The start of a new school year brings excitement, nerves, and high hopes, especially regarding your ability to complete all your tasks and keep your life in order. Personally, over last semester’s fully virtual class/meeting sessions, I found myself falling short when it came to planning my days and making sure all my tasks were completed in a timely manner. I’ve always been one to keep all my weekly “to-do’s” in an agenda, but even I didn’t do that last semester! This school year though, I’ve made it a point to be more organized through the use of an agenda, and the fairly new and free “all-in-one workspace” app called Notion is the perfect way to do this.
I’m all for old fashioned ways of doing things (I’m one of the few people who still take most of their class notes by hand in a notebook instead of on my laptop), but I’ve found that the app Notion is much more convenient and organized than writing tasks (and often having to change/cross out due to schedule modifications) in a physical notebook. Notion includes the best of all worlds: it has endless templates for lists, calendars that send you notifications when a task is due, schedule spreadsheets, spaces for class notes, and beautiful graphics that allow you to personalize your workspace. Seriously, I’ve seen people make the most aesthetically pleasing Notions filled with gifs, stickers, and color-coded text. I’ve also seen Notions that are simple and minimalist, which works better for some. I love that it is completely customizable, all based on your style and interests. Basically, it’s a better Google Drive, Evernote, Google Calendar, Notepad, and Agenda… all in one!
One of my favorite parts about Notion is that it isn’t only available on one platform, but on all platforms. This means that by quickly logging into your account, you can access all your materials on your laptop, phone, tablet, and even the library computers. Another great feature is that you can set up a shared workspace for group projects, staff teams, or roommates. Notion works in a “block system”, and each block of space can become anything you’d like. It’s completely personable; you can use Notion to organize your social life, grocery lists, class schedules, homework, or all!
I can keep talking about Notion and all its features, but the best way to get a sense of what the application is really like is to visit it for yourself! Hopefully it becomes a staple for you like it has for me, and I wish you all a happy and organized semester!