The Productivity App I Can't Live Without - Structured Day Planner

When you talk about productivity, a day planner application may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but for me it does.

I discovered Structured through my husband in 2023 when he recommended it to me mainly because of its beautiful aesthetic. Yeah, that's right, I downloaded the app because it was a lovely pink and the layout was oh-so-appealing.

See it for yourself.

The Structured Day Planner App

Marketed as the #1 Day Planner App in the App Store, Structured immediately fit all my needs.

You ask?

1. I needed a visually pleasing app that I would be drawn to use day in and day out as in the past, I've never liked the appearance of any of the scheduling applications out there. I found them boring which meant after a few days I completely stopped using them.

2. I like visualizing my day in an hour-by-hour format just to understand how it looks and so I can cram in more tasks. Even though Google Calendar does the same, it felt too busy and TBH not the right colour scheme for me. (Although it bears noting that before I found Structured I did use Gcal. Beggars cannot be choosers)

3. Most of my to-do's are not standalone items. They usually are several sub-tasks masquerading as a single task.

To help you visualize it better, here's a representation of my sub-tasks.

So, when I first downloaded Structured I was incredibly pleased with all the features it offered in the free version.

I could structure my day easily, add a gazillion sub-tasks, cram more and more things to do in my day and all the while feel good about it.

After a month or so of using it, I decided to get the paid version as I wanted to schedule recurring events (that the free version doesn't support) and also change the colours of a few categories of tasks (a paid option) to visualize my day even better.

After coming to a year of using the app, here's my honest review (The Structured team doesn't even know I exist so in no way is this a sponsored or affiliate post) -

#1 Get the app if you have an iPhone or a Macbook. Sadly, the experience is horrid on an Android.

#2 The user experience is lovely and the app is extremely easy to use. They market it as a perfect tool for anyone with ADHD and I understand how it can be beneficial. Before, at the start and the end of tasks, you get notified of the planned task.

This makes you likelier to finish it. These alerts are customizable so if you find that it's one three many notifications, you can change it.

#3 For iPhone users, your reminders are integrated into the app which means you don't have to go through multiple applications. I'm often talking to Siri telling him, 'Hey remind me to make Greek yoghurt tonight' or 'Remind me to brush the cats' and I get notified when it's time. The same is applicable to Google Calendars too.

#4 I can schedule tasks in my 'Inbox' that don't have a set date and put them in my weekly plan as and when I find time. The widget app on the iPhone also displays this information on your chosen screen so it's not out of mind.

#5 There's an AI assistant feature, the Structured Siri, where you can tell it when, where and what tasks to schedule. I don't often use this feature but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

#6 Did I mention it is pink? If that's not your colour, you can change the entire app's colour to something you prefer. Now that's awesome.

I've not felt the need to download any other app since I started using Structured and that's a big win for me as someone who kept shuffling half-heartedly between applications because I couldn't find the 'one'.

Maybe you don't care that much about an app like I do or are one of those people who uses Notepad to write down notes. Just why?

If you are intrigued, download it and draw your own conclusions.

Also, don't believe everything you read on the internet as the absolute truth. Maybe you won't like it and it's the shittiest app you have ever used. I highly doubt it though.

If the Structured team somehow stumbles onto this article by the Internet Algorithm's grace, thank you for making such a wonderful app.

Have you used Structured before?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.