The best free time-management software 2017

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Free time-management software

When both your work and leisure time are spent in front of a screen, it’s easy for the two to bleed into one another. Distractions like social media and videos can easily eat into time that should really be spent focusing on important tasks, and a steady flow of email notifications can jar us out of a productive workflow.

That’s why time-management software is so useful; these free tools and services help you make the most of your day by prioritizing tasks, organizing materials, planning your time, and blocking distractions. There are also brilliant free programs to automate mundane tasks, saving you a few clicks and sweeps of your mouse. The savings might be small, but throughout the week they add up to something substantial.

This is our pick of the best free time-management software for Windows. Which tools help you stay on track? Let us know in the comments below.

Pomodorium combines the Pomodoro method of time-management with a fun little RPG. By working hard for 25 minutes, your earn in-game currency to help in your adventures

1. Tomighty and Pomodorium

Become more productive by managing your time with the Pomodoro Technique, and reward yourself with a fun RPG

Tomighty is a neat little desktop app designed for use with the Pomodoro Technique. The idea is that by splitting your time into 25-minute chunks of intense focus, interspersed with regular breaks, you work more effectively than if you worked uninterrupted for the same period

Tomighty sits in your notification area. Click it to begin a 25-minute Pomodoro, and it will alert you when the time is up. You can set long or short breaks, but there’s nothing more complicated than that; it’s impossible to waste time setting it up and configuring it. 

If that sounds a little dull, Pomodorium (pictured) is a similar tool that gamifies the Pomodoro Technique, integrating a timer with a simple RPG. Every time you complete 25 minutes of focused work you earn virtual currency, which you can use to upgrade a character. During your work breaks, you take this customized hero on a journey across a fantasy world, battling monsters and earning XP – a fun reward for your hard work.

Download here: Tomighty

Download here: Pomodorium

Trello is superb for managing tasks of all sizes; big jobs can be brokwn down into manageable chunks, then ticked off once they're complete. Seeing your progress is a great motivator

2. Trello

Hassle-free task and time management to help you stay organized and motivated

Free web app Trello enables you to make several to-do lists, and set deadlines to help you stay on top of your work and errands. Each item in a list has its own card, which contains  detailed information (as much or as little as you like), as well as any links that will help you get the job done. For example, if you need to pay a bill, you could quickly paste in a link to your bank’s homepage, and the amount due.

One of Trello’s best features is the ability to prioritize tasks, helping you structure your day. It’s great for keeping yourself motivated too; once you’ve completed a task, drag the card into a column for finished jobs and at the end of the day you’ll have a clear view of what you’ve accomplished.

Trello also lets you assign tasks to other people, which is mainly useful for businesses, but could also be handy if your family or housemates are unusually organized.

Try it online: Trello

Evernote isn't explicitly designed for time-management, but its notebooks are a brilliant way to gather resources together, saving you the hassle of trawling through bookmarks and text files

3. Evernote

Part notebook, part scrapbook, Evernote helps you save time by gathering resources in one place

Evernote can help you manage your time and improve productivity in two ways. Firstly, you can use it to manage resources for a project – gathering references and making notes, and collating them all in one place. Your notebook is synced across devices (a feature that became free for all users last year), enabling you to access your work anywhere – including time spent away from your desk that would otherwise be unproductive.

Evernote can also reduce procrastination by serving as a place to store ideas that come to you throughout the day, articles that catch your eye, and web pages that look interesting. Rather than distracting yourself by opening them all in new tabs, you can simply paste them into Evernote, then check them later in your free time.

Download here: Evernote

When you need to commit an idea to paper, try FocusWriter. It helps you manage your time by stripping away everything but the essentials so you're entirely focused on your work

4. FocusWriter

Write without distractions and target your creative attention like a laser beam

We’ve tried a lot of distraction-blocking software, and FocusWriter remains our favorite. It takes over your whole screen with a simple empty page for you to pour your thoughts out onto. There are no page breaks to break your flow, no necessary formatting tools, and no way to see social media notifications or incoming emails.

FocusWriter isn’t just a substitute for Microsoft Wordpad, though – it lets you set a custom background to get you in the mood, includes Pomodoro-style timers so you don’t have to concern yourself with clock-watching, and even has a Focus mode that greys out everything except the paragraph you’re working on.

FocusWriter isn’t suitable for editing, but for getting a first draft of an essay, story or report down on paper, it’s ideal.

Download here: FocusWriter

Free time-management app Cold Turkey lets you create a custom list of sites to block temporarily, helping you avoid distractions

5. Cold Turkey

A tough approach to time-management that blocks access to distracting websites

Cold Turkey is like a nicotine patch for social media addicts, supplementing your willpower by blocking the sites that waste your time and attention for specified periods of time. Unlike distraction-blocking browser extensions, you can’t circumvent Cold Turkey by using a different app, and you can’t simply uninstall it while it’s running.

Cold Turkey comes with a block list of the most notorious time-thieves like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with the ability to add more if your vices aren’t included by default. 

Download here: Cold Turkey

Mundane tasks like running manual malware scans can eat into your work day. Use Task Till Dawn to automate regular tasks and you'll have more time for yourself

6. Task Till Dawn

Save a few moments every day by using this time-management app to automate jobs

Talk Till Dawn is a neat little app that enables you to automatically open folders, files or programs at certain times or intervals. For example, if you use a free backup program that doesn’t enable you to schedule backups, you could use Task Till Dawn to force it to run at the end of each day. Similarly, if you use a free malware scanner, Task Till Dawn lets you schedule a regular scan (once a week, for example) to check for threats automatically.

Task Till Dawn is still in development, so a few features are still in an experimental stage, but it’s a very handy way to avoid performing tasks manually.

Download here: Task Till Dawn

Rainy Mood provides calming background noise on tap, with gentle precipitation on an infinite loop

7. Rainy Mood

The calming patter of rain on a windowpane is a perfect soundtrack for hard work

Working in silence is dull, and noises like ticking clocks can be aggravating when you’re trying to focus. Some people work well with music, but if you’re likely to get distracted skipping between tracks, give Rainy Mood a try.

Rainy Mood is available as a free web app if you’re working on your desktop, or as a mobile app for Android or Google Play, and helps drown out background sounds with the relaxing sound of raindrops and distant thunder.

We also find Rainy Mood brilliant for those times when our minds are whirring with thoughts of the day ahead and it’s impossible to sleep. 

Try it online: Rainy Mood