By Colette Hapi

Time management skills are essential for all aspects of life. Whether you’re writing a paper for school or juggling Thanksgiving dinner, knowing how to manage your time appropriately will make things run much more smoothly. Practicing these skills at a young age will allow you to learn how to work independently, use time effectively, and complete tasks by the deadline. Here are some great apps students can use to improve their time management skills:

• Rescue Time (Android, Apple): This application sends you weekly reports that allow you to pinpoint the things that are stealing your time. For example, maybe you spend two hours idly browsing clothing sites, or maybe you open up social media sites ten times an hour. Once you know where your time is going, you can use Rescue Time’s distraction blockers (i.e., block your access to these time-stealing sites) to increase productivity.
• Toggl (Android, Apple): Toggl allows you to track how much time you spend on projects and tasks. This is a great way for students to see what sorts of assignments or classes demand the most of their time and why; for example, maybe Algebra worksheets consistently take a long time to complete because the content is difficult. With that knowledge, students can then appropriately budget the correct amount of time they need to finish a task.
• Pocket (Android, Apple): This app is great to help students stay focused on the task at hand. Many times, students get sidetracked by something that pops up on their screen, like a new TikTok video or an article. With this app, you can place the item into your “saves” and review it at a later and more convenient time. This way, you’re less distracted and can focus on your immediate work.
• Be Focused Timer (Apple): Be Focused provides a handy way to track blocks of time and your past work history. You can set a timer to work for a specific amount of time on a task and then set a timer to take a short break. This app allows you to manage your tasks, track your goals, and customize work interval duration to maximize your productivity.

There are dozens of time management apps out there, so go out and explore! Since we’re living in a digital world, using apps to our benefit can help us feel more in control of how we spend our time. If you’ve found other time management apps that have been useful for you and your family, let us know.