If the struggles of school are getting to you, you need some assistance. Here are the 8 best tools for students that will help you be productive.
Being a student is a hard job.
You have a lot of things to do on any given day and you have to do them well (because, you know, it may affect your grade).
However, it doesn’t have to be that difficult.
You can make things easier for yourself. You just need to know the right tools to use.
So, here are 8 essential tools that will help you with being productive, organized, and knowledgeable.
1) Notion
Notion is a scheduling and note-taking app.
The reason why you need this app is that it will keep you organized (and we all know the power of organization).
With all of its features, it will help you stay on track of things so that you know exactly what you need to do during study sessions. You can also write or store notes in it so that studying can be seamless.
Additionally, the reason why I suggest Notion as an essential tool for students over the other note-taking apps is that it has a toggle feature that can help you study for exams.
You can use this feature to study via the active recall method (you can read more about this study method here).
2) OneDrive or Google Drive
When I was a student, I had to rely on buggy USB drives to store all of my work (which I “occasionally” lost). Nowadays, you guys have multiple online drives to choose from.
The reason why you need an online drive, such as OneDrive or Google Drive, is that you need a place to store your work. You need something that is easily accessible.
Online drives were made for this. You can work on something at school, save it to your drive, and then go home and continue where you left off with (essentially) a press of a button.
Having one of these just makes things easier for you.
3) Khan Academy
Have you ever came across a problem that you just couldn’t figure out or understand while doing your homework?
And, on top of that, there was no one around that could help you?
I sure have.
But the difference between when I was in school and presently is that now, you have websites such as Khan Academy that are essential tools for students.
You can go to it, search for the topic you need help with, and it’ll show you how to solve it.
You don’t have to call around to ask or wait until the next school day to ask your teacher for help (which can be daunting).
4) CrashCourse
Similar to Khan Academy, CrashCourse (a YouTube Channel) can be used to explain facts and concepts to you.
The key difference, however, is that Khan Academy covers more grades and classes (starts at grade 1), whereas CrashCourse only covers certain topics (and the topics tend to be for the more advanced grades).
Additionally, Khan Academy offers more tutorial-like videos, whereas CrashCourse offers online video courses.
So, if you need to get a better understanding of an entire topic, such as a historical event or scientific fact, this channel will serve you well.
But if you need to know how to solve, say a math problem, Khan Academy will do a better job at that.
5) Grammarly
Writing is hard and sometimes you’re cramped on time.
As a result, you may rush to complete an essay and won’t review it thoroughly because of time constraints.
Here’s where Grammarly will be of use. It’ll proofread the entire writing for you and underline the errors.
Thus, when you do proofread it yourself, you won’t have to put in as much work editing.
Though, I will say that knowing and understanding grammatical rules is much more useful. If you know them well, you won’t make grammatical mistakes in the first place.
But accidents do happen. So, this is why Grammarly is an essential tool.
I want to also add that there are two versions of this app.
The free one will only check for basic grammar mistakes, whereas the paid one will check for a variety of mistakes. I personally only use the free version and I think it will do enough for most students.
If you want to improve your writing, click here to read this article on the most common grammatical mistakes.
6) Motivational Content
As I stated at the beginning of this article, being a student is tough. And sometimes, things aren’t going to go your way and self-doubt will creep in.
You won’t believe in yourself and consequently, won’t put your best foot forward.
This is why you should try to get a regular dose of motivational or inspirational quotes. It’ll help you get out of a rut if you’re in one (here’s how to find out) or help you stay motivated.
There are many ways to receive motivational content, but I suggest signing up for an email newsletter (such as the Daily Stoic) because it gets automatically sent to you.
You don’t have to go into Google or onto social media and search for inspirational quotes.
You can just log into your e-mail and it is there, ready for you to consume.
7) Google Docs and Microsoft Word Online
As a student, you will need to use a word processor. And you will need to use it often.
This is why you need to have your own copy.
The two that are easiest and most seamless to use are Google Docs and Microsoft Word Online.
They’re both free and both are great for writing essays and stories and such.
Additionally, by signing up for either one of these, you’ll also be provided with an online drive to use (hence, the seamless aspect).
However, I’m pretty sure the majority of you already have one of these (or both). Buuuut if you don’t, get one.
8) Hemingway Editor
The Hemingway Editor is a free online app that helps you clean up your writing.
When you’re writing an essay, for instance, and there are one or two sentences that you can’t seem to make sound good, pop it into this app.
It’ll show you what the potential errors are and which parts you should delete or re-write to clean it up.
So, if you’re teacher has called you out for writing long, clunky, choppy sentences, Hemingway Editor will be your best companion.
It’ll help make your writing understandable and easy to read.
When you use this app in conjunction with Grammarly, your essays should be top-notch (emphasis on “should”).
Final Thoughts on the Best Tools for Students
These are the 8 tools that all students should have and use.
It will make your life easier by providing you with assistance in the departments of motivation, organization, and homework help.
So, check them out and give them a try.