9 Apps to Help You Completely Organize Your Life

3 minute read

Email was supposed to make our lives easier. Instead it’s become a dumping ground for travel itineraries, receipts, social-­media updates, work documents and ­invitations—to say nothing of actual spam. (According to a recent study, most professionals spend almost a third of their workweek just wading through email.) Tech companies have made a sport of vying to tackle data ­deluge—not just in email but in everything from your calendar to your to-do lists—as consumers increasingly complain about information overload.

The latest entrant: Google, which set the standard for streamlined email with Gmail a decade ago. On Oct. 22, the search giant unveiled Inbox, a free smartphone app that acts as a kind of intelligent filter for the unending tide of emails. The app automatically separates receipts, social updates and promotions into distinct categories that can be tackled separately (or ignored completely). Users can “snooze” emails to complete them at a set time or when the user arrives at a designated location—home, for ­instance—as indicated by the phone’s GPS.

(For TIME’s full review, click here.)

“People were trying to run their lives from this email inbox, but that was really a lot of work,” explains Alex Gawley, product director for both Inbox and Gmail. The resulting software is a lot like a cross between the old Gmail and Google Now, the company’s digital personal assistant.

Google’s new app is hardly the only option, though. Here’s a quick look at several others trying to become your digital assistant:

To tame email…

Inbox; iOS, Android
Google tries to streamline email—again. The app highlights information like flight-departure times and friends’ changes of phone numbers. It’s free but currently available by invite only.

6 Things to Know About the iPhone 6

Apple Inc. Launches iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus Smartphones In Madrid
There are two models: the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches diagonally and 6.9 mm wide. The iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5 inches diagonally and a bit thicker at 7.1 mm. The iPhone 6 has enough pixels to make it better than a 720p HD display, and the iPhone 6 Plus has a full 1080p HD display — that’s more than some next-generation gaming consoles. Both feature a new design with rounded edges for a seamless touch.Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images
Apple Inc. Launches iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus In China
Apple Pay, a mobile payment system on the new iPhones, is trying to replace wallets. In Apple’s first push into the payments game, the iPhone 6 is equipped with Apple Pay and a Near Field Communication (NFC) antenna that allows you to tap your phone against a sensor to make payments. Credit cards from participating companies—Visa, Mastercard and American Express—can be linked to your phone’s Passbook. Several merchants, like Disney, Chipotle and Seamless, have signed on with more to come.Feng Li—Getty Images
CHINA-US-TELECOMMUNICATION-RETAIL-APPLE
Battery life on the new iPhones is equal or better to the old models. The iPhone 6’s battery life is roughly comparable to that of the iPhone 5: it features 10 more hours of audio, and four more hours of 3G talk. Both have standby battery lives of 10 days. The iPhone 6 Plus, however, offers the best battery life of any iPhone to date. It has 80 hours of audio and 24 hours of 3G talk, and its standby battery life is 16 days.JOHANNES EISELE—AFP/Getty Images
Apple Inc. Launches iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus Smartphones In Madrid
The iPhone 6 is much faster. With 802.11ac Wi-Fi, the iPhone 6’s Wi-Fi speeds are up to three times faster than those of the iPhone 5s. The iPhone 6 also has faster LTE than the iPhone 5s, and it can make use of more frequency ranges than other iPhones, making for better roaming capabilities.Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus retail sales begin in Spain
Landscape view is improved. Landscape views on the new phones will now be compatible for Mail, Weather and even the Home screen. A second pane will appear in landscape for some apps, like Mail. Keyboards on landscape will also be modified to make typing easier: additional characters will be placed on the sides of the traditional keyboard so users don’t have to tap an extra button to access them.Anadolu Agency—Getty Images
Apple Inc. Launches iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus Smartphones In Madrid
A reachability function allows you to continue to use the iPhone 6 with one hand. A double tap of the Home button will make the top of the screen roll down, so people with shorter thumbs or smaller hands can still use the iPhone with only one hand. Double tap the Home button again, and the iPhone 6 returns to its normal configuration.Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images

CloudMagic; iOS, Android
Searching for emails on a phone can be a grindingly slow process. CloudMagic replaces built-in email apps to provide speedier search.

Boxer; iOS, Android
Boxer applies the interface of popular dating apps like Tinder to email, allowing users to run through messages using gesture-based controls. Swipe to delete messages or send automated responses.

To subdue your calendar…

Sunrise Calendar; iOS, Android
This app has an easy-to-use interface and allows users to add thousands of unique calendars, like sports teams’ schedules. It uses a three-day view rather than the typical weeklong span to cut down on clutter.

Tempo; iOS
Tempo is aimed at people who have to attend a lot of business meetings. It automatically culls details from email threads and the Internet to provide briefings for upcoming rendezvous.

UpTo; iOS, Android
Switching among various digital calendars can be a hassle. UpTo allows users to easily choose the most pertinent events from the calendars of friends and brands (TV schedules, for instance) to add to their own schedules.

And for everything else…

30/30; iOS
This simple task manager lets users divide their days into small increments of focused work (30 minutes by default) punctuated by regular breaks.

Any.Do; iOS, Android
Simple task lists can be accessed across devices with this service. The app encourages users to plan their day and set time or location-based reminders each morning.

Asana; iOS, Android
A task manager built with collaboration in mind, this app allows up to 15 members to collaborate on projects, assigning specific tasks and due dates.

Read next: The 5 Best Smartphone Apps You Should Try This Week

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