8 Tools to Help You Stay Organized

Between work, school, family, meetings, appointments, and assignments, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, and that’s not even considering what’s next. You have a powerful smartphone right in your pocket — the one that connects to the internet, snaps photos, and holds a calendar app to help you stay on track. Not that you’ve actually used it yet.

With countless apps available, some (like that calendar) promise to help organize our lives. However, sorting through them to find the right ones is yet another task to add to your ever-growing list of things to do.

Don't worry! Here are eight fantastic apps that will help you start organizing your life. They'll remind you of things like to-do lists and passwords, and keep everything from getting lost — such as documents, ideas, and precious time. This way, you can focus on the important things, like playing more Candy Crush. Bonus: All of these apps are free, though they might offer premium versions with extra features.

1: My Fitness Pal

Whether you're aiming to shed some pounds or simply track your daily nutrition, My Fitness Pal is an essential tool. The free app is packed with thousands of food items, making it easy to log your meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks. Besides showing you the calorie count, the app also provides detailed macronutrient information like protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Many users are surprised by what they discover after just a few days of logging their food!

My Fitness Pal also lets you record your water intake, which is vital since many people don’t drink enough (the recommended amount is half your body weight in ounces per day). You can also track your daily workouts and weight, and view your progress through a handy graph.

2: Microsoft To Do

In today's fast-paced world, we're managing more than ever before. Enter Microsoft To Do, the app that ensures nothing falls through the cracks. This free task manager seamlessly integrates both personal and work-related tasks and connects effortlessly with other Microsoft tools like Outlook, Teams, and Planner.

With Microsoft’s integrated features, it’s incredibly easy to create to-do lists and set reminders. For example, simply flag an email, and it will be automatically added to your to-do list. Or, highlight part of an email, and the same thing happens. No need to bounce between different platforms to stay on top of things!

3: Calendly

Coordinating meetings with busy professionals can be a headache. Rather than dealing with countless emails and texts, use Calendly to simplify the process. It’s straightforward and intuitive. Enter your availability, then Calendly generates a shareable link. Other attendees can use the link to choose times that work for them, and the meeting is automatically added to everyone’s calendar. The app also adjusts for time zones, a major bonus for those in different regions. Plus, it works with Outlook, Google, iCloud, and Office 365 calendars.

4: Google Photos

If you’ve never experienced the nightmare of losing your phone along with all your cherished photos, consider yourself lucky. But don’t risk it! Download Google Photos immediately. The app automatically backs up your images, so you never have to worry about forgetting to do it. It organizes photos by date and even recognizes faces (including your pets!). If you're searching for pictures of a specific person, just click on their face to pull up all related images. You can also search by location, activity (e.g., baseball, football), and more. Photos are also sorted into categories like selfies, videos, and screenshots. Plus, you can easily create photo books or print your images directly from the app.

5: Dropbox

Dropbox is so straightforward that you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself. When you create an account, you get a virtual box where you can store anything you like. It’s password-protected and offers 2GB of free storage. (For those with media-heavy needs, subscriptions are available to increase your storage capacity to up to 2TB.)

You can store any type of file in Dropbox, and it functions just like any other folder on your computer. If you want to share files, you can make specific folders public for other Dropbox users to access. For sharing with non-Dropbox users, simply send them a link to the file.

6: Evernote

Capture every brilliant idea with Evernote, the ultimate storage solution. Whether it’s music, photos, text, screenshots, spreadsheets, or links—if you can see or hear it, Evernote can save it for you to use later.

Not only does Evernote store your information, it also makes it searchable and easy to tag. Snap a picture of a business card or a to-do list scribbled on a sticky note, and Evernote can read and search the text within the image. Organize everything with tags or inside notebooks, just like you did back in school.

Whether you’re planning your dream business plan, organizing your travel documents, or creating a wish list, Evernote keeps it all synced across nearly any device. Access your notes wherever you are, with options for Basic (free), Premium, and Business plans.

7: LastPass

With the growing need for passwords and stronger encryption, the passwords required are becoming more complex, making them harder to remember.

Introducing LastPass, the app that keeps all your passwords in one secure location. While it may seem intimidating at first, this space is password-protected, which means you only need to memorize one master password. Additionally, LastPass can store your online form details, like your name and address, making it easier to sign up on new websites.

LastPass is compatible across various browsers and operating systems. The basic version is free, but there are premium options that provide extra storage and allow multiple users.

8: Timr

Even with all the apps designed to help us stay on track, we often find ourselves losing precious time. If those hours were meant to be billable, it becomes a serious issue.

Timr, a straightforward time-tracking app available for most phones, PCs and Macs, helps you figure out exactly where your time has gone. It's as simple as starting the app when you begin working and stopping it when you're finished. While many offices rely on time tracking systems, Timr’s flexibility means you can track your project work even while on the go, at meetings, or on job sites.

The free Timr account offers limited features, but there are paid plans with additional options available for up to 50 users, making it scalable as your business expands.