Time blocking turns your calendar into a commitment device. Instead of maintaining a never-ending to-do list and hoping you'll get to things, you assign specific time slots to each task. This forces you to think realistically about how long things actually take and what you can accomplish in a day.
The method works because it creates boundaries. When you block 9-10am for focused writing, that hour belongs to writing. Not email. Not Slack. Not the fifteen other things competing for your attention. It's a way of saying no to everything except the one thing you committed to.
Time blocking apps take this analog planning technique and add features that paper planners can't match. They pull in tasks from other tools, sync across devices, automatically adjust when meetings run long, and track how you actually spend your time versus how you planned to spend it.
We tested these apps by actually using them for daily planning over several weeks. The criteria: Does the time blocking feel natural or forced? Can you quickly reschedule when plans change? Does it integrate with the other tools you already use? And critically, does it help you get more done without adding friction to your workflow?
How We Chose These Time Blocking Apps
Picking a time blocking app isn't just about finding something with calendar features. The best ones understand that time blocking is a specific workflow with specific needs.
First, we looked at calendar integration quality. Most people already have calendars full of meetings, appointments, and commitments. A good time blocking app needs to work alongside your existing calendar, not replace it. We tested how well each app synced with Google Calendar and Outlook, whether two-way sync actually worked, and if conflicts between time blocks and calendar events were handled gracefully.
Task consolidation mattered a lot. If you're using Asana for project management, Gmail for email tasks, and Notion for personal projects, your time blocking app needs to pull all those tasks into one view. Otherwise you're maintaining multiple systems and probably missing things. We evaluated how many integrations each app offered and how well they actually worked in practice.
Flexibility when plans change was critical. Time blocking looks great on Sunday night when you plan your week. By Tuesday afternoon, three meetings have moved, a client emergency popped up, and half your blocks are irrelevant. The best apps make it easy to drag blocks around, automatically suggest new times, or quickly reschedule without starting from scratch.
We also considered the learning curve. Some apps require extensive setup and configuration before they're useful. Others work immediately but lack depth for power users. The sweet spot depends on your needs, so we noted which apps favor simplicity versus customization.
Pricing played a role too. Time blocking apps range from free to $30+ per month. We looked at what you get at each tier, whether free plans are actually usable, and if premium features justify their cost for different user types.
Top Picks
Here are the winners:
Best Overall - Akiflow
Best Runner Up - Morgen
Best for AI Planning - Motion
Best for Value - Todoist
Best for ADHD - Sunsama
Best for Mindfulness - Sunsama
Best for Teams - Motion
Best for Students - Todoist
These are our recommendations from testing these apps in real workflows over several weeks.
1. Akiflow
Best Overall
Akiflow combines task management with calendar-based time blocking in a way that feels natural rather than forced. It's built specifically for people who want to plan their days by blocking time, not just maintaining lists.
The core feature is task consolidation. Akiflow pulls tasks from apps like ClickUp, Asana, Gmail, Slack, and Notion into a unified inbox. This means you can time block everything you need to do without manually copying tasks between systems. The integrations work in real-time, so new tasks show up immediately.
Time slots are Akiflow's standout feature. You create a slot labeled something like "Admin Work" or "Client Projects" and drag related tasks into it. This works brilliantly when you have multiple small tasks that belong together. Instead of blocking separate 15-minute chunks for five admin tasks, you block one hour and batch them.
The time tracking integration tracks how long you actually spend on tasks versus what you planned. This data helps you get better at estimating over time. If you consistently underestimate how long client calls take, the data shows it clearly.
Rituals are daily prompts that help you review and plan. Morning ritual asks what you want to accomplish. Evening ritual reviews what you finished and what carried over. It's optional but useful for maintaining the time blocking habit.
Downsides? The price is steep at $19 per month annually or $34 monthly. The interface takes some getting used to because it's dense with features. And the mobile app, while functional, doesn't match the desktop experience.
Best for busy professionals who need to consolidate tasks from multiple tools, people with ADHD who benefit from reduced context switching, and anyone willing to invest time learning a powerful system. If you want something simple that works immediately, this isn't it. But if you want deep control over your time blocks, Akiflow delivers.
2. Morgen Calendar
Best Runner Up
Morgen is a calendar app first, time blocking tool second. That focus means the calendar experience is polished and fast, with time blocking features layered on top.
The AI Planner is what sets Morgen apart. You tell it your work patterns - maybe you do focused work best in the morning and admin tasks in the afternoon. The AI then schedules tasks from your list into appropriate time slots automatically. It's not perfect, but it saves the tedious work of manually dragging every task onto your calendar.
Task consolidation works similarly to Akiflow, pulling in tasks from other apps. The integration list is shorter than Akiflow's, but it covers the major tools most people use. Tasks appear in a sidebar where you can manually drag them to time blocks or let the AI schedule them.
Calendar sets are useful if you manage multiple calendars. You can create sets like "Work" or "Personal" that show only relevant calendars, reducing visual clutter. Switching between sets is fast, making it easy to context-switch between different areas of life.
The scheduling links feature helps you book meetings with external people without the usual email tennis. They pick a time from your available slots, and it automatically creates a time block.
The main limitation is the design, which some people find less intuitive than competitors. The AI Planner also requires teaching it your preferences before it becomes useful, so there's a learning period.
Pricing is $15 per month, which sits between Akiflow and cheaper options.
Best for people who want AI assistance with time blocking but still want manual control, calendar power users who manage multiple calendars, and anyone who schedules lots of external meetings. If you don't care about AI scheduling, you're paying for features you won't use.
3. Motion
AI Time Blocking
Motion takes a different approach to time blocking by leaning heavily into AI automation. Instead of manually blocking time for every task, you tell Motion what needs to get done and when, and it builds your schedule automatically.
The AI considers task priority, deadlines, estimated duration, and your calendar availability. When a meeting gets added or moved, Motion automatically reschedules affected time blocks. When you mark a task complete, it fills the freed time with the next priority item.
This works great for people who struggle with the planning overhead of traditional time blocking. You maintain a prioritized task list, and Motion handles the calendar Tetris. The downside is less control over exactly when things happen. Sometimes Motion schedules focused work at times you'd prefer for admin tasks, and you need to manually override it.
Project management features are built in, which is unusual for time blocking apps. You can break projects into tasks, set dependencies, and track deadlines. Motion uses this structure to schedule project work intelligently.
Team features include shared projects, task assignment, and visibility into team capacity. This makes Motion one of the few time blocking apps that works for teams, not just individuals.
The price is $34 per month for individuals or $12 per user per month for teams. That's expensive, but you're paying for the AI scheduling and project management, not just time blocking.
Best for people who want to delegate scheduling decisions to AI, teams that need shared visibility into capacity and workload, and anyone managing complex projects with dependencies. If you want manual control over your schedule or prefer simple tools, Motion's automation might feel restrictive.
4. Sunsama
Mindful Planner
Sunsama approaches time blocking through the lens of mindfulness and intentionality. The app is designed to help you plan realistically and work sustainably, not cram more tasks into every hour.
Daily planning ritual is central to Sunsama's approach. Each day starts with reviewing your calendar, pulling in tasks from integrated apps, and consciously deciding what you'll commit to. The interface guides you through this process step by step. It feels more intentional than just dumping tasks onto a calendar.
Task imports work like other apps, pulling from Asana, Trello, Gmail, and similar tools. The difference is Sunsama encourages you to review and contextualize each task during planning rather than automatically scheduling everything.
Time blocking happens by dragging tasks onto your calendar. The interface clearly shows how much time you've committed versus how many hours you actually have available. This prevents over-planning, which is easy to do with traditional to-do lists.
Weekly reviews prompt you to reflect on what you accomplished, what you didn't, and why. This meta-level thinking helps you improve at estimating and planning over time.
The design is calm and uncluttered, which some people love and others find too minimal. There's less visual information density than apps like Akiflow, which means less cognitive load but also fewer features visible at once.
Pricing is $20 per month annually or $30 monthly. That's expensive for what's essentially a thoughtful wrapper around calendar and task integration.
Best for people prone to overcommitting who need help planning realistically, anyone dealing with burnout who wants a more sustainable approach to productivity, and people with ADHD who benefit from structured planning routines. If you want speed and efficiency over mindfulness, Sunsama's deliberate pace might feel slow.
5. Routine
Daily Planner
Routine combines tasks, calendar, and notes into one app built for time blocking workflows. The idea is to reduce the number of apps you need open while working.
Calendar integration connects to Google Calendar and Outlook, showing all your meetings and events. You time block by creating tasks and assigning them time slots on your calendar. The process is straightforward without much magic or automation.
Notes can be attached to tasks or calendar blocks. This is useful for capturing meeting notes directly on calendar events or adding context to tasks you're about to start. Notes support markdown and basic formatting.
Task capture is fast with keyboard shortcuts and quick add features. You can create a task with a time block in seconds without taking your hands off the keyboard. This speed matters when you're in the middle of work and need to quickly schedule something.
The console feature shows upcoming time blocks and tasks in a focused view. It's similar to a daily dashboard showing just what matters for today, filtered from all your commitments.
Limitations include fewer integrations than competitors and no mobile app. If you need to time block from your phone, Routine doesn't work. The design is clean but some features feel unfinished compared to more mature apps.
Pricing isn't publicly listed on their website, which is annoying. Based on user reports, it's around $12 per month.
Best for people who want to consolidate tasks, calendar, and notes in one place, keyboard-focused users who work primarily from desktop, and anyone tired of switching between multiple productivity apps. If you need mobile access or extensive integrations, look elsewhere.
6. Todoist
Best for Value
Todoist isn't purpose-built for time blocking, but its calendar integration and board view make it surprisingly effective for this workflow.
Board view lets you see tasks organized by date in a Kanban-style layout. You can drag tasks between days to reschedule them, essentially creating time blocks at the day level rather than hour level. This works well if you don't need minute-by-minute scheduling.
Calendar sync (available on Pro plan) shows tasks as events on your Google Calendar or Outlook calendar. You can set specific times for tasks in Todoist, and they appear as time blocks on your calendar. It's a simpler implementation than dedicated time blocking apps, but it covers the basics.
Natural language input makes task creation fast. Type "Call client tomorrow at 2pm" and Todoist parses it correctly. This speed is essential for time blocking because you're constantly adjusting and adding tasks as plans change.
The advantage of using Todoist for time blocking is that it's a fully-featured task manager first. You get projects, labels, filters, priorities, and everything else Todoist offers. The time blocking features feel like a bonus rather than the core purpose.
Downsides? The time blocking experience isn't as refined as dedicated apps. You can't easily create time slots or batch similar tasks. There's no time tracking. And the free plan doesn't include calendar sync, so you need Pro at $4 per month.
Best for people who want a solid task manager that happens to support basic time blocking, students and budget-conscious users who find $4/month more reasonable than $15-30/month, and anyone who prefers simplicity over specialized features.
Which Time Blocking App Should You Choose?
Your ideal time blocking app depends on how you work and what you're trying to solve.
If you're juggling tasks across multiple tools and need everything in one place, Akiflow is worth the price. The task consolidation and time slots features are unmatched. Yes, it's expensive and has a learning curve, but it's the most powerful option for complex workflows.
If you want AI to handle the scheduling busywork, try Morgen for a balance of automation and control, or Motion if you want full AI scheduling. Morgen costs less and keeps you more in control. Motion is better for teams or anyone managing complex projects with dependencies.
If you struggle with overcommitting or burnout, Sunsama's mindful approach might click. The daily planning ritual forces realistic assessment of what you can actually accomplish. It's slower and more deliberate than other apps, which is either a feature or a bug depending on your needs.
If you want something simple and cheap, Todoist offers basic time blocking as part of a great task manager. You won't get time slots, AI scheduling, or advanced features, but for $4/month you get enough to make time blocking work.
For keyboard-focused workers who hate switching apps, Routine consolidates tasks, calendar, and notes. The lack of mobile app is a dealbreaker for some, but if you work primarily from a computer, it might not matter.
Honestly, the best approach might be trying free trials of your top two choices and seeing which workflow feels natural. Time blocking is personal, and what works for productivity YouTubers might drive you nuts in practice.
Time Blocking Apps FAQ
What's the difference between time blocking and regular task management?
Task management is maintaining a list of things to do. Time blocking is assigning specific time slots to those tasks on your calendar. The difference matters because time blocking forces you to think about when you'll do things, not just what needs doing. Most people can list fifty tasks. Actually scheduling fifty tasks shows you that's impossible in a week, forcing prioritization.
Do I need a special app for time blocking or can I just use Google Calendar?
You can absolutely time block with Google Calendar alone. Create calendar events for tasks instead of just meetings. The limitation is that managing tasks as calendar events gets messy fast. Dedicated apps pull tasks from your existing tools, make rescheduling easier, and separate time blocks from actual calendar events visually.
Is time blocking worth it for people with ADHD?
Many people with ADHD find time blocking helpful because it creates structure and removes decision fatigue about what to work on next. Apps like Sunsama and Akiflow are particularly good because they reduce context switching and provide clear visual representations of time. That said, some people with ADHD find the planning overhead frustrating. Your mileage may vary.
How long should each time block be?
Most productivity advice suggests 25-90 minute blocks for focused work. Shorter blocks for quick tasks, longer blocks for deep work. In practice, the right length depends on the task and your attention span. Some apps like Akiflow let you create flexible time slots, while others expect you to specify exact durations. Experiment and see what actually works for your work patterns.
What happens when my schedule changes and all my time blocks are wrong?
This is why the ability to quickly reschedule matters so much. Apps like Motion automatically adjust time blocks when your calendar changes. Others like Akiflow make it easy to drag blocks to new times. The worst apps require manually deleting and recreating blocks, which is tedious enough that people stop using the system. Test how an app handles rescheduling before committing.
Can I time block for a team or is it just for individuals?
Most time blocking apps focus on individual use, but Motion includes team features like shared projects and capacity planning. If you need team-level time blocking, Motion is the main option. Otherwise, teams typically use project management tools and individuals do their own time blocking separately.
Final Thoughts
Time blocking apps work best when they match your natural workflow rather than forcing you to adapt to their system. Akiflow is powerful but complex. Sunsama is intentional but slow. Motion is automated but less controllable. Todoist is simple but limited.
Start with the app that solves your biggest pain point. If you're drowning in tasks scattered across tools, Akiflow's consolidation matters more than its learning curve. If you chronically over-schedule yourself, Sunsama's mindful approach is worth the deliberate pace.
The time blocking method itself matters more than which app you use. Even a basic implementation in Google Calendar beats a sophisticated setup you abandon after two weeks. Pick something, stick with it for at least a month, and adjust based on what actually works in your daily reality.