Any.do Unleashed: How to Use This AI-Powered Planner to Supercharge Productivity

Any.do is a cross-platform task management, calendar, and reminder app trusted by over 40 million people.

Any.do is a cross-platform app. Image by Any.do

At its core, Any.do helps you organize your to-do lists, schedule events, set reminders, collaborate with others, and view your tasks in different formats (e.g. list view, board/Kanban view, calendar view).

Some of its key features:

  • Tasks & Lists: Create tasks, subtasks, organize them in lists.

  • Daily Planner (“My Day”): A view to focus on what you should do today.

  • Calendar integration: Combine your tasks with calendar events so everything lives in one place.

  • Reminders: Time-based reminders, recurring reminders, location-based alerts.

  • Templates & Views: Over 100 templates for common workflows (project management, content calendar, budgeting etc.), plus different views like Kanban, table, etc.

  • Integrations: Works with many apps (Slack, Gmail, Zapier, etc.) to enable smoother workflow and automation.

  • AI features: Newer additions include an AI assistant to help you plan and automate tasks, break tasks into subtasks, etc.

Why Any.do is interesting from an AI-Tool Perspective

To make your work smarter, not just busier, Any.do offers features that tie into AI and automation:

  • AI assistant / “Turbocharge with AI” to save time and effort.

  • Ability to auto-generate tasks or break down big tasks into smaller actionable items.

  • Integrations + automations (via tools like Zapier) let you set rules: e.g. “if X happens in Gmail, create a task in Any.do”; or have recurring assignments handled automatically.

These features allow you to reduce mental load, minimize switching between tools, and free up time for higher-value work.

How to Use Any.do Effectively in Your Work

Here are step-by-step suggestions + best practices, especially for people wanting to apply it in professional / creative workflows:

  1. Set Up Your Account & Devices
    Download Any.do apps on your phone, desktop, browser, etc. Sync across. Use required permissions (e.g. calendar access, notifications) to get full value.

  2. Organize Your Work Structure

    • Define projects / areas: e.g. “Marketing”, “Product Development”, “Content”, “Personal Admin”.

    • Use lists or boards for each major area.

    • Use templates for standard workflows (e.g. content calendar, sprint planning) so you don’t reinvent structure each time.

  3. Daily Planning

    • Use the My Day or Daily Planner view to select what tasks will be your focus.

    • Prioritize tasks: which are urgent, which are important.

    • Use recurring tasks and reminders so routine work doesn’t fall through the cracks.

  4. Use AI & Automations

    • Let the AI assistant help you break down big tasks. If you have a big deliverable, have it suggest subtasks so you can act.

    • Use integrations (Slack, Gmail, etc.) + Zapier or built-in automations to reduce manual task creation.

    • Use notifications smartly: only for what matters; silence what distracts you.

  5. Visualize & Track Progress

    • Use Kanban or board view for seeing where tasks are in progress / blocked / done.

    • Use calendar view or table view for deadlines, dependencies.

    • Regularly review completed tasks to see how you’re doing, and adjust as needed.

  6. Collaborate

    • Share lists or boards with team members.

    • Assign tasks, set due dates, tag people.

    • Use comments or chat-in-context so communications are connected to tasks.

  7. Optimizing for Personal Efficiency

    • Use voice input, quick add features to capture tasks as you think of them.

    • Use location-based reminders (if relevant) so you get alerts when you reach a place.

    • Clean up & archive old tasks / projects so the workspace stays lean.

Use Case Examples

To make it even more concrete, here are example scenarios where Any.do + its AI / integrations can drastically help:

  • Content Creator / Writer: Plan content calendar using templates; get AI to help break down a blog post into outline + subtasks (research, draft, edits, publish). Integrate with Gmail to turn email requests into tasks.

  • Remote Team Lead: Use shared boards to track who is doing what; use automations to escalate overdue tasks; use calendar view for sprint deadlines.

  • Freelancer / Side-Hustle: Keep personal & client tasks separate; set recurring reminders for invoicing; use Time Tracking + reporting features (if premium) to see where time is going.

Tips & Pitfalls

  • Make sure not to over-automate so much that you lose awareness. Automation should assist, not hide what’s happening.

  • Keep your structure consistent. If you rename or reorganize lists/projects frequently, you’ll lose clarity.

  • Regular reviews (weekly) are key: clear out, archive, adjust priorities.

  • Free vs Premium: some features (e.g. certain views, deeper automations, AI assistant) may be behind a paywall. Evaluate whether you need them.

Summary

Any.do is more than a “to-do list” app — it’s a productivity hub combining tasks, calendar, reminders, templates, and increasingly, AI-powered tools and automation. By using its features wisely — structuring work, automating recurring workflows, visualizing progress — you can reduce friction in your daily work and focus on what matters.

If you apply even a few of these techniques (daily planner, shared boards, AI task breakdowns, integrations), you should see real gains in clarity, speed, and reduced stress.

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