Building effective study habits or routines takes time and a lot of conscious efforts
If you are willing to put in the effort, there are apps that will get you in your best study behaviour faster than you think
In this article, I list some of the best study apps to keep you studying and boost your productivity level
The way I constructed the list in this post, each app builds on the previous one to form a study routine.
So whether you are studying for finals, tests, classes or simply just looking to build good study practices, then continue reading
PLAN YOUR SESSION
Google Calendar
The first thing you want to do when creating a study routine is to make it part of your day. Google calendar is a great time management and productivity app that allows you to create time blocks and schedule study sessions into your day.
That way you have dedicated time allotments just for studying. You can set your calendar to notify you once it is time and also invite your study partners into your calendar so that they are aware of the time and the meeting place of your study session
Related article: How to create a study schedule for your exam
CREATE YOUR STUDY TO-DO
Todoist
Once you begin your study session, you can add all the tasks that you need to complete for that session into a to do list. One of the ways you can do this is by using todoist. Todoist helps you stay organized with all the list of things you have to do. You can create a list, set a deadline and also place a priority level to it. This way you know what is important and you can get it done first
GET TO WORK
Evernote/Onenote
These are note taking app that helps keep your notes organized and manage projects. It also allows you to share notes with other people. It is really easy and flexible to use
Quizlet
Quizlet allows you to create flashcards, work on past questions as well as use other learning tools to further help make studying easy and fun
Kahoot
Kahoot makes studying fun and engaging. You can create your study questions and play it as a game with your study partners. It helps test your understanding of course materials in a fun way that allows the concept to stick
Grammarly
Sometimes studying involves writing long research papers and answering long answer questions. Grammarly is a grammar checker app that ensures that your work is free of mistakes and grammatical errors
AVOID DISTRACTIONS
Cold Turkey
while studying we might get easily distracted by notifications, alerts or get tempted to browse social media but cold turkey makes that nearly impossible. Cold turkey is a productivity app that pretty much allows you to lock yourself out of your computer and focus on the task at hand.
Forest
Forest is a fun productivity app that allows you to focus while you study. It also has an inbuilt pomodoro timer, although you can set your study duration as you choose. While the timer is on, it is time dedicated for you to work and anytime you pick up your phone, the tree in the forest slowly dies till you drop your phone and continue. It is a fun way to discipline yourself to use your phone less
TIME YOUR SESSION
Forest
A great way to avoid burnout while studying is to time your sessions. You want to ensure that you take frequent breaks while studying this enhances productivity. As mentioned above, forest comes with an inbuilt timer to help time your study session but you can also use an alarm clock
LISTEN TO MUSIC
Apple music/spotify
listening to music is one way to get your creative juices flowing. Whatever kind of music works best for your studying style, put on some headphones, get to it and keep studying
DE-STRESS
After a day or several hours of studying, we may feel stressed, tired and lacking the motivation to continue. There are several ways to decompress like meditation, journaling, taking a stroll, walking your pet, listening to podcasts, etc. Take some time to work on some of the activities that you find helps you relieve pressure so you can continue if you need to.
Some apps are;
Meditation: calm, headspace, podcasts
Journaling: apple note, planners, dayone,
SAVE YOUR WORK
Google drive
The worst thing that can happen is losing your work after a long day of studying. To ensure that doesn’t happen, save all your work on google drive. Google drive allows you to save, share and access all your files using any device.
REPEAT
Habitify
It is not a habit if it is not a continuous repeated effort. If you are looking to create study routine or habit then it is best to repeat it and track your progress every day till it eventually becomes a part of you and habitify lets you do that.
In conclusion, this list is not exhaustive and every app mentioned has an alternative of its kind. Regardless of what you choose to use, smashing our study goals and grades should be the number one priority.
Related articles to check out;
Ditching Time Wasters and Staying Motivated in College
How to Effectively Study for Exams
How to create a study schedule for your exam
