Phone Apps and Organization Tips for Students
/When you’re a dedicated student, there are TONS of things you need to juggle- classes, homework, labs, tests, and club meetings!!!
There is so much to do in the 4 years you’re at college, and if you’re anything like I was, you’d want to do it all.
Here are some tips for students, specifically those who are studying sciences and business, that worked like a DREAM for me!!
USE YOUR PHONE
Huh? Isn’t your phone a source of distraction and time wasting?! YES- but also no!
I deleted all the games I had on my phone from high school because they just weren’t as fun for me. I still wanted to use social media, but because there’s so much going on I felt I wasn’t on them as much as I used to be.
Instead, I downloaded productivity apps to make my phone my PERSONAL ASSISTANT.
Okay, pull up your phone right now. I will be talking about the iPhone system because it worked for me! (TEAM IPHONE!!! Sorry, not sorry.)
GET SYNCHED AND GET PRODUCTIVE!
Use the calendar app, to monitor your classes, exam dates, and club meetings time.
Here you can add events throughout your entire week and month! When you get a new assignment or exam date, put it in the calendar. When you get an email about a club meeting, put it in the calendar. When your boss emails you about your schedule change, PUT IT IN THE CALENDAR.
Do you see the pattern?
My brain could not simply hold all of this information. Having it on the same device I would use 6000 times a day made everything accessible to my hands. You can access it in the morning and know exactly where you need to be for the day, addresses and all!
This app is free and should be pre-downloaded on your iphone already!!
In addition, you can sync your apple watch to show the upcoming events on the watch face! I would be in the lab and unable to take my gloves off because I was working with bacteria and still be able to check my calendar!!
This also syncs to google calendar, your email calendars, and shows up on your laptop!! You can sync your laptop/ipad/watch anything and make the calendar app your new best friend.
I really hated carrying around a planner I would forget to write in with me every day, (although sometimes I keep both in case and forced myself to write more, but I’ll save that for another day).
GET TO MEMORIZING!
Download ANKI!
So many science classes are memorization focused, even many of my upper business classes were recall heavy (accounting, corporate finance, business law)!
This app allows you to download pre-existing flashcards or create your own.
It give you repeated sessions to memorize and you can do these flashcards ANYWHERE- on the toilet, in the car, on the bus, while you’re ignoring your friends, when you’re in stupid meetings that could have been an email- ANYWHERE YOU NEED!!
There are a BUNCH of MCAT flashcard decks you can download online too. The app is free, and these decks are freeeeeee- my new favorite word.
READ THE DAMN TEXTBOOK!
Sometimes you find free PDFs from those shady guys in your orgo classes. You can download them on the iBooks app.
Often times my professors used textbooks that weren’t available online though. I rented the Kindle version off of Amazon for SOOO much cheaper and downloaded it to the Kindle app.
These two are great for taking the textbook on the go, and also they are free! You can use these apps on your phone, ipad, or laptop too!
What a great way to save paper and save the world…maybe.
Also carrying those giant textbooks to and from the library was such a bust. You can also train yourself to read dense science material on the computer- a useful MCAT skill!
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND BREATHE!
The Headspace app is my best kept secret.
I use it for ten min guided meditation twice a day! This is the best thing you can do to keep your mind less panicked.
Taking care of your mental health is important, and everyone is bombarded with this saying over and over, but what does it really mean?
If you check in with your thoughts in the morning, you can set your intentions for the day. When you check in with your thoughts in the evening or right before bed, you can visualize your day, see how you spent your time, what took up way too much energy, and what you want to improve for the next day.
I am a worrier, but I know this about myself. I have designed my life to help me worry less.
Before I used my headspace app at night I set 10 mins to worry about everything I could possibly think of- my horrible teachers, this chick who was rude and super competitive, the guy who cut me off while driving and almost caused an accident, my family worries, my health, the 8 lectures I need to review- everything!
After those 10 mins, I would use the headspace app to do 10 mins for myself. This worked SO SO WELL!
My mind wasn’t as crowded with worrying thoughts after my designated worry time was over. I put it aside and moved forward with my time and my thoughts.
Other awesome helpful apps I used:
Google Drive- keep your files in the cloud.
Google drive allows you to put documents, ppts, files, and folders online. You can edit the files in real time with friends using other apps too- Docs/Sheets.
It is the best thing ever. I am in love with it, and you should be too.
One time I had a reflection assignment due that I forgot to complete. I was already on my way to campus though and had 15 mins before the class. I used this to write the entire reflection on my phone, save it as a file, and email it to my teacher before class. PHEW.
It was the ultimate life saver for my procrastinating self. ALSO ITS FREE!
Khan Academy- review videos and reading materials. This app is a magical knowledge gem.
It has thousands of videos that review and explain every topic you could possible every think of for students in every grade from K-12, to many college degrees, and even graduate exam prep materials for free- a FREE magical knowledge gem!
I encourage you to make an account and use their content. I wouldn’t have passed any of my physics classes without their videos.
Eve- period tracker. It tracks your cycle and lets you log in physical symptoms throughout your day.
You can download it for free! Over time you can see your patterns like you get back pains right before your period is starting, or you feel energetic on the 2nd week of the month.
Use this to monitor your health girl!!!
Venmo- money transferring. Going out with friends is always easier with this.
You can use it to send money to your friends or charge them if you paid for their meal/activity. You can download it for free.
I know people who never have cash so this works great when you cover for them, and they have to pay you back! It’s also not as shady as snapcash or facebook money or whatever they call it now.
Chase/Citi Mobile- I use a few banking apps to check my accounts on the regular.
These you can download for free- sooo good. This is also great for checking your balances instantly and knowing how many more coffees you can buy this month UGHHH!
I like sharing these tips and tricks because I wish someone told me how to manage my life before I was in college honestly.
I will keep sharing these hacks and info for free on this page, as I would like to help students who have big goals and an even bigger drive to achieve them. Of course school doesn’t teach you this.
But don’t worry, I gotchu.
Love always, Shreya
“Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in.”