I always want to optimize my day to be as productive as possible. That has led me to try many productivity tools. It all started with Evernote back in University, and I’ve continued to try the new shiny tool to see if it will help me be as productive as I would like to be. Since then, I’ve used premium options like Notion, Clickup, and Calendly to open-source productivity apps like Joplin and Zotero.
However, despite trying as many options as I possibly could, I never settled on any of them for various reasons. Instead, I always came back to two of Google’s free productivity tools: Google Keep and Calendar. I’ve used them together, and I can confidently attest that they’re by far the best free productivity tools I’ve tried.
One of my biggest gripes with most, if not all, premium productivity tools is that they try to be all things to all people. They promise to be your all-in-one hub for notes, tasks, calendars, project management, collaboration, time tracking, and even goal setting. And while that sounds impressive on paper, in practice it often turns into clutter.
Even as someone who loves using all-in-one tools over standalone options, many tools I’ve tried feel like they’re trying to do too much. Take Notion and ClickUp, for example. They can be anything you want them to be: a planner, project manager, time tracker, calendar, you name it. As such, they’re great for teams and companies, but for personal use, they can quickly become exhausting.
You open the app to jot down a quick task or note, and suddenly you’re wading through dashboards, tags, databases, and templates. That’s because they’re built to cater to everyone—students, freelancers, small business owners, and even full-fledged companies. To me, such setups have meant I take way more time managing the tool than actually getting things done. The learning curve is steep, and the many features make the interface more cluttered than I need.
Secondly, there’s price. Sure, paying for productivity tools isn’t an abomination. I’ve done it in the past, and I would happily do it again. If you do, I totally get it because there are paid productivity tools that are certainly worth the price, especially when free options don’t meet your needs. However, if you’ve been keeping tabs on prices, it’s quite clear that these tools are getting pricey by the day.
For instance, as of this writing, Evernote’s cheapest paid plan, Personal, costs $14.99/month or $129.99/year if billed annually. On the other hand, Notion and ClickUp cost $12/month (or $120/year billed annually) and $10/month (or $84/year billed annually), respectively. That’s too steep a price to pay for a productivity app when many solid alternatives exist.
Why Google Keep and Calendar work so well together
Key features that make them a perfect productivity pair
Although Google Keep and Calendar are separate products from Google, they are now integrated. You can use each product separately, but you can also combine them instead of relying on a different tool from a different company for your calendar or notes.
For example, you can add reminders in Keep, and they’ll automatically appear in Google Calendar. Another cool feature is the ability to link notes from Google Keep to Calendar events, which has proven handy in online meetings. For ease of use, you can also access your notes in Keep from the Google Calendar sidebar.
How I use Google Keep and Calendar in my workflow
How the duo runs my day
My workflow with Google Keep and Google Calendar is intentionally simple, but it works like a charm. Keep is where I do almost everything. I use it to brainstorm ideas, create tasks, set certain reminders, and jot down notes. Whenever something comes to mind—a to-do, a grocery list, or an article idea—I jot it down in Keep.
Because Keep is where almost everything goes, I use the app’s features to prevent my notes from becoming a hot mess. The first step I take when I add a new note is to add an appropriate color. That way, it’s easier to separate personal and work notes. All my personal notes are color-coded in different colors, while my work notes are in the default white color (or gray in dark mode). You could use specific colors for specific categories if you prefer.
The second tool in my organizational arsenal is Labels. I use Labels to categorize each note based on the topic, like money, freelancing, books, to-do lists, cooking, and watchlists. That way, when I need to view my freelancing notes or notes under a specific label, I just tap the hamburger menu in the top left and select the appropriate label under Labels. Or, if I’m using my laptop, I can access all my Labels easily, as they live on the left side of the notes, as shown in the image above.
When I have something important, I pin it to the top of my other notes, making it easier to find it when I need to. My gym workout routine note, for example, lives at the top of my Google Keep notes because it’s something I need to review more often than not. If I have something that has a deadline, like an assignment, that’s where Google Calendar takes over. (The only time I use Keep’s reminders is for articles or books I’d like to read later or something I need to watch.)
Google Calendar is a key part of my life as I use it to plan and organize my day-to-day schedule. Every morning, I glance at the Calendar to see my activities for the day and any pending tasks from the previous day. I only plan my day the night before, so that’s when I add entries to my Calendar. When adding an activity to Google Calendar, you get to choose whether it’s an Event, Task, or Birthday, which makes it easier for me to plan.
When it comes to planning, I block out time for focused work and key errands—I avoid having a cluttered calendar and only keep important things. It keeps me realistic about what I can actually get done in a day instead of stacking endless to-do lists.
How Google Calendar ties it all together
Why this combo beats paid tools
Google Keep and Calendar might not be as feature-rich as other paid tools, but this combo stands out for its simplicity. Taking notes is easy in Keep, and I can easily plan the day or week using Calendar. What makes the two stand out is the focus on simplicity. This has made me focus more on my goals than constantly organizing or tweaking my workflow. Thanks to this, they’re also easier to pick up and use than many solid alternatives that try to do everything. Even better, they’re totally free—you don’t need to pay a dime to use Google Calendar and Keep.
Being productive doesn’t have to require expensive productivity tools. Productivity isn’t about feature lists. It’s about frictionless flow that allows you to get stuff done without missing anything. Using Google Keep and Calendar nails it as it gives a simple yet effective way to take your notes and plan your day without a fuss.
If you’re paying for other tools but still using them for mundane tasks that Keep and Calendar can handle, consider giving the duo a week to see how effortless it feels. It might replace your paid tools.