I’ve hit the mid-quarter slump. It’s week 6. Midterms, assignments and extracurriculars are piling up. Goodness knows how I found the time to write this post (it’s about 2am on a Wednesday… err Thursday)! So how am I keeping sane these days? Well, with a little help from technology of course. Now before I get too deep into this post, I must admit that I do own a paper planner. It’s a physical object that reminds me of all the things I have to do this week, with proper color coding for assignments and classes. But I also make use of several smaller tech automations to make life a little easier.
A new type of software I’m trying is productivity timer based applications. The Pomodoro method has caught on, and now everyone wants to use timers to boost their productivity. I’m trying a new app on my phone that sorts my tasks into categories, such as homework, social media or gym. When I start a task in these categories, I tap the correct category and start a timer. When I’m done with a task, I stop the timer. Over time, the hope is that I’ll see where I’m spending most of my time and adjust my tasks accordingly.
One of my most often used helpers is the reminders app on my phone. I have an iPhone, which has a pretty good reminders app built in. I feel sure Android and Windows phones have similar native reminder apps. If you want something a little more specific to this need, try Any.do, which has mobile and desktop support, along with a beautifully simple design. Reminder apps are great for little things such as making sure you remember to call someone at a specific time the next day. And since it’s mobile, you’ll most likely carry your phone with you at the time you need reminding. As a personal note, I only use reminders for short term, small tasks. If you need something to handle a bunch of tasks, then it’s time to move outside your reminders app.
The next big thing I use to manage all my to-dos is lists. Really. I make lists and I stick to them. And they must have check boxes. Checking off a task you’ve completed really makes you feel like you’ve accomplished a lot, furthering your cycle of productivity and accomplishment. For this type of task management, apps like Evernote or Wunderlist are great. You can categorize by different types of tasks and color code your notes. Again, both these platforms are available on mobile and desktop. I’ve personally started using Trello, which has different boards that you make “cards” for. These cards can contain lists, pictures, attachments, whatever. Think of it as Pinterest for productivity. Trello is a pretty powerful tool (they have a business version), and also supports desktops and mobile phones. These task managing platforms are great for short and long term goals.
Finally come calendars. Calendars are good for keeping track of your daily, weekly and monthly schedule. Additionally, calendars are more about knowing the things you have planned for your day instead of keeping a list of tasks for you to check off. Many people have preferences on the digital calendars that they use. I have friends who swear by Google Calendars; I know many work places use them. However, in keeping in line with my love for mobile accessibility, I use the built in calendar on my phone (iCalendar) because I can use Siri (or whatever personal voice assistant you have) to quickly create an event by speaking it. It makes scheduling less painful when you just talk your events to your phone.
So those are my few organizational helpers that keep me sane at college. Do you have any favorite task tools?