Being organized in school has always been one of my weakest points. I find it hard to consistently keep on track of my schedule or even just planning out my time efficiently. I usually don’t allow myself the time or give the effort to organize myself. I rely on my poor memory to remember my assignments, and this is a dangerous game to play. Over the course of my educational career, I have found certain appliances and ways to somewhat organize my life.
Notion
I know that everyone swears by this appliance, and I totally agree with them. Notion is a simple appliance that allows for you to categorize things and set up tasks, efficient time management at its best. My main struggle with organization is I always find myself not using the things that I set up. I used to buy a bunch of agendas and notebooks in an attempt to organize and manage my time, but after a week or two, I would stop using them and completely forget about them. Notion has also been very helpful during this time of online schooling amidst the COVID pandemic, with a bunch of Zoom links that I need on a daily basis, it allows me to keep all of the links and but also all of my assignment instructions in one place. With online schooling, I must be on my laptop all the time, so having an online platform that I can organize myself with is amazingly convenient.
One of my more favorite aspects of Notion, is that there are templates if you are not sure how you want to set up your platform, or you can build it up from scratch. It is almost like your own personal website, solely for you and your work.
Pomodoro Ambience YouTube Videos
One of my biggest struggles when trying to study is that I get distracted by my music, while I love music while I am studying, I find it is one of the sole reasons I get distracted. My savior has consisted of Pomodoro Ambience YouTube videos. The Pomodoro technique is the technique in which you break up your studying into intervals rather than studying in one big chunk. I’ve always struggled with keeping my attention on one thing for a long period of time, by breaking up my time by 25 minutes and even allowing the 5-minute break in between, my brain doesn’t feel as exhausted when I am finished. Ambience is simply the environment’s atmosphere and the natural noises that are there. The ambience allows for me to not get distracted by any louder music, as ambience usually is at a much quieter volume. These two things in combination have made it so much easier for me to get work done and study. One of my personal favorites is a Harry Potter-themed Pomodoro video.
Virtual Cottage
Another one of my favorite platforms to use is Virtual Cottage. It is a super cute, super simple platform on Steam that makes a comfy space to get work done. It has a task notepad, for you to track all of your tasks you are attempting to complete, Lo-fi music, and a timer to set for how long you plan on studying each session. Having this makes me feel much more accountable and it feels so cozy while I’m getting work done. A peaceful atmosphere is a necessity when you are trying to get assignments done and study.