Tech Tip — My Essential App Suite: Tools for Task Management, Notes, and Calendar for 2026

According to research by Asana, the average knowledge worker spends 58% of their day on "work about work" shuffling between apps, managing notifications, and color-coding to-do lists, rather than doing the skilled work they were hired for.

While that seems like a shocking statistic, it also feels all too accurate. I cannot imagine what that looks like when you throw email management into that equation. I have found myself in that group for sure. There is something exciting about the idea and thought of downloading a new application, trying something new that will be just what you needed to finally get caught up or organized. However, in most cases that doesn’t work out that way. Suddenly, you’re in that 58% statistic.

I have started to simplify my application and technology stack for getting my work done. It's not perfect, and I'm often tempted to try new things, but I think I’ve found a better approach. For today’s article, I will share where I have landed on my technology stack, what changes I’ve made this year, and my plans for next year. Additionally, I hope I can help you complete a technology stack review and plan for what you need to set yourself up for a fantastic year ahead.

My Current Apps and Processes

In some ways, I feel like I have simplified my application experience on my devices. But as I say that and begin to take stock in what I am using, it is less about simplicity, and more about consistency. I am no longer bouncing around a lot to different things. I have built a solid routine with the tools I have. Don’t get me wrong, I am still tempted by others, and continually evaluating what I have. The change comes from not acting on some of those instincts.

Staying Organized

I have landed on using two different to do applications. Yep, right out of the gate, you’re asking, “how is that simple?” Fair challenge. I have made a clean break between home lists and work lists. I moved all my work items to Todoist, and I have any shared lists and mostly home related items in Apple Reminders.

Todoist is an excellent application. I have covered it in detail before as a Tech Tip, and I recently shared some initial thoughts on their new ‘Ramble’ feature. This new feature is likely the biggest reason I will stick with Todoist. I just received an email from them about an upcoming price change. My $38 per year subscription will be going to $60 per year. But the new Ramble functionality is the best use of AI assisted tasking that I have seen anywhere yet. You really can just ramble on about what you need to do, and then assign it to projects, with due dates, and priority without touching the keyboard. I was walking back to the hotel the other day and was able to speak the tasks I needed to follow up on and never touch the screen of my phone. It worked great. They have made notable improvements even since I wrote the article. Suddenly, that option is far more valuable than it originally was, and will keep my connected to the app.

Apple Reminders remains a solid task management app, and I truly believe that for most users it will be all they need. It is so close to being the to do list for everyone. If they can get Siri or Apple Intelligence working the way it should, then it arguably will be the best tool available for anyone with an iPhone. It should be able to do all the things Todoist’s Ramble is doing. It should even do it better. In theory, Apple Intelligence already knows more about what you are working on, what’s on your calendar, what’s in your email and more. When they can connect all those dots together, it can be an extremely powerful assistant, and not just a simple task manager.

The other reason I like Apple Reminders is how easy it is to share lists. Since I use this mostly for things related to home, I can share several lists with my wife. That keeps everything aligned for things we need to do, whether it's groceries, things from Costco, or things for our business. That is the one crossover between work and business. Shared tasks for our company are in Reminders. That prevents her from having to use something else just for a few tasks that we both need visibility to. So, it works out well in that regard.

My Calendar

I moved to Fantastical earlier this year as my primary calendar application. The allure of natural language appointment entry was very high, and it works exceptionally well. It is a beautiful app on all Apple devices and has essentially any calendar functionality you could need. I also like and appreciate that it can be used as an appointment management system. This provides anyone you select to have a view of your calendar availability and book appointments with you without further intervention. That is a huge time saver and an important resource when working with outside organizations and people. So much back and forth is saved.

That said, I am not sure that this will be one I renew for next year. Many of those features are now coming to other calendar apps that are either built into the operating system or that I already have access to. For example, the ability to show your availability and book appointments is offered through Google Calendar. Busy Cal, another application that I have free access to via SetApp, offers much of the same toolset as Fantastical. So, while I think Fantastical looks better and handles the language parsing better than any other application, I am not convinced it is worth the $58 per year premium.

Keeping Notes

Everyone needs a Notes application. I have stuck with Apple Notes and do not see that changing. The convenience of having cross device access with immediate syncing is critical. It works flawlessly across all my Apple devices. I still have some tweaking to do on how I manage the notes within the application, but all the functionality and options I need exist, so this is an easy decision to stick with this one. Plain and simple, you really don’t need many fancy things for easy note management.

Where I do expect to increase my usage for things related to notes is Notion. I do want to expand how that application is used to help manage my business and share documents with multiple people. I see this functioning more like an internal intranet than a place to store everyday notes. But the flexibility with display and layout options makes this a powerful and useful tool. I am just trying to avoid overcomplicating things, which is a downside to Notion. It offers so many different ways to capture and track information, it is easy to get lost in the management of it versus the practical use.

Writing

For all my longer-form writing, I use an application called Ulysses. I have covered that before as well, and you can read the details on that here. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the application. Well, maybe not hate. There are some minor annoyances that I come across with the app, especially on the iPad. But overall, this is still one of the best writing apps out there. It is highly flexible and continues to be developed and improved. That is always a good sign for an application. I do not anticipate changing from this, but I will likely explore Craft as a possible back up option to compare the two.

Recommendations

That is a look at my work stack of applications. The biggest recommendation I can provide is to try a few things, and stick with what works best for you. There are no one-size fits all applications. I find that most people, including myself, who try to make one thing be the one app to rule them all get frustrated by the shortcomings of pieces and part of that approach. It is not that difficult to switch between applications, and finding apps that are designed to do what you want will always prove to be the best option. Then, it is just a matter of determining your budget and willingness to pay for certain applications. To me, Apple Notes is a perfect example of where there are very few paid apps that stand out so much better than Apple’s built-in solution that it just doesn’t make sense to pay for something else. Use cases vary, so you may find you need something more powerful, but I’d highly recommend trying any free, built in applications first.

Sound Advice

Some of the best advice I have heard on managing your application choices and approach to work in your own ecosystem comes from David Sparks, an Apple enthusiast and podcaster. He runs the MacSparky website and has several great tools for working within the Apple world. His approach is to only allow a change to applications once per year. He looks at options throughout the year, then takes some time in December to review or test, then decides on what he is going forward with for the year ahead. And he sticks to it. No changes back and forth throughout the year. I think makes a ton of sense and keeps you from getting caught in a contestant testing cycle. This inevitably will slow down your ability to get really good at the application and process work you’re doing. That is certainly my approach now, and I am already seeing the benefits of do it.

How about you? What apps make up your personal technology stack? What changes are you making for next year?

Get leadership tips and new articles you can use directly to your inbox. Join the thousands of other leaders continuing your leadership development journey with **Effective Retail Leader.com. **

DISCLAIMER: I participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Other links to third-party products and services may also be affiliate links.