In this day and era where most of people’s minds are bombarded with lots of non-sense trivial things, forgetting, it seems, is now as common as breathing. It’s as if technology has given us tons of stuff to think about which are perfectly camouflaged by the comfort it brings to our daily lives. A mobile device, offers instant communication but we can’t ever escape the tense feeling of guarding the device with all our might. Too much information means there are lesser space for us to think about the mundane but essential tidbits of our dailies; deadlines, for one.

Okay, there’s more to life than deadlines because there are also birthdays, anniversaries, getaways, holidays, first day of classes… etc. Unless you have a photographic memory or just a bad-ass type of brain that can remember things and shizz, then good for you. But for the unfortunate ones, we ought to rely on a trustee planner to dictate everything for us instead. Although that’s not forever the case, because we can even forget to write important reminders in the planner itself. Sad, isn’t it? But there might be a cure to that! Since what we can’t possibly forget is to bring our mobile devices with us, why not equip it with a task managing app that has all the right quirks to keep you in track? Read all about this Android app called after the cut.

Holding on to a bulky and expensive planner might provide an answer to our scheduling and remembering dilemmas but it also presents a much greater problem of which is how to take it everywhere you go—because it’s just too much of a hassle to always bring a gigantic bag—or how are you going to operate if in case you accidentally left it at home. I know a few individuals who can’t function without referring to their planners. It’s cute, really. Since I’m not a person to actually plan out one whole year of my existence, I am fascinated by their constant arrangement of their schedules and hours. Nonetheless, I do plan out a week or even a month, whatever presents an urgency (ehem thesis!) so I’ve said goodbye to my yearly expense of buying a planner refill. Good thing there are applications that cater to the needs of planner freaks. It might be a little bit more effective than having a note on a paper.

is an application created by timeact for Android devices. It lets users type in their schedules, ideas, and projects that can be shared with other individuals using the app. The main purpose of it is to remind its users of their daily tasks which has been set by themselves. By means of an email or by activating the push notifications, those which have signed up for TimeAct can be sure to remember everything they’ve planned.

This application that can be acquired for free may be considered a gem in the play store. There might be boatloads of task managing applications in the app market and each of them has their own feature that stands out from the rest but TimeAct has a different perk in store. Since schedules are considered personal, most of the digital planners are for individual use. But the developers of TimeAct has thought of a twist that may prove to be essential for professionals and students alike.

To start using the application, a user must first log in using an existing email. Since the app crosses a bit of the line between being a social network and a personal data carrier, signing up and logging in must be done. After you’ve created an account, the app will remember it, so you won’t have to worry about logging in every single time you use the app.

After logging in, the app will take you directly to the task page where you can type in your plan for the whole week, month, or even year. Three categories are available to separate your stuff: Personal, Ideas, and Projects. With these, you won’t be confused with your task if you have too much on your plate. Since in a day, there’s always that one thing that we should accomplish before others, you can activate the push notifications or the email notifications that will remind you of the things you must accomplish within a limited period of time.

Upon creating a task under the personal category, you will have to type in and select the details you want to include in that particular plan; from the time you’ve started up to your proposed time of end.

There are five tabs that are included in the homepage of TimeAct namely, On This day, Open, Overdue, Completed, and Deleted. As long as a plan is still in progress, it will be seen in the Open tab as well as the On This Day. There’s a color indicator on the left side of a task where users can see whether their allotted time for that work is almost over.

If you’ve finished one of your tasks ahead of the clock, all you have to do is long press on that task and select “close”. It will then be transferred to the Completed tab. Just in case you’ve marked the wrong task as done, you can always revert it back to the Open tab with the same process.

As what I’ve mentioned earlier, there are three categories in the app where you can separate the tasks from your ideas and to the projects that you have in line. The Ideas tab only includes a title and a text box where you can enter tidbits of your thoughts. With this feature, TimeAct will not only be a user’s planner but it can also be their virtual notebook since they can enter topic headers for each idea.

Since there are many tabs with each category, there’s a compact menu available just by tapping the left topmost icon on the home page of the app. Here, users will have a quick glance of how many tasks they have for a day.

So, why is a virtual planner a better option instead of a paper-made one? Simple, it’s the notifications. Your old-school planner won’t do you good if you don’t browse through it regularly but with TimeAct Task Manager, you’ll get push notifications to make sure that you’re abreast with your day’s schedule. You can also tweak on the settings and have the app send you emails regarding your daily tasks.

Harrie The Time Conscious

So maybe I haven’t been taking note of all the things that I must do within a week because my life has been a constant cycle of an unchangeable routine. Although there’s not much to plan, TimeAct Task Manager is an app I’ll definitely keep. First and foremost, birthdays are a hard thing to remember for me so it might give me a lot of help in that department.

Aside from that, I am very much in love with the fact that there are two widgets that I can get from the app. The calendar and the task bar. You can choose whatever you want to use but as for me, two widgets will always be better than one.

The app’s design very much suited my taste. With its medium sized fonts and clean interface, it exudes that aura of professionalism which is a great feature for utility and lifestyle apps. But I had some issues with the Projects tab since I can’t seem to figure out how do I enter data there. And I think it would be better if in the description box of each task, users can insert photos from their gallery.

All in all, TimeAct Task Manager still deserves five stars because it’s very efficient and user friendly. Its simplicity definitely worked to its advantage because it gave the app a pleasant look and feel. It has no ads plus you can access it offline. For a free app, it’s definitely worth the download!

Download it now and avoid having a cluttered and pointless day!