Hey everyone, I hope you all have had a happy yummy food filled holiday. For many of us at U of T this was our first week back. I myself came back from being abroad this week as well. The first week back to school is always a hard adjustment to make. To ease that transition and to start the new year on a good note I have a list of apps that will make your school life a little bit smoother.
You will notice that this list is not just studying apps. Studying is a huge part of school, but in order to do well we need other facets of our life in order!
Less stress = happy productive studying.
Studying
Forest: Stay Focused, be present
Cost: $1.19
This app is great for anyone who constantly gets distracted by their phone when working. I love this app because of its visual aspects of it. Whenever you want to focus you plug in the amount of time you need to be away from your phone. During this time a “ tree will grow” . The better you get at staying away from your phone you will start to create more trees which will eventually create a forest which is a visual representation of your focus abilities. The tree building concept is helpful in keeping yourself accountable in how much studying you actually do.
iProcastinate
Cost: Free
This app is only available on apple laptops. I struggled to find a smartphone app that fulfilled the same usefulness as this laptop app. A plus side for having this app on your computer is that you can add in assignments in class as you get them, and the larger screen makes it easier to plan and organize. iProcastinate allows you to set up categories for all your courses. Within these categories you add in your future assignments, its’ date, necessary steps to complete it, and the difficulty of the task. The app’s calendar shows you the days you have to complete each task per assignment for all your courses and prioritizes them according to criteria mentioned above.
Lifestyle
Uber Eats
Cost: Free
One draw back of studying on campus is that the food options are limited. If you are able to plan ahead of time, you can coordinate the approximate delivery time of your food with the end of your class. Uber eats has a huge list of different cuisines from restaurants across the city. For those of you wanting to eat healthier, they have a section for that as well.
I do not use Uber Eats on a regular basis, as that can get expensive but, during the craziness of exam I did not have enough time to get groceries and cook. Uber Eats has a “Cheap Eats” section, which I heavily relied upon during exam week
Sleep Cycle alarm clock
Cost: Free
Any student will tell you that sleep is key in productivity performance. This app analyzes your sleep and wakes you when you are in a light sleep , which ensures you are well rested and not groggy when you awake.
Wunderlist
Cost: Free
Wunderlist is essentially a virtual To Do list. It allows you to custom make categories in which you can create lists. If you live with housemates and have shared responsibilities you can create lists and share the list with them. You can modify the lists and categories to suit your own needs. If you do not have an agenda, you can create categories for each of your individual classes and use the lists to keep track of assignments and readings.
Campus
Eventbrite
Cost: Free
Between my friends and my faculty I am constantly being invited to different events on campus. I do not like having to strictly rely on facebook to remind of important events because it often gets lost in my notifications. Eventbrite not only shows you your specific events, but suggests events in your area according to your preferences.
U of T
Cost: Free
This app would have been incredibly helpful during my first year at U of T. The U of T app is a map of campus. Not only does it list the different buildings, but it can help you locate different services around campus as well. Whenever I get an exam room I am not familiar with, I like to use the U of T map to ensure I get to my proper destination.
Finance
TD
Cost: Free
Feel free to use whichever banking app is relevant to you, I personally am with TD so I am more familiar with their app. In order to properly budget your finances it is important to see the actual amount of funds you are working with. The TD app allows you to submit cheques into your account virtually. During the week it can get difficult for students to go to the bank due to school commitments, and this app helps you save on time. My biggest advice would be not to save your information. It can be tedious constantly manually imputing your account information, however in the event your phone gets stolen , your bank information would be safe.
Budgt
Cost: $0.99
It is important for all students to be financially savy. I personally do not like complex apps with many functions and options, it becomes hard to use and navigate. This app is simple and easy to use. It gives you the ability to create your own expense categories, which is displayed in a pie chart. Its’ simple features allow you to easily manage your monthly budgets with income and recurring expenses.