As an adult student, you have many tasks you’re juggling on any given day—work, family, social time, coursework—it can be overwhelming to keep it all organized.
Here’s a quick list of 10 apps to help you stay on track as you work on your degree and take care of the many other important things in your life.
1. Remember the Milk – Task List Manager
What It Offers: The ultimate task list app, Remember the Milk offers adult students an easy way to add assignments and prioritize when coursework is due. This app offers capabilities for email and multiple devices with push notifications and customized task lists for work, school, and home.
Availability: Gmail, Google calendar, Twitter, iOS, Android, BlackBerry; free with $25/year pro subscription option
Bonus: Remember the Milk also syncs with Evernote, an all-compassing app that provides workspace for everything from work tasks and presentations to school projects and collaboration.
2. MyLifeOrganized – Task List Manager
What It Offers: An app that provides task lists management with specific goals in mind, MyLifeOrganized syncs across multiple devices and can set tasks right from an email. Automatically generate a smart list of action items required to mark tasks complete or use the drag-and-drop features and calendar to organize responsibilities among job, school, and home life.
Availability: Window, Mac, iOS, Android; free or pro (with 45-day trial), pricing based on device
3. Focus Booster – Time Manager
What It Offers: Modeled after the Pomodoro technique, Focus Booster allows you to break up your schedule into bite-sized chunks. Originally built for professionals who need to keep track of time for billing clients, this app works just as effectively for adult students who are looking for an easy way to track tasks for homework, research, or study. Dashboards for time usage and break reminders help you be more productive.
Availability: Window, Mac; free trial or a basic package for $2.99/month or $29.99/year
4. Universal Password Manager – Password Manager
What It Offers: Universal Password Manager is an encrypted database app that gives you the option to store usernames, passwords, and even URLs in one place. For adult students, an additional benefit is the option to use a variety of different passwords so you’re not compromising on security. Handy for when you’re on the go (not in your usual homework locale) and need to remember that one password to complete an assignment.
Availability: Window, Mac, Android, and Linux; free
5. Focus at Will – Music Subscription Service
What It Offers: This app boasts the ability to increase your attention span up to 400% by providing music channels scientifically optimized to increase productivity. Set your mood or music energy level and track output based on personalized sounds the app provides for you.
Availability: Best Time Management Apps for Adult Students iOS, Android; free 30-day trial with in-app purchase options
6. Me – Personal Improvement
What It Offers: This app features a community of friends for sharing thoughts and encouragement. Others in your community can give you ‘props’ (think ‘like’ on Facebook) when they like your idea or agree with what you’re doing. Coach.Me provides 1:1 coaching along the way—a great way to receive positive encouragement for personal goals such as earning your degree.
Availability: iOS, Android; pricing varies on plan choices
7. 30/30 – Time Manager
What It Offers: Completely gesture-based, this app divides tasks into 30-minute time periods with breaks in between. 30/30 provides a comprehensive dashboard for task completion time, which can help as you plan additional course schedules or assignments in the future.
Availability: iOS; free
8. Freedom – Productivity
What It Offers: When you’re pursuing your degree online, there are bound to be countless digital distractions. That’s where Freedom comes in. This app’s main objective is to shield you from the Internet in order to be more productive. Set time limits on how long you need to focus (for up to 8 hours at a time).
Availability: Mac, Windows, Android; $10 (with 60-day money-back guarantee)
9. Don’t Break the Chain! – Productivity and Motivation
What It Offers: Use this app to break a bad habit or learn a good one. As an adult student, this app can be a nice visual way to see your progress. For example, maybe you want to set a goal for remembering to check your email each day for assignments, or maybe you’re in the middle of a large research project and need to test results on a daily basis—Don’t Break the Chain! offers a way for you to cross off each day as done and see the ongoing progress you’re making.
Availability: Mac, Windows, Android, iOS; free
10. Carbonfin Outliner – Task List Manager
What It Offers: Carbonfin Outliner provides a way to organize big projects into subtasks and sublists. For example, Carbonfin Outliner can organize all of the subtasks for completing a dissertation. You can use this app for general tasks as well or for the length of a semester, tracking all of your assignments and deliverables during the course of your program.
Availability: iOS or online; free
Are you ready for the next step in your career? Take Capella’s time & priorities test, developed specifically for adult students to evaluate how your time is spent and if your priorities are aligned for success in your chosen degree program.
