Online Tools that Keep Me Organized and Focused

Sometimes you tend to get lost in the amount of work you have to do and don’t know where to start. In university, I’ve had a lot of experiences like this, until I became more organized. Technology has become so advanced that I’ve figured out how to organize my entire life online, and I’m going to tell you how I do it so that you can too.

Notion (external link, opens in new window)  is my holy grail when it comes to staying on top of school. It can be so easy to forget all of your deadlines, quizzes and assignments. With this tool, you are able to have everything you need to know about anything in one place. What I mean by that is, you can have a virtual desk where all your tasks are managed.

In Notion, you can have countless to-do lists all together in one place so that you can visualize what you have to get done for different classes, jobs, clubs and even chores. It’s so easy to do with just a click of a button—you’re able to cater Notion to your needs. My favourite list is my due dates masterlist where I include all the important dates for my classes. I love being able to see what I’ve done and what I still have left.

I also like to jot down affirmations so that whenever I access my Notion, I can read them over. Personalizing Notion is the best way to make sure you use it daily. I added custom headers, images and gifs to make it feel like my own.

I’ve lost count of how many times I check my Google Calendar every day. I’m a visual person when it comes to staying organized, so this tool is the perfect fit for me. My classes are automatically uploaded to my university email’s Google Calendar, which makes it easy to plan around them. I add online class links to the description aspect so it’s easy to access them. Career Boost meetings (my part-time on-campus job) and chats with professors are scheduled on this platform too. It’s also a great place to plan out times for personal activities. I like to schedule dinners with my friends and invite them to the event so it’s available on their calendars too. Once you start using Google Calendar, it’s hard not to!

Music is heavily integrated into my everyday life. I find a playlist for everything, and if I can’t find one, I make one. When I’m studying and using active recall, I like to listen to Focus Music, Binaural Beats Concentration Music for Studying, Super Intelligence (external link, opens in new window) . It’s filled with tunes that are scientifically curated to help you focus on the task at hand. I love feeling like the main character when I’m working on things that aren’t work-related. This is when I listen to a playlist because it's your turn to be the main character (external link, opens in new window) . While working on school related projects, assignments and essays, I listen to Ariana Grande - All Songs (external link, opens in new window) . For some reason her music has just the right kind of vibe I need. Your music taste may be different from mine, but I recommend giving these playlists a shot because who knows, maybe they’ll work for you too. 

It took me longer than a year to figure out how I best stay organized and focused. I encourage you to experiment with different methods because what works for me may not work for you. I wish you luck on your journey. 

“See” you later!

- Nishka