your events and calendars and provides you with the right add to calendar buttons, links, and other sharable options so you can promote things the right way. 

Plus, you can easily integrate AddEvent with more than 6,000 other apps to work together to better streamline your workflow process thanks to Zapier!

Here’s a TL;DR on how that works:

1. Connect your apps to Zapier (i.e. AddEvent and Slack or Salesforce, etc.)
2. Set a Trigger to start the workflow.
3. Set an Action to happen when the Trigger starts the workflow. 
4. Get Zapping! 

→ Learn more about the ins and outs of this dynamic tool in this AddEvent blog.