The 6 Best (Free) Time Management Resources

With studying a lot of us can find that it’s not the act of learning that’s particularly difficult – it’s finding the time to actually do it.

Being able to manage your time effectively is essential for building a good study routine. Good time management will help you work efficiently and effectively. It’s also a crucial skill that you’ll need to use throughout your career as a HR professional, working in busy departments where your day-to-day routine can be particularly demanding and fast-paced. 

In this blog, we’ll be exploring some of the best time management resources that you can use to get more out of your study and your working practice. What’s more, all of the resources we’ll explore are free! Let’s have a read.

1.   Microsoft To-Do

You can’t beat an old-fashioned to-do list when it comes to organising your time and sorting out the work that you need to complete. Microsoft To-Do is probably one of the most powerful – and versatile – free apps available to help you plan your workload. This app allows you to create a range of ordered tasks and lists that you can colour-code and customise. With an intuitive ‘My Day’ function, Microsoft To-Do can create a personalised daily planner complete with suggested tasks, based on your lists.

Despite the fact that it has Microsoft in its title, Microsoft To-Do is available across multiple platforms and even works across different operating systems, including macOS.

The secret to its incredible versatility is the fact that it can sync with a range of external apps and programs, like Outlook and Microsoft 365, helping you link your lists up with things like emails and calendars.

Best for: People who need a to-do list that can be integrated across several apps.

2.  Evernote

As we all know, elephants never forget (well, okay… maybe they do occasionally) so it’s easy to see why Evernote uses the mighty elephant as inspiration for its logo.

Primarily a note-taking app, Evernote is also a powerful time-management tool, letting you organise and sort your tasks in a logical way so you can plan your time more effectively.

A key strength of the platform is the fact that you can embed photos, videos and documents directly into your notes, giving them an interactivity that really helps to put your tasks in context. Ultimately, with all the key resources you need to manage your time in one place, you can find that your tasks are a lot easier to complete than if you’re constantly needing to switch between different platforms to get work done. You can also link up with other apps, like Google Calendar too.

The free version is limited to fifty notes but you should find (with a bit of creative thinking) that should be enough to organise most projects.

Best for: People who like to have all resources for a task in one central place

3. Google Calendar

Whilst it can feel like these days we have an app for everything – from turning on the heating through to booking a doctor’s appointment – sometimes the old ways of doing things can be the best. Enter Google Calendar.

Whilst it might seem like a humble calendar at first glance, Google Calendar can be a powerful time management tool when used in the right way. There’s a reason why calendars haven’t gone extinct – they’re just exceptionally useful when it comes to managing time.

Using the traditional format of a calendar, Google Calendar lets you schedule tasks and meetings, receive notifications and share items with other people too. You can quickly create events and tasks and there’s even the option for video calls too.

Google Calendar can also sync up with Gmail, Drive and Google Workspace, allowing you to integrate your time management plans on this app with a whole range of others.

Best for: People who work best with a clear timeline

4. Clockify

A big problem with studying or completing work is keep track of how much time you spend on one particular project.

Clockify is a deceptively simple app that lets you track the time that you spend working. You can track your work hours in real time, use an inbuilt calendar to plot your tasks for the week and schedule upcoming tasks.

Whilst Clockify is designed for teams that need to track their billable hours for projects (eg. those who work in agencies or consultancies), it’s still a pretty formidable tool that can be used for the individual professional too.

Best for: People who like a visual break down of the time they spend on tasks

5. Finch

If you’re old enough to remember the 90s, you might remember a little thing called a Tamagotchi. For anyone who isn’t ancient, a Tamagotchi was essentially a type of handheld video game where you’d look after a virtual pet. They took the late 90s and early 00s by storm.

Now, there’s a time-management app that makes the process of completing dreaded tasks a lot more fun.

Finch is a self-care app that takes the idea of the Tamagotchi and applies it to our own mental wellbeing and how we manage our time. It’s essentially ‘gamifying’ task management and time management. You’ll be given a virtual bird that you’ll watch grow up as you successfully complete tasks that you assign yourself.

Finch is designed for mindfulness and self-care and it’s great to see an app that’s specifically about dedicating time for those things in your schedule.There’s no reason why you couldn’t really use Finch for more study/work-focused things either, besides just self-care.

Best for: People who need to structure self-care time.

6. Pomodor

Have you heard of the ‘Pomodoro method’? It’s a time management technique that an increasing amount of professionals swear by. Ultimately, it’s a system of working that breaks work into intervals with a short break in between.

Invented by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, the method takes its name from the humble, tomato-shaped kitchen timer – ‘pomodoro’ is Italian for tomato. As Wikipedia explains, the technique has six steps:

1. You choose a task to complete
2. You set an interval of time to work in (usually about 25 minutes)
3. You work
4. When the timer finishes, you take a break (usually 5 to 10 minutes). This is one completed ‘pomodoro’.
5. Repeat from Step 2 until you’ve done 4 pomodoros
6. When you’ve completed 4 pomodoros (one set) take a longer 30 minute break.

The technique was invented in the days when studying and working were mostly done using pens and paper. Thankfully, the method has been updated and there are now a great range of digital pomodoro apps that you can use to manage your time.

One of the best free apps we’ve come across is Pomodor. It’s a simple, browser-based app that you can use to set an interval for your pomodoro set. You can choose between different interval lengths, break lengths and rounds, and even set notifications. If you’re a fan of simple, stripped-down time management tools, Pomodor is a great resource to use.

Best for: People who like simple time-management tools (and who like the Pomodoro Method)

It’s time to manage your time

With the right tool behind you, managing your time when it comes to work or study can actually be… dare we say it… fun. The trick is to not assume that an app or tool will definitely improve your productivity or time management on its on – you actually have to use it! These suggestions are just a drop in the ocean compared to the huge array of other time management resources that exist so do your own research, experiment and see which one is best for your needs.

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