7 best free planner apps for students

Ever wondered how studytubers like Ruby Granger and Jade Bowler study for long hours on end, often with days carefully planned out to the minute? This level of productivity is soothing to even the worst of procrastinators, so much so that some have come forward to comment that they “make ‘hard work’ look like ‘much more fun thing’ to do.”

How do we get as productive as this? This is where free planner apps come in. If you want to get the most out of your day and stay on top of your tasks, then you’ve come to the right place — check out these free planner apps and become an organised person today:

Time is of the essence when it comes to revising for exams, so it might be a good idea to start using planner apps to organise your days. Source: Alex Halada/AFP

Free planner apps to boost your productivity

Trello

Trello takes the cake when it comes to project management. Most organisations use this tool for professional reasons, but students can benefit from this free planner app as well. This powerful tool helps you plan and organise tasks. You can document ideas like virtual post-it notes in the form of lists, cards, and boards.

The wonderful thing about Trello is that it allows you to work with others — you can assign names and due dates to a task. The activity log, like Google Docs, is unlimited. This way, it helps track actions like edits, additions, and deletions.

Download Trello for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Habitica

Habitica looks like a game — which is why it is even more rewarding when you check things off your to-do list on this free productivity and planner app. You’re free to type in any task for categories like habits, dailies, to-dos, and rewards, so long as you complete your tasks. 

The in-game feature rewards you for completed tasks and punishes you if you don’t — great motivation for the procrastinators out there. Still unmotivated? Join Habitica’s social community — they’re never short of inspiration.

Start using Habitica by clicking here.

Evernote

Evernote is best known for being a note-taking app, but it can also come in handy when it comes to task planning. This free planner app lets you share project files with others, which is useful when you’re working on a group assignment. While discussing and sharing ideas, you can even use Evernote to jot down ideas and suggestions from your team members.

Don’t worry about losing notes — Evernote allows you to access saved notes so the chances of you missing out on anything are minimised. Besides that, the app has annotation and markup features, both beneficial for task management. You can also store files, images, and web clips.

Download Evernote for Windows, Android, and iOS.

With more classes going online, prioritise tasks and keep procrastination at bay with free planner apps. Source: Glenn Chapman/AFP

Google Keep

Is there anything Google hasn’t thought of? Apparently not — adding to the list of free planner apps is Google Keep, a note-taking app that lets you write notes, create checklists, and set reminders. One of Google’s best inventions, it helps you organise ideas, track tasks, and share lists with other people. The best part is you can sync it with other Google products like Gmail and Google Calendar.

Use Google Keep here. 

Taskade

Learning remotely or attending online classes? Consider Taskade, the perfect planner app for remote users. It is a collaboration tool above all, so you can work on group assignments using Taskade. 

The app organises the tasks you have keyed in according to hierarchy, but it is customisable. You can make unlimited hierarchies in one task list, which means that complex projects are not an issue. The syncs and updates are also in real-time, which makes chats and sharing projects (especially on mobile) easier for those working in a team. 

Sign up for free now.

Workflowy

Don’t let the name fool you — Workflowy is not just for the working world. It is a reliable planner app that is user-friendly for task planning. On Workflowy, you can create an unlimited amount of tasks and subtasks in the form of lists.

Arguably the best feature is how you can back up the data onto Dropbox, an app you can use to store information. Workflowy also has features that enable you to customise themes and fonts. Once it’s aesthetically pleasing enough, you’ll be motivated to actually complete your tasks. 

Download Workflowy for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Dynalist

Next on our list is Dynalist, a free planner app with a minimalist interface. This app is not as simple as the others, but only because its features are rich. Using Dynalist, you can add lists with unlimited items and documents, interlink to any page in the files, and export or import items instead of using the old copy-paste. 

Apart from these handy features, you can also search according to dates, recurring dates, and checklists. This app is useful for saving time and effort as soon as you get used to it. Like Google Keep, you can sync Dynalist data with Google Calendar. 

Download Dynalist for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.