We’re nearing the middle of the semester, and everything might be feeling a little overwhelming right now. Everything is piling up, and suddenly, you’re checking the syllabus because of what you know is sadly coming up: midterms. This can also be around the time that your procrastination habit is becoming extra hard to break. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Here are a few things to stay on track with everything that you need to do.
- Notion
You might’ve heard of Notion, which is basically an all-in-one digital workspace. It’s an app, but you can also open it on your browser. Notion allows you to create calendars, tables, to-do lists and more. I literally have everything on my Notion: course information, class notes, schedule, assignment due dates, upcoming tasks, playlists, important links and more. It can take a little while to get the hang of it, especially if you want to create everything from scratch. However, you can also do what I did and use a free template. You can look up free Notion templates that other Notion users make and simply duplicate it into your dashboard. Notion also offers templates for different things you might need. Overall, this is a great way to keep track of all your assignments and have all your coursework information in one place.
- Google Calendar
If it’s getting hard to keep track of all your due dates, Google Calendar can help. You only have to put in the information. You can also create multiple calendars, so you can differentiate between what tasks are for school, personal, work, etc. You can also share your calendar with others! This will allow you all to know when the other is available for study dates, hanging out or what days work best if you need to work on assignments together. It can also send you notifications so you don’t forget about what you scheduled for that day. Overall, it’s a great way to manage your time and keep track of what you need to get done.
- Flipd
Flipd is an app meant to help you focus and stay on task. It includes a study timer, and it will keep you from going on other apps on your phone until you are done with your study session. If you leave the app, your session will automatically end. If you have trouble staying off your phone like I do, then this can be very helpful. If studying with others helps you focus, then you can use the group study feature, which allows you to study with others, whether it’s with an already made group or one that you make yourself. You can set your goal for the day of how long you want to work, and this can help motivate you to focus on what you need to get done. There’s also a music library if you like having music or ambient sounds while you work. And what’s great is that all these features are included in the free version of the app!
- Forest
Forest is another focus app! This app is also meant to keep you away from the other apps on your phone and focus on what you need to get done. What’s cool about this is that staying focused will lead to you planting a virtual tree in your forest and you can also have a tree planted in real life! The app’s team works with Tree for the Future, an organization that plants real trees; when the app’s users spend their virtual coins that they earn, the team donates to the organization and creates orders to plant real trees. However, if you leave the app before time is up, your virtual tree will die. This motivates users to stay on task. This app is free for Android users and $1.99 for iPhone users.
- Physical Planner
If apps aren’t for you, then you can’t go wrong with using a physical planner. Writing down everything that you need to get done and being able to cross it off once you’re finished can be all you need to stay organized and motivated. If you’re really crafty, you can take it a step further and decorate the pages of your planner. You can also get into bullet journaling, which will make your planner a place for lists, entries and more. Do whichever works for you!
It can be overwhelming thinking about everything that needs to get done, so I hope that these options are helpful. Good luck to everyone on midterms!