It’s back to school time! Yes, those days of summer sun, backyard barbecues and summer road trips are coming to an end. If you are back to class, whether to middle school, high school, college or university or even back to work you will need to get organized. Sometimes it is not about the app or the technology. Whether you use a planner app or a paper agenda, it’s the strategies around how you use it that make the difference.
To improve your organizational strategies, try answering these questions:
What works best for me?
Strategies to consider: to-do lists, calendar, visual reminders or auditory reminders
What distracts me?
Strategies to consider: turn off notifications/phones, listen to white noise or use the pomodoro technique (25 minutes work intervals, with 5 minute breaks)
For those of you starting school, we thought we would share a couple of our favorite student planner apps:
MyHomework(new window) brings you into the future of agendas and helps you stay on top of your studies and know what is coming up no matter where you are, on all your devices. Yes, on your phone, tablet and/or computer, whether it’s Apple or Windows, MyHomework is available. It has a free version with ads, but it is definitely worth the yearly investment of $4.99 to have them removed and gain a few extra customization features and attach files to truly make it yours. Yes, this app can replace your paper agenda’s and hundreds of sticky notes to help you get organized by visually planning everything out including your class schedule, tests, assignments, due dates, study time and exams.
iStudiez Pro(new window) is worth checking out if you are an iPad/iPhone and Windows or Mac user. Though not available on as many platforms, this app is available in French, and actually in more than 25 additional languages! This app provides a great quick visual overview shot of your daily schedule and tasks, so you always know what you have to do and what is coming up next. It will even help you keep track of your grades and GPA. iStudiez Pro is $13.55 for Windows, $9.99 for Mac and $2.99 for iPhone/iPad. There is a 1 semester free trial version that will allow you to test it out.
There are many options available for organizing. You probably already have some on your phone or favorite device. Whether you choose one of the apps above, other apps or you choose a good ole fashion book agenda with highlighters, what is important is finding the tools and strategies that work for you to keep you organized.
