By Emily Wei, Lifestyle Columnist
Happy June everyone! I don’t know how all of you feel but I feel like time has been flying by way too fast recently, especially with all the sunny days we’ve been getting that mark the start of summer. When time slips through your fingers, it can be hard to time manage and organize your daily routine but that’s what I’m hoping to help with!
First up, we’ll talk about some tools that might make your life a bit easier to navigate. My personal favourites are Notion, Goodnotes, and Google Calendar. Notion is a website that helps you combine notes, calendars, databases, project management and more into your own customized workspace! Since it’s available as an app, I use Notion almost everyday on-the-go to check my “to-dos” and deadlines. I’ve even been able to make a page to keep track of books, gym days, and cafés! It can be a bit hard to navigate at first but, once you get the hang of it, it’s a breeze and several of my friends/peers swear by it! Goodnotes is another app I use constantly, and I highly recommend it if you’re a tablet user (especially for iPads). I take almost all my notes on this app and have completely switched from paper to digital! There’s lots of useful features such as voice recording that can come in handy during meetings/ lectures!
Lastly, Google Calendar is my holy grail, I’m not sure how I would function without it. Most of you are probably familiar with Google applications such as Google Docs and Sheets but, if you’ve never tried Google Calendar, it’s definitely worth giving it a shot. I used to write out all my plans/deadlines in a daily planner and I found that it was difficult to keep track of them or find something when I needed it. Luckily for me, Google Calendar came to the rescue and is accessible on mobile devices, tablets, and computers. This is where I manage my daily plans, appointments, due dates, and special events. As a bonus, all of the platforms I’ve mentioned above are available for free, so you really have nothing to lose if you want to try them out!
Before we end this month’s column, I wanted to propose some study/ work techniques that you can try implementing into your lifestyle! First, the Pomodoro method has been shown to be extremely helpful in increasing productivity levels. For those of you that haven’t heard of it, you basically do work for a set amount of time, then give yourself a designated break before starting work again. I personally like to do 50 minutes of work followed by a 5-10 minute break but you can change this to your own preferences! If you’re a person that likes to be moving when doing work, walking pads have become quite popular recently. You can walk in place while working and this could be especially useful if you have a standing desk.
Lastly, remember to give yourself the rest you deserve! Without allowing your body to recharge, you’ll never perform to the best of your ability. So, you’ll be doing yourself a favour by letting yourself sleep in/go to bed early a few days a week!
