For years, I’ve been trying to find the ultimate organization platform to stay motivated and organized. I’ve tried bullet journals, Google Calendar and Notion, but I’ve finally settled on one that checks all of the boxes for me: todo mate, a free and digital to-do list app.
One major advantage of todo mate is its simplicity when creating tasks and navigating the interface as a whole. Personally, I’m overwhelmed by Notion’s several thousand aesthetic templates and subpages or Google Calendar’s time blocking. I appreciate todo mate’s flexibility in having multiple to-do lists and moving the items around. You can organize subjects or activities in different lists and by color, all of which appear on your page.
The other reason that convinced me to settle on todo mate is how users can “follow” or add a friend. They have the ability to send “likes” to you every time a task is completed. If I’m ever in a slump or feel like I’m returning to the unproductive version of myself, getting a “like” notification on “finish math hw” encourages me to get back to work. The same applies the other way around when I receive the notification that my friends are checking off tasks while I’ve spent the last two hours scrolling reels on Instagram.
Plus, todo mate acts as a reminder and my savior when someone completes an assignment I forgot was due. Alternatively, if you ever feel uncomfortable having others know what you’re up to, you can always change the list to a private view setting.
While you must manually input assignments to todo mate and there are occasional ads on the page, I can look past these points because they’re intermittent and small enough that it doesn’t distract from the app’s purpose or usefulness.
Though there’s only one “look” on todo mate, with its soft palette of over 80 colors, it’s hard to find anything that isn’t cute or aesthetic. Even the checkbox itself isn’t a square; it’s a clover that adds more flavor to the design. The “likes” your friends react with aren’t just hearts; they’re stickers of adorable cartoon owls or rabbits with thumbs up or good luck clovers.
As part of the look, your page can be viewed in a monthly or weekly view when on mobile. Because the page of my to-do lists differs day by day, I can plan tasks days or even weeks in advance. An example would be when I receive major projects or assignments: I’m forced to break down the task by day, which ensures I’m consistently working on it. You also always have the backlog to store to-do items without a specific deadline.
Additional features include sharing “diaries” with friends — popcorn thoughts that can be as funny, relatable or inspirational as you want. Another favorite feature of mine is the built-in timer for each task. It blacks out your screen to just your assignment title and time, and you have no choice but to lock in. While you can still complete other tasks, you won’t be able to time another task until your current, running one is completed. If you still need some more motivation, just head over to your profile for an intriguing quote each day.
Since using this as my reliable organization method in junior year, I’ve completed my assignments in a more timely manner and stayed motivated at my lowest points. Besides a productive work environment, it’s an online community of friends who encourage each other to be their best.
For those looking to stay driven in the academic year, todo mate is my recommendation for the best task management app.
