As someone who finds organizing my work and personal life to be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable, I’ve encountered quite a few different websites and software programs for this purpose. I’ve also tried out strategies to keep my digital landscape manageable, since I spend so much time on my laptop. Below, I’ll be ranking my top 5 digital organizational aids, and I hope some will be of use to you.
5. The Notes App
In addition to serving as a great digital notebook for jotting things down quickly while on the move, the notes app is also a really great way to keep track of everything. The organization within the app itself is also very nice because I can make notes for content related to school or cooking or work and then divide them into their own folders and subfolders, so all my thoughts are easily accessible for future reference. The portable aspect of being able to have it on the go with me on my phone is also really great.
4. Notion
I’ve been on Notion for around 4 or 5 years now and that’s for good reason. Notion can be whatever you make it. I personally use it as a means to view my weekly to-do list and all my assignments (with due dates) for the next few months, but I’ve also seen people use it as a way to manage all aspects of their life. Also, there’s an app so you can access it from your phone too! The great appeal of Notion is it’s customizable. I’ve seen people use Studio Ghibli themes or gamify their notions. There is no bound to how creative you can get when setting up your interface. When having something that is uniquely yours, I find that it makes using the tool a lot more fun and, sometimes, I’ve found it will even boost my productivity.
The only drawback is, it takes a lot of time, and it can be tedious to do. There are templates out there (for free and for sale), to make the process easier, but I personally enjoy the creation and curation of my own individual organizational interface.
3. Folders, Bookmarks, & Groups
This is huge. I know a lot of us have ungodly numbers of open tabs on our laptops because we need them. There’s a lot going on in our search engines, and a lot of stuff we can’t afford to delete. Well, luckily for us, in Google at least, there is the option to create bookmarks and bookmark folders as well as tab groups. I am a bookmark and tabs warrior. Bookmarks are used for long-lasting necessary tabs like Canvas, Canva, BannerWeb, and my online textbook links; tabs will need easy access to for a long time. They are all bookmarked and then combined into a single bookmark folder named “University” along with some other related sites. I use the same method for my streaming sites and personal sites I use frequently (the bank, sites related to hobbies).
Tab groups are more temporary. I use these for current class projects/assignments that may require a lot of research, and thus, a lot of open tabs. When I’m not working on the assignment anymore, I can close the group to save it for later (NOT delete it. Deleting it will get rid of everything and that is not what we want), so the tabs aren’t staring at me from the top of my screen and overwhelming me. A clean space affecting the quality of your work ability applies to your desktop too.
2. Reminders App
If I don’t write things down, they will not get done. Sometimes (a lot of the time) if I don’t set some sort of notification to do the thing I wrote down, I will forget about it and it will not get done. This is especially true for tasks that must be completed at a certain time (club meetings, work, taking my laundry out of the washer). There is a lot to think about being a full-time student with a life outside of school, and the Reminders App has become my saving grace in terms of keeping me on track.
1. Apple/Google Calendar
Saving the best for last. The calendar apps! These take the notifications of the reminder app and allow you to see all your regular daily tasks as well as additional day-specific tasks in one place. I tend to use my calendar, reminders, and Notion in tandem, but if I could only use one, it would be the calendar app. Notion is fun for its customizable layout and visually appealing features, and the reminders app is a nice reminder for daily to-do’s, but the calendar app is really all you need. As a starting point into the vast wonderful world of organization, the calendar app is a great first step.
I really hope you’ll try at least one of these methods and if you do, I hope they serve you well.