Your calendar is full, your to-do list is endless, and every day you ask yourself: where do I start? You know you need to work in a structured way, but traditional calendars and task lists feel so… boring and cluttered. What if you could see your entire day in one visual timeline, where tasks and appointments come together seamlessly?
That’s where Structured comes in. This app combines your calendar and to-do list into one comprehensive day planner. People with ADHD or a preference for visual planning are especially enthusiastic about it. But is it something for you too? And what are the pitfalls?
Structured: the company
Structured is developed by a small, independent team that focuses on personal productivity. The app was created from the need for a visual way to plan your day, without the complexity of project management tools or the dullness of standard calendars.
The focus is on individual use and daily planning. The company actively continues to build the app and regularly adds new features, such as the recent AI assistant and improved synchronization capabilities. The app is especially popular in the iOS community, although there are now also versions available for Android, macOS and web.
Who is Structured for?
Structured is particularly suitable for people who are visually oriented. If you like to overview your day at a glance, instead of scrolling through endless lists, then this is your thing.
The app is often recommended for people with ADHD. The visual timeline helps bring structure to a chaotic day, and the interface is deliberately kept simple to prevent overwhelm. You see exactly what you need to do when, without distraction.
Even if you just love minimalism and overview, Structured is a godsend. Students use it to plan classes and study moments. Freelancers use it to divide their day into blocks. Parents use it to track family routines.
Where Structured is less suitable: teamwork and complex projects. The app is purely personal. There are no collaboration features, no project hierarchies, no tasks assigned to others. If you’re looking for a tool for your entire team, you need to look elsewhere.
What can Structured do?
Structured revolves around one core idea: visualizing your entire day on a timeline. But there’s naturally more behind it. These are the main features:
- Visual Timeline – You see your day as a vertical timeline where tasks and appointments are neatly arranged below each other. You drag things around to adjust your planning. It provides immediate overview and peace of mind.
- Calendar & Reminders Import – In the Pro version, you can sync your Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook. Your reminders from Apple Reminders also come in. Everything in one place.
- AI Assistant – The AI helps you plan tasks. You can type in natural language what you want to do, and the assistant creates a structured task with time and date.
- Recurring Tasks – For recurring tasks like exercising, taking medication, or weekly meetings. Set it up once and it repeats automatically.
- Custom Notifications – You decide when you get notifications. Not only at the moment itself, but also in advance as preparation.
- Focus Timer – A built-in timer to work focused on a task. Useful for the Pomodoro technique or just to stay on track.
- Subtasks & Notes – Each task can contain subtasks and notes. This way you keep track of details without making your main overview messy.
- Cross-device Sync – Your planning syncs between your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the web version. At least, that’s the intention. We’ll come back to this later.
The app also has a handy inbox feature. Thoughts you want to capture quickly you throw in the inbox, and later you schedule them on your timeline. This way you don’t have to immediately decide when you’re going to do something.
What does Structured cost?
Structured has a free version, but it’s quite limited. You can create tasks and use the visual timeline, but you miss most of the powerful features.
In the free version, you can’t import external calendars or reminders. Recurring tasks, the AI assistant, and the ‘Replan’ feature (which automatically reschedules your day) are also unavailable. You get limited notifications and synchronization isn’t complete either.
For the full experience, you need Structured Pro. That costs $1.49 per month if you pay monthly. If you go for an annual subscription, you pay $1.99 per year, which comes to $1.67 per month. That’s much more affordable.
There’s also a lifetime option for $1.99. One-time payment and you’re done. If you use the app daily and want it for the long term, that’s a good deal. After three years, you’re already paying less than with an annual subscription.
New users get a free 3-day trial to try out Pro. That’s on the short side, but enough to feel if the app suits you.
What should you watch out for?
Structured sounds great, but there are a few things you should know before diving in.
The biggest problem is synchronization issues. Users regularly complain that tasks don’t sync properly between devices. You plan something on your iPhone, but it doesn’t appear on your Mac. Or vice versa. The app uses iCloud for synchronization, and that doesn’t always work reliably. This is frustrating when you want to work across multiple devices.
Another pain point is the difference between platforms. The iOS version is by far the most developed and gets new features first. The Android version lags behind and misses important features. The web version is even more limited. If you’re not in the Apple ecosystem, you get an inferior experience.
The app is also purely personal. There are no collaboration features, no shared calendars, no ability to assign tasks to others. For families or teams, that’s a dealbreaker. You can’t use Structured to plan with your partner or colleagues.
Some users find the interface sometimes slow or buggy. Moving tasks can stutter, the app can crash, or things don’t load immediately. These aren’t structural problems, but they occur often enough to be annoying.
Finally, the free version is really very limited. You can try the app, but for a fair test you actually need Pro. And with only 3 days trial period, that’s a brief introduction.
What do others think?
The general sentiment about Structured is positive, especially from people who plan visually and have ADHD. They praise the beautiful, intuitive design and the calm that the timeline brings.
On YouTube, Elesha Jacobs has made a review where she mentions the seamless Apple integration. She thinks it’s great that your calendar and reminders come in automatically, but notes that this is a Pro feature. For her, the visual timeline is a game changer in her daily routine.
Keep Productive, a popular productivity channel, states that Structured is beautiful for focus and minimalists. But the reviewer also warns: for complex projects or teamwork, the app is too limited. It’s really a personal day planner, nothing more and nothing less.
In app stores and forums, you keep encountering the same complaints. Synchronization via iCloud often falters. The Android and web versions lag far behind iOS. And the interface sometimes responds slowly or buggy. These aren’t dealbreakers for everyone, but they occur often enough to take seriously.
On the other hand, there’s also much praise. Users with ADHD say the visual timeline really helps them get a grip on their day. The simplicity and aesthetically appealing design are mentioned time and again as strong points. People feel less overwhelmed and more in control.
Structured alternatives
Doesn’t Structured quite fit what you’re looking for? These are the best alternatives:
- Tiimo – Also a visual planner, but specifically designed for neurodiversity. Tiimo puts even more emphasis on routines and visual aids. Choose Tiimo if you have ADHD and need extra support building fixed routines.
- Google Calendar – The standard free option. No fancy visual timeline or task integration like Structured, but reliable and available everywhere. Choose Google Calendar if you want a simple, free calendar without frills.
- Motion – Uses advanced AI to automatically schedule your tasks and reschedule them when your planning changes. Structured is more manual, Motion does the work for you. Choose Motion if you want AI to automatically manage your day and you don’t want to drag tasks around yourself.
Each of these alternatives has a different focus. Tiimo is for neurodiversity, Google Calendar is the reliable foundation, and Motion is the AI-driven future. See what fits your way of working.
Frequently asked questions
Is Structured free to use?
Yes, there is a free version that allows you to create tasks and use the visual timeline. But for advanced features like calendar import, recurring tasks, and the AI assistant, you need a Pro subscription.
Is there a Structured app for Windows?
No, there is no native Windows application. You can use Structured through the web version in your browser, but it has fewer features than the iOS and macOS apps.
Does Structured sync with Google Calendar?
Yes, the Pro version lets you import and sync external calendars, including Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook. You’ll see all your appointments in the Structured timeline.
Conclusion
Structured is a powerful day planner for people who want to plan visually. The timeline provides overview and peace of mind, and the integration with your calendar and reminders makes it complete. Especially if you have ADHD or simply love minimalism, this app can make a difference in how you experience your day.
But it’s not perfect. Sync issues, the difference between platforms, and the lack of collaboration features are real limitations. The free version is too limited to truly evaluate, so you actually need to invest in Pro right away to fairly test the app.
If you’re in the Apple ecosystem and looking for a personal, visual day planner, Structured is definitely worth trying. With the annual subscription of $1.99 or the lifetime option of $1.99, it’s not overly expensive either. But if you need collaboration, or if you primarily work on Android or Windows, there are better alternatives.
