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Time Management with AI: Tools & Tips

Time Management with AI: Tools & Tips

Judy Tsuei
Writer
June 20, 2023
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Time Management with AI: Tools & Tips
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5 Ways to Supercharge Your Time Management with AI

Most people have a love-hate relationship with time management. Who doesn’t love the idea of being ultra productive, never stressed, and always put-together? (You know, that version of yourself promised by personal development books.) On the other hand, many of us know that time management requires work. Between time-blocking and color-coding, the sheer effort it takes to manage our time effectively can feel like an uphill battle, dampening any motivation for change.

If time management has never come easily to you, you’re in luck. Thanks to AI, it’s now possible to become a time management pro — all without creating any more work for yourself. We’ll show you how!

In this guide, you’ll discover:

  • 5 non-chat ways AI can make your life easier 
  • 5 AI tools that’ll revolutionize the way you work

How exactly can AI help me manage my time better?

1. Automated scheduling

Take a few seconds to think about your current scheduling workflow. Does it involve several emails? Several apps (email, Zoom, and calendar app)? Do you often sacrifice your dedicated focus time for last-minute meetings? Thankfully, many AI tools exist to simplify the scheduling process, using algorithms to arrange the day for you.

2. Prioritization of tasks

Is your to-do list often overwhelming? Some productivity tools leverage the power of AI to analyze task lists in real-time, prioritizing items according to their due dates, statuses, and more. AI-powered prioritization helps you manage tasks and tackle work in the most effective way possible, so you can make the most of your time and energy.

3. Time tracking

You can’t get better at time management without understanding your current habits, which is precisely what time tracking apps help you accomplish. AI-powered time tracking tools help you gain insight into where your time is going — all without having to deal with a manual timer. Some apps (like Timely, which we discuss below) even generate timesheets using AI. Less busywork is always a win!

4. Personalized reminders

Like a great assistant, AI can offer personalized reminders that help you stay on track. You can tailor these notifications according to your preferences and get them delivered through various channels, like email or Slack.

5. Email management

For most, email takes a big bite out of the day. So it’s no surprise that time management and email management go hand-in-hand. Artificial intelligence can help you write, organize, and prioritize your emails automatically — so you can spend less time in your inbox.

Best AI time management tools

Nex up: our top five tools to help you manage your time more effectively, with the help of AI.

  1. Clockwise: best AI calendar and scheduling tool
  2. Motion: best for task management and automatic time-blocking
  3. Wrike: best for project management
  4. Timely: best for time tracking
  5. Superhuman: best for email management

1. Clockwise: best AI calendar and scheduling tool 

Clockwise is a time orchestration platform. It uses artificial intelligence to learn how you and your team like to work — then uses that knowledge to design your ideal day, laid out in color-coded goodness. Use Clockwise to schedule and protect uninterrupted blocks of Focus Time. Use it to find the best time for you and other team members to meet. Use it to automate your entire scheduling workflow. Even better, meet the Clockwise AI Scheduler, which builds the chat-based capabilities of GPT right into Clockwise’s already-powerful platform for a scheduling experience unlike any scheduling tool you’ve ever tried.

Highlights:

  • Syncs with your Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook account
  • Offers integrations with Asana and your Slack workspace
  • Allows you to schedule via chat using natural language processing

Pricing:

  • You can start using Clockwise for free today. The free plan comes with Clockwise’s core functionality: unlimited access to lunch holds, flexible holds, travel time holds, personal calendar sync, and smart meeting breaks. Free users also have limited access to Clockwise Links. Upgrade to Teams or Business for calendar automation features, Focus Time, and more. The Teams plan costs $6.75 per user per month, billed annually.

scheduling ai tool

2. Motion: best for task management and automatic time-blocking

Motion is an all-in-one calendar and project management app. It takes your meetings and to-do lists and creates a schedule for you, so you never have to spend time planning. It’s especially helpful for people who struggle with indecision and spend a lot of time wondering what to do next. 

Highlights:

  • No more to-do lists in disorganized note-taking apps — Motion automatically schedules your tasks and activities using AI
  • Understands how to prioritize tasks
  • Built-in Meeting Scheduler, which simplifies the scheduling process between team members

Pricing:

  • Motion offers an Individual plan ($19 per month, billed annually) and Team plan ($12 per user per month, billed annually). Both include automated scheduling and planning with AI.

3. Wrike: best for project management

If you’re looking for an AI-powered project management tool, Wrike is an excellent option. It offers all the core features teams need to plan projects, organize work, and track progress. But it also includes Wrike’s Work Intelligence feature set, which uses a powerful combination of artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline team collaboration, workflows, and more.

Highlights:

  • Includes automatic task prioritization suggestions
  • Leverages machine learning to identify potential issues based on historical data
  • Offers voice command functionality via mobile app
  • Can extract text from a photo of a printed document, turning it into a digital file
  • Generates tasks automatically, based on your notes

Pricing:

  • Wrike starts at $0 per month — with paid plans starting at $9.80 per user per month. What we love about Wrike is that the free plan generously includes all AI features except for AI Project Risk Prediction. Strangely, the plan above includes fewer AI features. All plans after that include full AI functionality.

4. Timely: best for time tracking

Say goodbye to manual timesheets. Timely doesn’t involve manual timers, either — which means no pressing start and stop. Timely even uses AI to draft your timesheets for you, making it the ultimate time tracking tool. How does it work? Timely works in the background of your computer to measure how much time you spend in your work apps — and (this is a big one) it does so in a way that maintains your privacy. No screenshots or other surveillance tactics that foster a mistrustful working environment.

Highlights:

  • Automatically tracks time spent in work apps
  • Automatic time tracking gives you and your clients an accurate measure of billable hours
  • A top pick among solo freelancers and large organizations alike

Pricing:

  • Timely starts at $9 per user per month.

5. Superhuman: best for email management

Arguably the most sophisticated email client that exists today, Superhuman is packed with features that streamline and enhance the email experience. It promises to help you save three hours every week. In Superhuman, you can use AI as a writing assistant, and you can also use it to automatically sort your emails.

Highlights:

  • Automatic triage sorts emails into categories, so you can go through your inbox in an orderly way that minimizes context-switching 
  • Snippets feature lets you create customizable phrases and paragraphs (kind of like templates) to insert into emails and save time on typing
  • Works in tandem with Gmail or Outlook
  • Available on macOS and iOS apps, as well as Chrome browser extension (not currently available on Android devices)

Pricing:

  • Superhuman starts at $25 per user per month.

Going forward

Not sure where to begin? Start at the source of your time management: your calendar. Try Clockwise for free today.

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About the author

Judy Tsuei

Judy Tsuei is a Simon & Schuster author, speaker, and podcast host. She has been writing for Clockwise for several years while also being featured in MindBodyGreen, BBC Travel, Fast Company, Hello Giggles, and more. As the founder of Wild Hearted Words, a creative marketing agency for global brands, Judy is also a mentor with the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed accelerator. Judy advocates for mental and emotional health on her popular podcast, F*ck Saving Face. Follow along her journey at WildHeartedWords.com.

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