Planning our time involves managing appointments, organising tasks, and balancing daily responsibilities and routines—from work meetings to personal to-do lists. For many autistic adults, structuring each day can be challenging due to difficulties with executive functioning, which may make it hard to prioritise tasks, stick to a schedule, or shift between activities.
Daily planner apps can help by offering visual and interactive ways to track appointments, set reminders, and organise time effectively. With the right app, it becomes easier to break down tasks, stay on top of commitments, and navigate each day with more predictability and less stress.
Below, we’ve put together a list of five daily planner apps that may be helpful for organising appointments, setting reminders, and managing daily tasks. While we haven’t rigorously tested each app, we selected these based on popular features that could be useful for autistic adults.
We recognise that everyone’s needs and preferences are different, so we encourage you to explore these options, try a few out, and see what works best for you. And if you find an app that really helps (or doesn’t quite hit the mark), we’d love to hear your feedback.
Structured
Structured is a daily planner app that combines tasks, calendar events, routines, habits, and more in one easy-to-follow timeline—an all-in-one app. It’s available across all platforms, including web, and is free with a paid upgrade option.
Morgen
Morgen is primarily a calendar app but can also be used for tasks and meeting scheduling. Our Education Manager loves Morgen because it lets her view her Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar in one place. It’s available on all platforms, with both free and paid options.
Todoist
Todoist is a versatile task management app with a calendar view that appeals to visual planners. It’s available across all platforms, including web, and is free with a paid upgrade option.
TickTick
TickTick is similar to Todoist in that it is primarily a task manager, but it has a great calendar view for visual planners. TickTick is available across all platforms, including web, and is free with a paid upgrade option.
Routine
Routine is a daily planner app with tasks, calendar, light note-taking, and meetings. It is available on iOS, Mac, Windows, and web, and is available for free with a paid "Pro" upgrade.
Finding the right planning app can make a big difference in staying organised and reducing stress. Don’t worry if it takes a few tries to find one that suits you – everyone’s needs are unique. We hope these suggestions give you a good starting point, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on what works best for you.