Are you struggling to manage an overflowing calendar? Are looming deadlines and endless to-do lists plaguing your dreams?
I’ve been there. And I can tell you that using a calendar app like Routine is a game changer!
Routine works well as a personal habit tracker and is great for task scheduling and time blocking, but it’s not your only option.
I’ve spent hours testing Routine app alternatives to find an all-in-one platform that works for my personal life and my professional life; Ideally, something that combines the features of a project management tool + habit-tracker + productivity app. And I’m here to share my results!
This post lists the ten best alternatives to Routine in 2024. Hopefully, you’ll find something in here that helps you schedule activities, stay organized, and get stuff done!
10 Routine App Alternatives and Competitors 2024
- What Should You Look for in Routine App Alternatives?
- The 10 Best Routine App Alternatives to Use in 2024
- 1. ClickUp (Best for project time management and collaboration)
- 2. Akiflow (Best for laser focus)
- 3. Todoist (Best for personal organization)
- 4. Asana (Best for team collaboration)
- 5. Habitica (Best for fun habit building)
- 6. Superlist (Best for organized planning)
- 7. HabitHub (Best for building and tracking habits)
- 8. Timestripe (Best for big picture plans)
- 9. Loop (Best for creative collaboration)
- 10. Things 3 (Best for basic needs and usage)
- Master Your Routine Like A Pro With ClickUp
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Routine App Alternatives?
The goal here is to find the right alternative to Routine. But with so many options available, it’s tough to make a choice.
For my list, I began with a set of must-have, non-negotiable features I look for in a productivity tool:
- Task management features: Look for a task management tool that enables you to create, assign, and track tasks with ease, streamlining your workflows and ensuring you miss nothing.
- Centralized dashboard: Opt for apps that provide a centralized overview of all your tasks, projects, and deadlines—a task dashboard, essentially, that gives you instant access to critical information
- Scheduling tools: Stay on top of your work and daily tasks by picking a productivity app with strong scheduling capabilities. Drag-and-drop scheduling often comes in handy, along with options for recurring task options and reminders
- Project management capabilities: Look for Routine alternatives that allow you to create projects with subtasks and dependencies, offer project management templates, and support project planning, tracking, collaboration, and overall task management, whether you’re going solo or working with a team
- Calendar management features: Ensure you pick a productivity tool that can create a project management calendar and integrate seamlessly with other calendars to sync events, deadlines, and tasks
- Organizational tools: Look for apps that offer features such as tags, labels, folders, and custom fields to help you categorize tasks and projects and stay organized
- Time management features: Optimize your time management skills by ensuring that your productivity app helps you analyze exactly how much time you spend on individual tasks
- Communication and collaboration tools: Choose project management software that facilitates seamless communication and collaboration between team members and coworkers with features like comments, mentions, file sharing, and more
- Writing and documenting features: Ensure the app allows for easy document creation, note-taking, editing, and sharing. This is a must-have if you’re on the go often. A tool that comes with pre-built templates is even better
Nothing kicks off a productive day like an energizing morning routine. Check out these suggestions and see what works for you.
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Routine App Alternatives to Use in 2024
Here’s the list of the top 10 routine apps that can boost productivity and refine your task management skills:
1. ClickUp (Best for project time management and collaboration)
ClickUp is a comprehensive productivity platform designed to replace the multiple project management, time management, collaboration, habit tracker, and communication tools we use daily.
As project management software, its features are perfect for task management, goal-setting, and calendar management. But it’s also exceptional as a daily planner app, because it lets you schedule tasks for yourself and your team, create to-do lists that you can share, and set reminders and priorities for important work.
I used ClickUp Docs to organize my plans and ideas, with dedicated sections for specific tasks, sub-tasks, and additional notes.
Docs allows me to write, edit, embed images, and add comments. And with ClickUp Custom Fields, I can create fields for priorities, time required, or any other relevant details.
ClickUp Tasks is great at automating my routine to-dos, setting reminders, and keeping me on track. By combining ClickUp Docs for planning and ClickUp Tasks for execution, I’ve successfully created a system to achieve my goals well within time.
Pro tip: Use ClickUp’s Dependencies feature to ensure tasks are completed in the right order. This is useful for tasks where one step cannot start until the preceding one is completed.
ClickUp Project Management software enhances productivity with tools to streamline project planning, execution, and reporting. With it, I’ve seen a massive improvement in my time management skills.
The platform’s integrated workflows, real-time dashboards, and automation features are every detail-oriented project manager’s dream.
Opening the ClickUp Calendar View every morning is a ritual that gives me a clear picture of my day. I schedule dedicated blocks of time for each task using the drag-and-drop method, which makes it ultra-convenient to move tasks to specific dates and times on the calendar.
I love that I can see all my tasks in a color-coded format, for a quick snapshot of my priorities for the day!
I can also easily connect my external calendars on ClickUp. Integrating my Google Calendar with ClickUp helps me avoid double-booking without having to leave the platform.
When I don’t have the time to build a routine template from scratch—ClickUp’s Templates come to the rescue. With over 100 options, it’s almost hard to choose.
ClickUp Task Management Template is a handy, pre-built central space to manage my workload, visualize my progress, and collaborate effectively with my team. This feature-rich, customizable template comes fully equipped for me to visualize and organize tasks by status, priority, or department.
The template offers a Board view for a Kanban-style workflow, a Calendar view for scheduling tasks, and even a Doc view for adding detailed instructions.
The ClickUp Calendar To Do List Template is also great for routine planning. Whether you need a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly overview, this template will ensure you never miss a deadline.
A personal favorite is being able to check off tasks as I complete them and move them to the ‘Done’ list! Even on busy days, it’s a great way to see how much progress I’ve made and how effective I’ve been at optimizing my daily routine.
Last but certainly not least, I leverage the ClickUp Team Communication and Meeting Matrix Template regularly to enhance collaboration and productivity within my team. It helps me define roles, establish communication guidelines, and set effective meeting schedules.
ClickUp best features
- Document your plans and habits and create wikis through ClickUp Docs
- Keep your routines on track with different ClickUp Views (list, calendar, board) for better visualization and planning
- Turn inspiration and ideas into notes that you can convert into trackable tasks with ClickUp Notepad
- Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals with ClickUp Goals to make sure you’re always working towards the big picture
- Integrate ClickUp with Slack, HubSpot, Google Drive, and other productivity tools
ClickUp limitations
- The feature-rich interface has a bit of a learning curve; though ClickUp University and the ClickUp blog are packed with how-to videos and quick reference guides
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp Brain: Add to any paid plan for $7 per Workspace member per month
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,100+ reviews)
2. Akiflow (Best for laser focus)
Akiflow combines task management and calendars. It lets you see your entire day’s appointments and tasks in one place.
What stands out is its Focus Mode, which hides all distractions, allowing users to delve into a single task with minimal interruptions. It’s perfect for deep work. Akiflow also lets you allocate specific time slots for tasks, saving you time, improving focus, and giving clarity on your workload.
Akiflow best features
- Capture tasks and ideas in one unified location
- Create, edit, or manage tasks and time slots with a few keystrokes
- Integrate tools like Gmail, Slack, etc.
Akiflow limitations
- Akiflow may not be ideal for complex projects requiring extensive collaboration
- It has fewer integrations or functionalities compared to other options
- Some users might experience a steep learning curve
Akiflow pricing
- $13.6/ month
Akiflow ratings and reviews
- G2: 5/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (60+ reviews)
3. Todoist (Best for personal organization)
Todoist is a versatile to-do list app that helps you get things done with maximum efficiency and minimal fuss.
Todoist is ideal for those who want a straightforward to-do list app with added features for prioritization and flexibility. The clean interface makes capturing tasks, setting priorities, and managing your workload easy.
I particularly appreciated that Todoist is accessible across nearly all devices and platforms. It integrates smoothly with various productivity tools and services, allowing me to capture tasks from anywhere and on the go.
Todoist best features
- Organize tasks by project, label, and priority to suit your workflow
- Access your to-do list from anywhere with web, mobile, and desktop apps
- Connect with popular tools like Google Calendar, Slack, and Zapier for a streamlined workflow
Todoist limitations
- Todoist doesn’t have time-blocking or collaboration features
- Not suitable for managing larger team-related projects
- While Todoist integrates with some calendars, it doesn’t offer two-way sync with Google Calendar; so changes made in Todoist won’t necessarily show up in Google Calendar and vice versa
Todoist pricing
- Beginner: Free
- Pro: $5/month
- Business: $8/month
Todoist ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (790+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (2400+ reviews)
4. Asana (Best for team collaboration)
Asana excels at project management and building a collaborative workplace. Teams of all sizes use it to control projects and track progress.
I found Asana works well for teams looking to scale. Its robust features and functionalities make it a strong contender in the project management space. It helps users track work from start to finish so every team member stays in sync. Whether it’s a status update or a change in timelines, you can coordinate and communicate every element with your team.
One of Asana’s core functionalities is the Home dashboard, which provides a centralized view of upcoming tasks across all projects. This consolidated overview, alongside the comprehensive calendar (a feature similar to ClickUp’s offering), helps users manage their workload and streamline their work.
Asana best features
- Choose from a list, board, calendar, or timeline view to visualize projects according to your needs
- Automate repetitive tasks and workflows to save time and maintain consistency
- Track project progress, identify bottlenecks, and gain insights with reporting features
Asana limitations
- The free plan restricts some core features like team size and project collaborators
- Due to its siloed structure, managing multiple projects is complex. Consolidating project calendars, for instance, fragments overall visibility (something that ClickUp’s ‘Everything’ view solved for me by unifying tasks and deadlines)
Asana pricing
- Personal: Free
- Starter: $13.49/month
- Advanced: $30.49/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Asana ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (10000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (12500+ reviews)
5. Habitica (Best for fun habit building)
With its gamified interface, Habitica offers an engaging way to build good habits and achieve goals over the course of your daily routine. It’s a good option for those who find traditional productivity tools and methods dry or uninteresting. Habitica is based on the premise that simple daily habits maximize productivity, so it gamifies these habits.
The tool’s in-game rewards are like having a cheerleader by your side, keeping you motivated and encouraging you. By turning your goals into a game on Habitica, you can look forward to tackling them.
Habitica best features
- Adds a layer of fun to productivity goal chasing; you battle monsters as you complete tasks
- Set daily and weekly to-do tasks alongside habits you want to build or break
- Personalize your character, rewards, and habits to fit your preferences
Habitica limitations
- The gamified elements can be distracting for some users
- There are no effective note-taking strategies
- The punishment system in the game might make people afraid of messing up, leading them to quit or cheat to avoid penalties
Habitica pricing
- Individual: Free plan
- Group: $9/month + $3 per member/month
Habitica ratings and reviews
- G2: Not enough reviews
- Capterra: NA
6. Superlist (Best for organized planning)
Superlist combines task management with note-taking capabilities for individuals and teams to plan and organize projects and collaborate on ideas. It offers a unified platform for basic project management and allows users to separate personal and business tasks.
I found its AI feature helpful, as it suggests tasks and subtasks based on past behavior and priorities. Superlist’s quick command shortcut on the web app is also handy if you want to create tasks quickly. Overall, the user experience of Shortlist makes it a good mobile to-do app.
Superlist best features
- Organize tasks with lists, subtasks, and due dates to complete tasks, while using notes to brainstorm ideas
- Share lists and notes with team members for real-time collaboration on projects
- Access Superlist data from anywhere with web, mobile, and desktop apps
Superlist limitations
- Superlist doesn’t offer functionalities like time blocking, advanced reporting, or complex workflow automation
- Collaboration features like shared lists are limited in the free version
- Managing large or intricate projects might require some adaptation
Superlist pricing
- Free plan
- Pro: $10/month per member
- Pro Team: $12/month per member
Superlist ratings and reviews
- G2: NA
- Capterra: NA
7. HabitHub (Best for building and tracking habits)
If you’re looking for a serious habit formation and habit tracker app, HabitHub is a good option. It offers tools to create personalized plans and track progress for users looking to establish and maintain discipline and routine in their lives.
While HabitHub works for personal and professional development goals, users seem to prefer it for the latter. HabitHub encourages users to build uninterrupted streaks of practicing a certain habit. These streaks motivate you to keep moving forward.
HabitHub best features
- Set routines, identify triggers that threaten your desired habits, and track frequency
- Access visually appealing charts and graphs that depict progress over days, weeks, or months
- Connect with fitness trackers and wearables to import data
HabitHub limitations
- Focuses only on habit building, with basic to-do list functionalities
- Not designed for teamwork or shared goals
- Customization options are limited for complex routines
HabitHub pricing
- Free mobile app
Habit Hub reviews and ratings
- G2: NA
- Capterra: NA
8. Timestripe (Best for big picture plans)
Timestripe lets you visualize goal planning and achievement in a way that juxtaposes your long-term vision alongside the daily tasks that will get you there. With Timestripe, you can plan across different timescales—from daily planning to immediate to-dos to long-term aspirations. This creates a holistic view of your goals as you progress toward them.
If you’re looking for a basic goal planning and habit tracker tool, Timestripe is a good choice. Users are drawn to its attractive visual design, habit-building features, and the ability to set long-term goals.
Timestripe best features
- Combine habit-building with goal achievement for a well-rounded approach to personal growth
- Navigate a clean layout that makes planning and progress easy to track
- Break down large goals into actionable steps and capture details for each objective
Timestripe limitations
- Features might require some familiarization compared to simpler task management apps.
- Habit tracking and some advanced features might be restricted to the paid version.
- Timestripe is currently geared towards individual planning, not teamwork.
Timestripe pricing
- Free
- Paid plan: $15/month
Timestripe ratings and reviews
- G2: Not enough reviews
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
9. Loop (Best for creative collaboration)
Loop by Microsoft lets teams plan, work, and brainstorm in real time on shared projects. I was able to comment on my teammates’ activities and edit them within the Loop workspace.
It’s a great app for projects that require teamwork. If you need to, you can integrate project management tools with Loop to jump across tasks without disrupting your workflow. Loop offers a streamlined experience for those within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Loop best features
- Work synchronously on projects with others, ditching the back-and-forth between different apps
- Overcome creative roadblocks with AI Copilot’s suggestions and prompts
- Find pre-built templates to jumpstart different project types
Loop limitations
- Loop is similar to existing collaboration tools like Notion or Google Docs, which means users have little incentive to switch
- If you’re not familiar with the Microsoft ecosystem, Loop’s interface and features might take some getting used to
- It’s more suitable for work purposes; it’s harder to customize for individual use cases
Loop pricing
- Loop is bundled along with Microsoft 265 Business plans
Loop ratings and reviews
- G2: NA
- Capterra: NA
10. Things 3 (Best for basic needs and usage)
Things 3 excels at boiling task management software down to its most simple, fundamental elements. Its polished user interface caters to users who value a clear overview with a focus on getting things done.
With Things 3, you can quickly add tasks with intuitive features like Quick Entry and keyboard shortcuts. The ‘Today’ view helps you prioritize the most critical tasks for the current day, keeping you focused and on track.
Things 3 best features
- Organize tasks using areas, projects, and tags for a structured approach to your to-do list
- Analyze completed tasks and identify areas for improvement in your workflow
Things 3 limitations
- Things 3 is currently limited to the iOS ecosystem (Apple devices)
- It lacks features for collaborating or sharing tasks with others
- You can add file attachments or avail of advanced scheduling options
Things 3 pricing
- iOS app: $49.99
Things 3 ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (25+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (140+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseMaster Your Routine Like A Pro With ClickUp
We all approach productivity differently. As you scout the market for tools to maximize your productivity, pick one that caters to your individual needs and working style. Once you have the right tool in place to manage your habits, tasks, and schedule, you can try incorporating project management hacks to further boost your efficiency.
Start your journey to super productivity by listing down your long-term goals. Then, figure out how to break down those overarching goals into tasks and sub-tasks that you perform alone or in collaboration with others. Prioritize these activities based on logic and what will get you to your goals faster.
As far as alternatives to Routine go, ClickUp stands out as a clear winner to me. It offers users a mind-boggling array of customizations and features so you can use it in the way that works best for you—for running large-scale projects, building a campaign plan, or kickstarting that reading habit.
Sign up on ClickUp for free today and turn into a productivity powerhouse!
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
