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June 7, 2025
For a long time I wondered if I was simply immune to the productivity benefits of to-do list apps since they didnât actually help me complete my goals in the long-term. It seemed like if I wasnât able to complete a task right away, it would disappear into the ether, never to be seen again or ultimately completed.
Then a colleague suggested TickTick to me in 2018. The app impressed me so much that I use it to this day even though more recent productivity apps have launched on the market â it has become one of the free apps I canât live without.
A common problem I encounter when using productivity apps is that they try to do too much at once and it actually takes some time to set them up and get acquainted with their features. Considering I have ADHD, an app that can help me keep organized makes my life easier. But at the same time, I get overwhelmed when thereâs too much information to take in and too much to learn in a short period of time.
It also means that when a task is not front-and-center, I will often forget about it. You canât count on me to open an app daily to check my reminders if itâs not already in my daily routine.
And thatâs where TickTick excels â itâs simple and intuitive and doesnât force you to get to grips with all of its features at once. In fact, you donât need to even create an account to get started. You simply install the app and start adding tasks right away. These tasks can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. For example, I usually set my tasks to be a simple text note that pops up at a certain time. But if you want to categorize your reminders, you can add tags, subtasks, priority flags, and attachments. You can also assign them to specific lists if you want to organize your tasks further. For example, I have lists for Shopping, Work, and Personal items.
Other features include a calendar view (though some calendar views are locked behind a paywall), a habit tracker, an Eisenhower Matrix tab, and a newly launched countdown feature. But I mostly use it for the reminder features, in conjunction with other free apps that keep me organized.
When I set reminders, they also live in my notification bar, even if I dismiss the initial popup. This takes care of the problem of needing a task to remain front-and-center. Whenever I check my phone, the list of daily tasks is there waiting for me.
Besides its simple yet powerful interface, thereâs another feature that keeps me coming back to TickTick â the ability to snooze my notifications. This is the first thing that set apart the app for me and it ensured that even if I couldnât get to a task right away, I would be reminded of it later.
You could argue that this just feeds into my habit of procrastinating, but more often than not, it gives me the time to prepare for the task and get started. For example, I may get a reminder to email someone when Iâm not currently at my desk â so I can snooze it for 15 minutes while I finish my coffee and turn my PC on.
If I realize I wonât be getting to my task that day, I can snooze it to ping me the next day instead. This is perfect on days where something interrupts my schedule or I end up with an unexpected migraine and canât complete my tasks for the day.
At the same time, the app doesnât constantly send me notifications for lower priority tasks. If it did, the notifications would actually hamper my productivity rather than bolster it. I have a reminder for a blog post that has been sitting in my TickTick inbox for weeks, but thatâs not due to me forgetting it, but me struggling to find the time to complete it. So I let it sit in my inbox so that it stays in the periphery of tasks I must eventually accomplish, without it becoming a nuisance that causes me to prematurely dismiss it.
So if TickTick is such a great app, why donât I subscribe to the premium plan? This mostly has to do with my own personal preferences and keeping my software subscriptions to a minimum. There was a time I was subscribed to the appâs premium plan, but I ended up canceling my subscription because I wasnât using the premium features enough to justify the cost.
That said, I do think that TickTickâs premium version is one of the better options out there if youâre looking for a to-do list app that can integrate with other software and sync multiple calendars. The annual plan costs $35.99, making it more affordable than many of its alternatives. With the premium version, you get access to more calendar views, the filter feature, more lists, more active tasks, the Constant Reminder feature, and more attachments per day.
Since I value TickTickâs simplicity, its free plan does more than enough for me. I am also able to sync my smartphoneâs local calendars without needing the premium plan. But if you like TickTick and you just want to extend its functionality, then Iâd recommend trying out its premium version.
While TickTick is perfect for my needs, you might still be on the lookout for other to-do list apps that have certain features or integrations. While the premium version of TickTick supports integration with calendars and more calendar views, not everyone wants to have to pay for a reminder app.
If TickTick isnât for you, consider one of these alternatives:
Each to-do list app has its strength and weaknesses, but I find that TickTick is the most feature-rich while also addressing the specific pain points I have with reminder apps. Then again, you could always get ChatGPT to send you reminders.