LYCEAN’S TRAIL: 5 Productivity Apps for School
by: Kieth Etulle, ABM 12
They say, “A little progress each day adds up to big results.” But with distractions around us, it is not surprising that many of us find it hard to focus and attend to our tasks.
Being a student is fun but incredibly challenging. We balance classes, homework, extracurricular activities, and (for some) a few more projects. Thus, it is important to manage time wisely because it is not only an essential skill to be academically successful, but it also allows us to be available for other passions.
If you are looking for something to ramp up your productivity, here are 5 productivity apps:
- Tide (iOS, Android, Chrome extension)
Tide is an app that aims at physical and mental care. It provides massive audios that include natural soundscapes and mindfulness practices. This app can help you stay focused, relieve stress, relax with mindfulness, and have a better sleep. Tide is not just suitable for people who suffer from sleep problems but also for procrastinators who have difficulties in staying focused. It is built with a “Pomodoro technique” timer with natural sounds to keep you focused on the task at hand. This technique can break down working shifts into 25-minute intervals followed by a small break.
2. Evernote
Evernote is an app built for taking notes, creating daily tasks, and organizing to-do lists. It allows you to capture ideas when inspiration strikes. Evernote brings your notes, to-dos, and schedule together to help tame life’s distractions and accomplish more at school, at home, and everywhere in between. It can be synchronized to all your devices so you can stay productive on the go. In this app, you can write, collect, and capture ideas as searchable notes, notebooks, and to-do lists. You can clip interesting articles and web pages to read or use later, add text, docs, PDFs, sketches, and more. In addition to that, you can use your camera to scan and organize paper documents, business cards, whiteboards, and handwritten notes.
3. Forest (Android, iOS)
If you cannot stop scrolling or you are having trouble focusing, Forest is the best app to help you stay focused and boost productivity. In this app, you can plant a seed when you need to put down your phone to get things done. If you remain focused, this seed will gradually grow into a tree. However, if you fall into temptation and use your phone or leave the app, your tree will wither. Seeing a flourishing forest with each tree that represents your dedication can give you a sense of achievement and motivate you to reduce procrastination. Overall, this app helps you build a good habit of time management. Forest can be accessed across all your Android devices with Pro version. However, downloading a non-Android version of this app requires a separate purchase.
4. Notion (Android, iOS, Desktop)
Notion is a project management and note taking software. This app is an all-in-one workplace. You can write, plan, and get organized. You can customize Notion to work the way you do. It never hits a storage limit so you can add as much content as you wish; dashboard, website, docs, or any system you need. This app also allows you to collaborate in real-time, share pages, add comments, and mention your teammates. Moreover, you can create beautiful docs with images, to-do’s, organize information, and publish to the web. Lastly, it can be synchronized with browser, Mac, and Windows App.
5. Toggl Plan
Toggl Plan is a team calendar that gives you a visual overview of who’s doing what and when. In this app, you can plan, track, and deliver team projects on time. Toggl Plan is a desktop and mobile app. With Toggl Plan, you can see your team’s workloads and assign tasks without over or underworking teammates. In addition, you can track progress through task status updates and notifications. It brings clarity to your team’s work. Perfect for thesis, research or other group work where tasks are interdependent.
