To this day there’s constant debate about the best way to organize one’s life. I started out with store-bought planners — the kind where the days are already laid out for you, but the lack of creativity and personality in them eventually bored me to death. Shortly after, I entered my bullet journal phase. I spent hours creating spreads that were lettered with extensive calligraphy and vivid gel pen. I made habit trackers, monthly calendars, and weekly spreads. While I did enjoy putting my personality to page, bullet journaling quickly became a time-consuming hobby that drained me.
During my junior year of high school, I discovered Notion, which completely changed my life: an online platform where I could think, write, and plan all in one space was a dream come true! The best part of it was that I could easily access the app from any of my devices. Notion has become an integral part of my life as I don’t think I’d survive college without it. Let’s take a tour of my Notion account while I guide you through how I use the planning software to make my life easier!
My Homepage
This is where I find everything in my Notion. When you first begin, Notion seems quite intimidating, especially if you attempt to make a template on your own. What I like to do is look for templates online, find ones that I like, and adapt them to my own Notion pages. On my homepage, I add gifs and photos (blocked for copyright purposes) that fit the vibe I’m going for. For the sake of convenience, I’ve added an easily accessible to-do list and weekly spreadsheet so I can quickly note tasks and see any important events for the week. The main purpose of the homepage is to create a common space where I can access all my other pages; I do this through Notion’s hyperlinking feature, which allows me to link multiple pages within a single page.
WEEKLY PLAN
My weekly plan page is essentially a combination of to-do lists for every day of the week; it allows me to plan ahead and pick the assignments/tasks I want to complete every day. I also like to include a weekly reminder at the top, which I change at the beginning of every week. Moreover, I add any tasks that are coming up the following week to help myself stay on top of things. This spread definitely emphasizes the importance of a basic to-do list.
Course Directory
My course directory page is one of the newer additions to my Notion; I acquired a template for it from one my favorite Youtubers: Breanna Quan. I never thought I’d end up using it until I actually did! The directory consists of different pages for each course I’m currently enrolled in. Within each page, I input important information for each course that I can easily refer/look back to; this information includes the professor’s email, office hours, a link to the syllabus, significant exam dates, and location of the class. I find myself gravitating to this page whenever I need to quickly glance at a syllabus or remind myself when office hours are. It makes my life so much easier because I don’t have to scour through bCourses to find one tiny bit of information.
Assignment Tracker
Out of all my Notion pages, this one is my holy grail. I believe this template’s also from Youtuber Breanna Quan, so go get one right now! I truly don’t think I’d survive college without this assignment tracker; programmed to organize assignments in order of their due date, this tracker allows me to put in an assignment’s name, the class it’s for, type of assignment, and any extra notes about it. This tracker also helps me figure out what homework I need to complete first, making it more convenient for me to prioritize certain assignments over others. Every task I’ve ever had goes into this tracker – the feeling of checking the box after completing each one is unlike any other. My Notion would be incomplete without this beautiful mastermind of a creation.
While I have other Notion pages besides these, the ones I’ve showed you today are what truly carry me through the semester. Notion is an absolute game changer for college students – if you’re looking for a new planning system, it’s definitely the way to go.
A piece of advice for beginners: don’t be intimidated by the vast possibilities that this software offers! There are plenty of fun, well-functioning templates on the internet for free, so dedicate a couple hours of your day to setting up an account and creating a planning system that works best for you.