Free Time Management Tools

This list of free time management tools allow you to boost your time management and become more productive at work. I have tried to choose tools that allow you to

• track your time
• capture your tasks either in GTD software or online to do lists
• capture business cards
• brainstorm your ideas
• increase attention span
• share and work on files across multiple sites.

Track your time with Rescue Time

Rescue Time did an analysis of over 500,000 PC-user hours and found that 44% of time on the computer was spent instant messaging, on email, or social networking on sites like Facebook. This is a large chunk of time, but it wasn't just one chunk of time! Employees accessed email over 50 times a day and instant messenger 77 times a day.

These interruptions do more than distract! They have the potential to undermine your attention and reduce productivity. I like Rescue Time because it does more than track my time it blocks access to certain sites (for 1 hour or whatever the period I want to focus for).

This is great for those, like myself, who may give in to the temptation to check. Download Rescue Time or see my review of this free time tracking software.

Capture your thoughts with Evernote

I love Evernote. It is a cloud-based note taking and organization tool. If you are looking for a spot to park everything from notes to photos, then Evernote is for you.

Apart from it being free, I like it because I can use it across multiple computers and share information with anybody. For example, with the click of a button I am able to share my meeting notes with colleagues.

Download Evernote.

The focus booster time management tool

This app works is a timer for the Pomodoro technique. You can download this app onto your Mac or Windows and is great to focus your attention for short periods of time. Watch your productivity soar with this focus booster and master an essential time management skill for success..

Download Focus Booster.

Put your business cards onto your iPhone contacts

Are your business cards scattered across your desk or in one big pile? If you are looking for an easy way to get these into your contacts the Cardmunch is for you. When you take a picture of the business card it converts the information into your iPhone contacts.

Download your free Cardmunch App.

Share files and content with Dropbox

Dropbox is great for files that are too big to send by email or for files that you would like to collaborate on with others. There are plenty of apps that allow you share files on the go. However, I like Dropbox because it is free and reliable.

Remember the Milk To Do List software

This free to do list software allows you to manage your tasks quickly and easily, plan your time, and search across your tasks. This time management tool has much more versatility that the typical paper planner. The sharing task function is a great way to remind others of chores/tasks they need to do. I love that this software even tells me where and when to do the task with the map feature.

Mind42 - A great time management tool to capture your ideas

A mind mapping tool to collect your ideas and visualize them in a way that makes sense. I really like the way that I can organize my thoughts visually and then drill down further into the things that I need to do. It is a great tool to capture your ideas and gain clarity on what needs to be done.

If you liked these time management tools then you will also like how to apply these tools to an overall system.