A Guide to Study Tools By: Mridula Murugan

 A Guide to Study Tools

By: Mridula Murugan

Over the years, I’ve learned some important lessons that have helped me manage my time and effectively study and stay productive. While some of these lessons may not apply to you, take some time to read about these important tips and tricks.

First off, it’s important to understand that time management is key to success in high school. There are so many projects, assignments, tests, final exams, and extracurriculars to manage. This leaves you to figure out the best method to managing your time wisely. My personal favorite is using Google Calendar because as someone who uses Google apps for almost everything, it seems natural to use Google Calendar, as well. If you love to keep everything on your phone or within the Apple applications, you can also use the inbuilt Calendar app. Additionally, anyone who uses Notion to maintain tasks (which I’ll talk about later) can also use the Notion Calendar to integrate time management with task tracking. Regardless of the application or calendar program that you decide to use, it is important to keep a system that will be easily understood by you. Any events or activities that occur at a specific time should be carefully noted down at that time. Try to create a color coding system that will help you understand your upcoming tasks at a moment's glance. For example, I use red for any tests and quizzes, yellow for assignments and projects due dates, blue for club meetings, purple for events and extracurricular activities, and a dark blue for school breaks and vacations. Depending on the specific sections that you want to create, you can manipulate this system to your liking. 

The next thing to focus on is keeping track of all your tasks. The most frustrating situation as a student is knowing that you could’ve accomplished something, but realizing that you simply forgot about it. These tasks range from school assignments, studying for a test or quiz, or even doing daily tasks. In my experience, I use a combination of Notion and physical lists to make sure I can finish all my work. On Notion, my student account gives me access to all the tools that I need to make a working template. With this template, you can create a master page with all the information and resources that you would need to access on a daily basis. Use to-do lists to write all the tasks for the day. One tip that I would give is to create a layout with many columns to allow you to view the tasks for the entire week, giving you a rough idea of the way your work needs to be laid out. Using post-it notes may seem like a simple concept, but personally, it’s always the easiest way to write down the quickest notes and details. However useful Notion and other online tools may be, having something physical to write on is consistently superior.

Overall, take advantage of the resources on the internet, as well as the tools that may already be available to you. I find that a successful study session always relies on having a clear path to accomplish my goals in the day. Always work hard and stay focused to achieve anything.