I use this free to-do list app to track my hectic grad school and freelance schedule – it’s taught me how to balance work and personal time

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• As a grad student who also works, staying organized can feel like a second job.
• I use Todoist, a free app to keep track of my assignments and deadlines for both work and school.
• It helps me break down tasks, set boundaries around time off, and remember how much I get done.

When I started grad school in late August, I had many friends (and people I hardly knew) tell me that I could kiss getting enough sleep goodbye.

This, however, is not an option for me. I have an autoimmune disease and a traumatic brain injury that caused me to develop adult attention deficit disorder. Unfortunately, both also cause me to deal with a lot of concentration issues, which get worse when I don’t sleep enough.

In order to deal with my symptoms and still make sure that I get everything done, I use Todoist, a free app that works on computers and phones that essentially functions, as the name suggests, like a to-do list.

I found Todoist during my last year of undergraduate studies a few years ago when I was trying to balance finishing up that degree with freelance writing work. This app was also a lifesaver for me during the pandemic, when burnout made it difficult for me to concentrate on top of my health issues.

Here’s why I rely on Todoist to manage grad school, part-time work, and freelance assignments:

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It lets me visually set boundaries around different parts of my life.

I split my Todoist, which I use on my computer, into four different sections: One for university work, one for a company where I have ongoing work, one for freelance work, and one for other responsibilities which don’t neatly fit into one category. Whenever I have a new assignment, I add that task to my list of things to do. I find it helpful to have four different sections, as I try to be aware of the progress I’m making in different areas of my work and school life.

It functions as an easy checklist for all the little tasks that can pile up.

One aspect of Todoist that I like is that it is easy to keep track of ongoing and one-off assignments. For example, I have to review submissions and pitches for a media company by each Monday night. So, I have it marked that the task is a weekly occurrence. If I have a one-time task like making edits to an article, the task will go away after I mark it completed.

It helps me break up daunting deadlines into smaller ones.

In order to not get overwhelmed by deadlines occurring on the same, I often give myself fake deadlines on Todoist. For example, if I have a reflection post for school and edits for an article I’m writing for class due both on Tuesday at 5 p.m., I’ll mark to complete and submit the reflection on Friday, and to submit the edits on Monday.

The reason why I give myself fake early deadlines is partially due to the fact that my symptoms from my autoimmune disorder and TBI could lead to me taking a half or full day off. Knowing that I still have time to work on or complete a project the next day makes it a no-brainer for me to change the due date on Todoist.

It reminds me how busy my weeks can get – and how much I get done.

While Todoist helps me keep track of everything that I have to do, it also helps me acknowledge how much work I actually do. I have a goal of the number of tasks I aim to complete each week – at least three per day and 30 per week.

Even with days where I feel like I haven’t done enough, seeing that I finished at least three tasks is a reminder that I do work hard. I also have my account set up so that the app doesn’t expect me to complete work on Saturdays or Sundays (though I have to admit, I often do at least some work on the weekends).

When I need a break, it’s really easy to turn the app off with its “vacation” setting.

Todoist also has a vacation setting that I’ll turn on if I’m taking or sick day, or better yet, actually taking a vacation. I could use Todoist on my phone, but I choose not to because I try to save that device for non-work activities.

The bottom line

I definitely could see myself using Todoist for a long time. By helping me remember to get everything done a few weeks before my final deadlines, it makes it easier to stay organized, taking the stress off my already-full plate.

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