While technology was once strictly banned from classrooms, that’s no longer the case. These are the five apps I use daily as a student—and you should, too.
1
Notion
Over the past few years, I’ve grown used to blinking for a moment and suddenly finding yet another assignment added to my overflowing to-do list. With assignments piling up so quickly, there have been times when one or two have completely slipped my mind—only for me to realize after the due date has passed. So, to ensure I’m able to hit all my deadlines on time, I rely on the infamous all-in-one productivity tool, Notion.
While there are countless interesting ways to use Notion, I’ve kept it extremely simple and set up a database to track deadlines for assignments, projects, problem sets, quizzes, midterms, and finals. The database includes five key columns: Status, Course, Name, Due Date, and Task. To avoid procrastinating and scrambling to finish everything at the last minute, I’ve added a Days Left column, which uses a formula to automatically calculate the remaining time.
In addition to tracking deadlines, I also use Notion to budget and monitor my finances. While some people find Notion tricky to navigate, its biggest strength is its flexibility. You can either start with one of the thousands of free templates available or create your own from scratch and customize it to fit your exact needs.
Download: Notion for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
2
Google Calendar
As someone who juggles work while being a full-time student yet still wants to maintain a social life, I wouldn’t make it out in one piece if I didn’t spend time planning my entire week. After sorting out my priorities in the Notion database I mentioned earlier, the next step is figuring out how to actually get everything done. For me, there’s no better way to do this than with a calendar app, and Google Calendar is my go-to.
While I’ve experimented with different calendar apps over the years, including Notion’s dedicated Calendar, I always return to Google Calendar because I rely on other Google tools like Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Tasks to stay organized. Google Calendar not only has an incredibly easy-to-use interface, but it also integrates with several third-party apps.
So, instead of spending hours trying to manually fit every assignment and deadline into my calendar, I turn to Reclaim, an AI-powered scheduling tool. It syncs seamlessly with my calendar, automatically scheduling tasks and time-blocking study sessions based on their urgency and my availability, which saves me valuable time and effort.
Download: Google Calendar for iOS | Android (Free)
3
Goodnotes 6
Once I’ve figured out exactly what I need to do and when, the next (and perhaps most important) step is actually doing it. And since I handle all my assignments and take notes digitally on my iPad, I needed a reliable note-taking app to use with a stylus. Goodnotes 6 has been my go-to for years now, and despite the abundance of alternatives, I’ve never once felt the need to switch. For starters, the note-taking experience itself is unparalleled.
The app offers three Pen tools (Fountain, Ball, and Brush) that can be customized for color, style, and thickness to match my preferences. Given that my semester tends to be quite course-heavy, things would quickly become chaotic if I didn’t properly organize my notes. Thankfully, Goodnotes 6 has an excellent organizational system that lets me create unlimited folders for easy access.
With AI becoming increasingly important in every sector over the past few years, it has also made its way into the educational world. Goodnotes 6 has fully embraced this, and offers multiple AI features like Spellcheck, Math Assistant, and Ask Goodnotes, all of which I can’t imagine studying without now. The best part? Goodnotes 6 offers great value for money. In addition to monthly and yearly subscriptions, there’s a one-time payment option for Apple users priced at $29.99, which is what I chose.
Download: Goodnotes 6 for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
4
Flora
There was a time when I constantly wondered how everyone else seemed to get so much done in 24 hours while I could barely accomplish anything. It didn’t make sense—we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Eventually, I realized the culprit was my screen time addiction and how many hours I’d spend mindlessly scrolling on my phone.
Despite trying a few app blockers to help with this, I realized I needed something more fun and rewarding to stay focused and study for long stretches. That’s when I found Flora, an app that gamifies productivity by letting you plant virtual trees as you focus. The concept is simple: choose the duration of your session and break, then hit Start to plant a seed. If you lose focus, your tree dies. But if you stay focused, the seed grows into a fully-fledged virtual tree.
What I love about Flora is its collaborative mode. If your friends also struggle to stay off their phones while studying, you can have focus sessions together. Anytime someone plants or kills a tree, everyone in a session gets notified. For me, this social accountability is often a bigger motivator than planting the tree itself!
Flora also tracks your study habits daily, weekly, and monthly, giving you a clear view of your progress. If killing a virtual tree isn’t enough to keep you accountable, Flora takes it a step further with its partnership with reforestation organizations. You can set a price between $5 and $100 as a penalty for losing focus.
As you might have guessed, if you fail to stay on task, the amount you set will be deducted from your payment method and used to plant real trees! The only drawback is that Flora is currently available only on Apple devices. If you’re looking for a similar experience on an Android device, give Forest a try!
Download: Flora for iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
5
Google Drive
Ever heard a student say they spilled water on their laptop just days before their finals and lost all their notes? As someone who has completely ditched physical notebooks and textbooks in favor of digital note-taking, that scenario is my worst nightmare come to life. That’s why backing up all my files to a cloud storage service, like Google Drive, is absolutely essential.
One obvious reason Google Drive is my cloud storage service of choice is that I use Google’s other services often, but it also offers one of the most generous free tiers—15 GB of storage. While it’s shared across other Google products like Gmail, Docs, and Photos, I’ve relied on Drive throughout high school, and it’s always been enough for me.
The app is packed with features that make organizing incredibly straightforward, such as the ability to create folders and color-code them. Whether it’s storing lecture notes or assignments, Google Drive keeps everything organized and easily accessible, no matter where I am or which device I’m using!
Download: Google Drive for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
While being a student undoubtedly gets chaotic at times, all five apps above help me keep that chaos at bay. I’d blindly recommend them to any student, regardless of the institute you study at or your major!
