Digital planners have risen in popularity in recent years, and it’s easy to see why so many would pick this in the great debate of digital versus physical planners.
Many people select a digital planner once and stick to it, but the truth is that there are so many options out there that you may be missing out on the perfect digital planner for you.
I’m a bit (read: a lot) obsessed with planning, especially digital ones, so today, I want to talk through some alternative options for one of the biggest and most popular digital planners out there: Todoist.
what is todoist?
As mentioned, Todoist is one of the most popular options for those wanting to plan their lives digitally. In part, this is because of its age – it was around before digital planners even became a popular thing.
It’s great for both personal and professional planning, thanks to its colour-coded system that allows you to prioritise tasks and the fact that you can add sub-tasks to your main tasks. But maybe you feel like it doesn’t meet all your planning needs, or you’re simply in the market for a new planner option.
todoist alternative #1: asana
If you want a planner that specifically caters to your professional life, Asana is a great option, especially if you work in a team and collaboration is one of your biggest priorities. It’s an online project management tool that offers everything from managing projects to team collaboration and other tools to help multiple team members work together effectively.
Asana takes a lot of the work out of team planning by allowing you to assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and add other useful information. Plus, it syncs with commonly used team software like Slack and Google Drive. If you feel like Todoist isn’t equipped to handle your heavy workload, Asana’s project management software is a great option for you.
todoist alternative #2: notion
Notion isn’t solely a planning app. It’s an advanced database software that allows you to create custom pages to suit any need you may have. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you will find a Notion template for nearly anything you can think of.
Because of its intensely customisable interface, it’s no surprise that many people use it as a planning space to help them manage tasks. If you have specific requirements for your digital planner and you haven’t found an app that works, this is a great option. It’s sort of like a digital bullet journal in the sense that you can build your own layout and system with everything you need.
todoist alternative 3: forzeit
Our next alternative to Todoist is Forzeit. Forzeit is a relatively new planning platform, but it’s growing in leaps and bounds. Also, full disclaimer: I created it. But don’t let that cloud your judgement! Read what I have to say, and then decide for yourself if Forzeit is a good planner option for you.
This dynamic time management tool is intuitive and helps you to cut down your planning time thanks to weekly templates which can be duplicated each week. If your weeks tend to look the same week after week, this is a great solution because you don’t need to set up your week from scratch each time.
You can also use emojis to group similar tasks together and change the view so that you only see those tasks, which helps you focus on what’s important. Its AI feature gives weekly reports on how successful you were at executing your tasks, it has a cloud to help you keep track of your goals, and it syncs with your calendar so that you never miss an important event.
todoist alternative #4: omniFocus
OmniFocus isn’t the best option if you just want a simple planner to help you stay on top of your tasks. However, if you feel like you’re juggling your personal life, home life, and professional life, it’s a great option.
You can split your tasks up according to category, which allows you to separate the various aspects of your life, and it helps you track your tasks so that you can be your most productive self. Its advanced task management software makes it a great alternative to Todoist.
todoist alternative #5: evernote
Evernote is what I like to describe as a second brain – a place to store all your thoughts, notes, and to-dos. If your brain just can’t stay on top of everything, this is a good option.
It functions however you need it to – regardless of whether you just want to jot down some simple notes or plan a detailed project. You can add voice notes, web clippings, and photos, making it a digital diary of sorts, and its advanced search feature means that you can always find important information when you need it.
todoist alternative #6: UseMotion
For those wanting to store general ideas like their grocery list and weekly to-dos, UseMotion is probably not the best planning option because it is so advanced.
Essentially, UseMotion aims to be your personal planning assistant. It uses AI to organise events and streamline your weeks, making it very close to being a digital executive assistant. It does a lot of the heavy lifting for you by thinking of ways to best use your time and manage tasks.
todoist alternative #7: trello
Trello is a planning option that will align perfectly with those who are visual people and love to see everything at a glance. Similarly to Notion, it’s very customisable in the sense that you can use it for nearly anything, but unlike Notion, it does have a set format.
Trello uses boards to help you plan things and keep track of them. People use boards for recipes, reading lists, and other things to keep track of, but you can also assign a board to each day of the week so that you can write down everything you need to do that day, or you can create a board for each ongoing project and write down everything that needs to be done for that project.
Trello also allows you to assign different colours to tasks, so you can easily see where each task is in the workflow.
todoist alternative #8: tickTick
Not to be confused with TikTok, TickTick is a productivity app that aims to help you increase productivity and time management. It’s not the most popular task management tool, but that doesn’t mean you should discredit it!
Its clean and user-friendly interface is ideal for minimalist planners, and it also offers all the other features you may look for in a digital planner, like organisation, recurring tasks, a calendar, reminders, and collaboration with other people.
todoist alternative #9: monday.com
If you’re looking for a collaborative planner specifically designed for the workplace and Asana doesn’t quite fit the bill, Monday.com should be another option to look at.
If your planning often relies on being in sync with others, Monday.com is an easy planner to use since it’s such a collaborative planner with built-in workflows. Just like other apps mentioned in this list, it syncs with external apps, but it also has an internal communication option as well, making it a great project management tool.
todoist alternative #10: atoms
Finally, you may not actually need a planner, but rather a habit tracker, in which case Todoist isn’t the right fit for you. Or perhaps you want to use a habit tracker alongside Todoist.
There are loads of habit-tracking apps out there, but the one I’d recommend is Atoms since this was created by James Clear who wrote the best-selling book Atomic Habits. Atoms is more than just a habit tracker – it provides personalised coaching to help you become the best version of yourself.
final words
The great thing about digital planners is that so many of them are free, so you can try a few of them without committing. I really hope that this variety of different planning options helps you find the perfect digital planner for you as an alternative to Todoist, but if not, remember that this is a drop in the bucket of the online planning world, and there are hundreds of other options out there.
So, if you still can’t find the perfect planner for you, that doesn’t mean you should give up hope! There’s bound to be something that works for you.