Have you ever felt like a hamster on a wheel, running around but not getting anywhere? It’s a frustrating place to be, and that’s where time blocking can really help. By using a good app, you can turn all that frenetic energy into structured time that leads to real results. Let’s explore seven of the best time blocking apps available today.
Table of contents
The best time blocking apps at a glance
| App | Highlight | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Free and beautiful calendar with focus time | Web, iOS, Android | Free |
| Todoist | Today & upcoming calendar layout for drag‑and‑drop time blocking | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Free | Pro: $4/month (billed yearly) |
| Notion | All‑in‑one workspace with built‑in time‑block templates | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Free | Plus: $10/month (billed yearly) |
| Toggl Track | Detailed reporting with time‑blocking insights | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, browser extensions | Free | Starter: $9/month (billed yearly) |
| Clockwise | AI scheduling | Web, Chrome, Firefox, Asana, Slack | Free | Teams: $6.75/month (billed yearly) |
| Sunsama | Daily planning ritual with drag‑and‑drop timeboxing | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | $16/month (billed yearly) |
| TickTick | Native calendar view with “Arrange tasks” feature | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Apple Watch | Free $35.99/year |
How did we evaluate these time blocking apps?
At our company, we specialize in synchronization software and have the opportunity to connect with a variety of apps every day. This gives us a unique perspective on the world of productivity and time-blocking applications. Recently, we took a close look at several time-blocking apps and evaluated them based on a few important factors:
- Calendar and task integration: Seamless sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, and task managers like Todoist and Notion, so you see meetings and tasks in one unified view.
- Ease of use and intuitive scheduling: Drag‑and‑drop time blocks, natural‑language duration input, and quick resize handles make it effortless to slot tasks into your day.
- Visual planning features: Multiple calendar layouts (day, week, month), color‑coding, Kanban‑style boards, and ready‑made templates help you map your time at a glance.
- Advanced focus and productivity tools: Built‑in Pomodoro timers, “Focus time” auto‑declines, configurable buffers, and end‑of‑day wrap‑up prompts protect your deep‑work sessions.
- Reporting and analytics: Detailed time‑use reports, insights dashboards, and time‑blocking analytics reveal where your focus pays off—and where it leaks.
- AI‑powered scheduling: Smart assistants that automatically place meetings, rebalance workloads, and respond to natural‑language requests.
- Customization & templates: Community‑created and built‑in time‑blocking templates, customizable workspaces, and color schemes let you tailor the app to your workflow
- Cross‑platform support: Apps available on web, desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux), mobile (iOS, Android), browser extensions—and integrations with Slack, Asana, Zapier, and more.
- Daily planning workflows: Morning rituals for task selection, time estimates, and drag‑and‑drop scheduling—plus end‑of‑day reflections to refine tomorrow’s blocks.
- Pricing flexibility: Free‑forever tiers, affordable premium plans, team pricing, and trial periods to fit individual needs and organizational budgets.
1. Google Calendar
✨ Highlight: Free and beautiful calendar with focus time
✅ Pros:
- Easy to use
- Built‑in “Focus time” auto‑declines conflicts
- Color‑coded calendars and events
- Cross‑device two‑way sync
❌ Cons:
- Fully manual task setup
- No native Kanban or task‑priority engine
- Multiple calendars can feel cluttered
💻 Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free
Google Calendar’s focus time feature allows you to create dedicated blocks of uninterrupted work time by automatically declining conflicting meetings. This helps protect your focus and flow. The calendar is color-coded, and smart reminders provide you with a clear overview of your upcoming tasks. Additionally, it syncs seamlessly with Gmail, Tasks, Meet, and other Google services, keeping everything organized. While you do need to manually set up each block and manage your task priorities, the reliability and extensive reach of Google’s ecosystem make it a solid foundation for developing a time-blocking habit.
👉 Learn more: 8 Best Calendar Apps
2. Todoist
✨ Highlight: Today & upcoming calendar layout for drag‑and‑drop time blocking
✅ Pros:
- Native 1‑day calendar view to map tasks into hourly blocks
- Natural‑language durations and drag‑and‑resize scheduling
- Quick scheduling
- Recurring tasks
❌ Cons:
- Not suitable for big or complex projects
- Full feature set requires Pro plan
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | Pro: $4/month (billed yearly)
Todoist’s newly introduced calendar layout in the Today and Upcoming views can transform your task list into a visual schedule by letting you drag items into hourly slots for straightforward time blocking. You’ll find a Plan sidebar on desktop that groups Overdue, Unscheduled, and Scheduled tasks—so you can slot work into free windows at a glance.
📹 For more information, watch this video to time-block your day with the calendar layout on Todoist.
👉 Learn more: Todoist vs. Google Tasks: Is Simpler Always Better?
3. Notion
✨ Highlight: All‑in‑one workspace with built‑in time‑block templates
✅ Pros:
- Drag‑and‑drop calendar view
- Full-featured databases
- Free time-blocking templates
- Highly customizable
- Powerful AI support
❌ Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- Mobile app functionality could be better
- No complete offline mode
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: Free | Plus: $10/month (billed yearly)
Notion blends the best of time blocking with a customizable workspace powered by AI. You can add a calendar view to any database, drag tasks into specific time slots, and switch between table, board, or timeline layouts to match your style. With deep integration, you can link blocks to project documents and embed checklists, code snippets, or meeting notes, all in one place. Community-created templates are an excellent way to get you started quickly.
💡 Notion can sync two-way with tools like Google Calendar, Todoist, and Google Tasks via 2sync.
👉 Learn more: 2sync vs. Notion Calendar: Differences and Limitations
4. Toggl Track
✨ Highlight: Detailed reporting with time‑blocking insights
✅ Pros:
- One‑click start/stop timer
- Built‑in Pomodoro mode
- Powerful reports and analytics
- Project and client segmentation
- Wide range of integrations
❌ Cons:
- Activity detection needs to be improved
- Can look saturated depending on your workload
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, browser extensions
💲 Price: Free | Starter: $9/month (billed yearly)
Toggl Track’s time tracker makes time blocking visual: use its calendar view to draw and resize colored time blocks for each task, or start a timer with a click and switch into Pomodoro mode for structured sprints. Blocked intervals appear in a week‑at‑a‑glance grid so you can spot gaps and plan ahead. Behind the scenes, powerful reports translate your blocks into actionable insights—so you’ll know exactly where your focus paid off.
5. Clockwise
✨ Highlight: AI scheduling
✅ Pros:
- Automatic calendar reshuffling
- Flexible buffers and travel‑time slots
- Department‑wide sync for team focus
- Easy deep‑work blocks
❌ Cons:
- Best with Google Workspace only
- External collaboration is a bit difficult
💻 Platforms: Web, Chrome, Firefox, Asana, Slack
💲 Price: Free | Teams: $6.75/month (billed yearly)
Clockwise’s AI Scheduling Assistant analyzes your Google calendars and team habits to organize meetings into optimal time blocks, allowing for uninterrupted deep work sessions without manual rescheduling. You can use natural-language commands like “find 30 minutes with Anna tomorrow” to move or group meetings in seconds. It also incorporates buffer and travel-time holds to prevent back-to-back burnout.
📹 Getting started with time blocking calendar on Clockwise
6. Sunsama
✨ Highlight: Daily planning ritual with drag‑and‑drop timeboxing
✅ Pros:
- Drag‑and‑drop timeboxing
- Auto‑schedule via hover “X”
- Time estimates on tasks
- Built‑in Pomodoro
- Focus mode
❌ Cons:
- Relies on external calendar (no native view)
- No free‑forever plan
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
💲 Price: $16/month (billed yearly)
Sunsama treats time blocking as a deliberate daily ritual. Each morning, you select tasks to pull into a Kanban-style sidebar, assign time estimates, and then drag them onto your calendar. This action instantly creates corresponding events in Google or Outlook for those time blocks. Pomodoro timers and built-in time buffers help maintain your focus, while daily wrap-up prompts at the end of the day encourage brief reflections on your progress and any roadblocks you encountered.
7. TickTick
✨ Highlight: Native calendar view with “Arrange tasks” feature
✅ Pros:
- Five flexible calendar views
- “Arrange tasks” sidebar for quick scheduling
- Natural‑language duration input
- Notifications and reminders
- Affordable
❌ Cons:
- Key calendar features require Premium
- Windows version could be better
💻 Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Apple Watch
💲 Price: Free | $35.99/year
TickTick’s calendar turns your to‑dos into true time blocks: open “Arrange tasks” to drag unscheduled items into a week‑at‑a‑glance grid, then resize and reposition each block for exact durations. With five flexible views, natural‑language input, integrated Pomodoro timers, and support for third‑party calendar subscriptions, you see both tasks and events in one unified schedule. Real‑time sync keeps your blocks consistent across desktop, mobile, tablet, and even Apple Watch.
👉 Learn more: TickTick vs. Todoist: Which To-Do List App Is Better?
Honorable mentions
- Fantastical: A premium calendar app renowned for its natural‑language event parsing, quick templates, and deep integration with Apple devices. It recently launched a native Windows version, extending support beyond macOS and iOS.
- TimeTree: A versatile shared calendar designed for families, couples, and teams, offering in‑event chat, memos, and instant notifications across multiple shared calendars. Its simple setup and free tier make it ideal for coordinating group schedules.
- TimeBloc: A mobile‑first daily planner that lets users block out time minute by minute via drag‑and‑drop timelines and routines automation, with seamless calendar integration and performance improvements in its April 2025 release.
- Clockify: A robust time‑tracking platform with built‑in time‑block features, one‑click timers, Pomodoro support, and detailed analytics dashboards. Its calendar view allows direct block adjustments, and it integrates with over 80 apps.
- ClickUp: A comprehensive productivity platform offering drag‑and‑drop calendar views for visual time blocking, built‑in time estimates and timers, customizable templates, and seamless integrations to help you plan and optimize your day.
- SkedPal: An AI‑driven scheduler that automatically optimizes task timing based on your preferences, recurring rules, and real‑time workload balancing, providing a hands‑off organization approach.
- Reclaim.ai: An AI‑powered calendar assistant that auto‑schedules and reschedules tasks, habits, and meetings around your priorities and existing events, dynamically defending focus time and adjusting to changes without manual input.
- Plan: A free hybrid calendar and task‑management app that syncs with Google and Outlook, allowing you to drag tasks into your agenda and link time blocks directly to project items for streamlined daily planning.
Conclusion
Time blocking apps offer a structured way to take control of your day, boost focus, and maximize productivity. However, the real magic happens when you unify those blocks into a single, adaptable workspace.
While many of these apps tout native integrations—like one‑way calendar pushes or limited task field support—those connections often lack true two‑way updates, customizable field mapping, filtering, or transformation rules.
With 2sync, you get a complete two‑way sync that goes beyond basic links: you get a full bi‑directional bridge that you can tailor to your exact workflow: map any Notion property to external attributes (and choose one‑ or two‑way sync per field), set default values for new entries, and apply conditional filters so only the information you want actually flows across.
🚀 Try your first automation today
FAQ
Clockwise uses AI to automatically rearrange meetings across team members to maximize focus time and coordination for groups. TimeTree is designed for sharing and coordinating schedules with families, couples, and teams, making it easy for multiple users to view and discuss events in a single shared calendar.
Google Calendar is free, cross‑platform, and built into most Google accounts, so newcomers can start time blocking without additional setup. TimeBloc offers a straightforward mobile‑first daily planner interface that lets users assign time slots to tasks with minimal learning curve, making it popular among students.
AI scheduling tools like Clockwise analyze existing calendar events and use machine learning to identify optimal slots for deep‑work blocks, automatically moving low‑priority meetings to free up uninterrupted focus time. Such assistants can also respond to natural‑language commands to adjust your schedule in seconds.
Time blocking apps often include built‑in Pomodoro timers or integrate with standalone tools, which follow 25/5‑minute work/rest cycles to enhance concentration and support ADHD‑related focus challenges.
Clockify offers a free time‑blocking and tracking platform with unlimited blocks and integrations, making structured scheduling accessible on any budget. Google Calendar provides built‑in block scheduling and Focus Time features at no cost for any Google user. TimeTree is also available free of charge, enabling group scheduling without subscription fees.
Fantastical offers a native calendar‑blocking interface on iOS and macOS, leveraging Apple’s ecosystem with Siri support, natural‑language event creation, and built‑in time‑blocking workflows that sync across devices. Craft 3’s new Calendar view merges tasks and events in a unified interface on Apple devices, letting users drag and drop blocks for note‑taking and scheduling in one app.
Look for seamless calendar integration to avoid conflicts and unify tasks and events. Essential task management features include creating, categorizing, and receiving reminders for time-blocked tasks. User-friendly elements like drag-and-drop scheduling, natural-language input, and customizable templates can streamline planning. Advanced tools may include Pomodoro timers, AI scheduling, and analytics dashboards for productivity optimization. Cross-platform support and integrations ensure your workflow fits your existing setup.
