Time blocking with your tasks and your real calendar
Type a task with a time and a length, like call the bank 2pm 30m, and it lands on the day grid as a block you can drag. Your meetings from Google, Outlook or the device calendar sit in the same columns, so you block the hours that are actually free. The task stays a line in a markdown file.
Know these before you install:
- You place the blocks yourself. TaskForge does not schedule your day for you.
- A task block lives in your notes. It does not appear in Google Calendar or Outlook. To show a block to other people, make it an event.
- Creating events, and connecting a Google or Outlook account (Beta), are Premium. Blocking your own tasks is free.
- Day and week grids with a now-line
- Tasks and events in one view
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows
How a task becomes a block
Three ways to give a task a slot, all of which write to the task line.
Type it
In Quick Add, write a time with a duration (2pm 90m, 2pm 1h30m) or a range (2-4pm). Named times like noon are read too. The parser knows the words of each language the app ships in.
Set it in the editor
The task editor has a time and a duration. A task with a time but no duration shows as a 30-minute block.
Move it on the grid
Drag a block to another time or day to reschedule it, or resize it to change its length. The date and time in the file change with it.
Block around the meetings you already have
A time block planner is only useful if it knows when you are busy.
Events in the same columns
Calendars on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Android device show up in their own colors. You can also connect Google and Microsoft accounts on any platform, Windows included.
Google Calendar time blocking
To put a block on your Google calendar, create it as an event (Premium) from the grid. Drag to resize it and it updates in Google. TaskForge asks before it emails guests, and never overwrites a change you made in Google Calendar.
One view for the week
Week view shows seven days on desktop and fewer on a phone. Overlaps are laid out side by side, and the all-day strip can be hidden if birthdays and holidays get in the way.
Start from a template, or from your daily note
A blank grid is the hardest part of time blocking.
A free time blocking template
A Markdown day plan you can download and use in any app, with task lines you can tick off. It also opens in TaskForge.
Daily notes
Turn on Schedule tasks by daily note date (off by default) and a task you write in today's daily note without a date of its own gets that day's date, so it shows on the grid. The Daily planner template is built in.
Common questions
Is there a time blocking app for Windows and Android?
TaskForge runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows. The day and week grids, durations and drag to reschedule work on all of them. Windows has no device calendars, so its events come from a Google or Outlook account you connect (Premium, Beta).
Can I time block in Google Calendar with it?
Yes, with Premium. Connect your Google account, then create events from the grid. They are real Google events. Task blocks are different: they stay in your markdown files and do not appear in Google Calendar.
Does it plan my day automatically?
No. You choose where each block goes. The app shows what is free and moves blocks when you drag them.
What does a task without a duration look like?
A 30-minute block, so it is still visible on the grid. Add a duration and it takes its real height.
Do I need Obsidian?
No. Tasks are lines in markdown files in any folder. An Obsidian vault works as it is, because Obsidian is just another app opening the same files.
What is free and what is Premium?
The calendar views, durations, drag to reschedule and device calendar events are free. Premium covers creating and editing events, connecting Google or Outlook accounts, reminders and the calendar widgets.
Block tomorrow before tonight is over.
Download TaskForge and drag your first task onto the grid.
