The Ultimate Guide to Productivity Apps

May 14

Feeling overwhelmed by assignments and deadlines? Staying organized and focused can be tough with so much going on during the school year. Luckily, there are many great apps (free and student-friendly!) that can make it easier for you to get things done on time. While they may have similar features and purposes, you won’t know which one is right for you until you try them out!

1. Google Calendar (best for reminders, collaborating, and event managing)

Google Calendar is simple, straightforward and reliable. This app is great for managing your daily and weekly schedules.

Whether you’re tracking deadlines, organizing group meetings or setting reminders for study sessions, Google Calendar helps you stay organized with just a few clicks. Not only does it sync in real-time across all your devices, it also integrates with other Google platforms such as Gmail, Google Classroom and Google Sheets (just to name a few), making it ideal for keeping everything connected. For instance, if you receive a Zoom link in Gmail, it can automatically appear in your calendar. Additionally, you can invite others to shared events, add location information for in-person events and include attachments like notes.

With features like these and more, this app is not just a calendar—it’s a smart planner as well!

2. Notion (best for students who want full control over their planner’s design and layout)

Notion is more than just a note-taking app! It's a customizable digital workspace that allows you to organize your academic life exactly the way you want.

You can organize your class notes, create a weekly schedule, set reminders and even build a dashboard with everything you need! One of Notion's standouts is its flexibility; you aren’t limited to preselected templates and can either create your own page or explore and try out other users’ designs!

Another convenient feature of this app is its ability to integrate with many other platforms such as Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack and more.

It’s perfect for students who prefer keeping everything in one space but also love organizing things their own way. Though it may take a while to set up your page the way you want it to look, a bit of practice will allow you to get used to Notion’s functionalities, making it a useful tool!

3. Microsoft To Do (best for creating and managing detailed task lists with reminders)

If you prefer the idea of structured task lists, consider Microsoft To Do, a task management app that helps with staying organized and managing day-to-day tasks.

You can organize your tasks into custom lists, set reminders and even break down tasks into sub-tasks! One of the app’s helpful features is the "My Day" feature, which allows you to select the most important tasks to focus on each day—ideal for students who want to stay productive without feeling overwhelmed. The app also integrates with Microsoft 365 services like Outlook and syncs across all your devices, making it easy to turn emails into tasks if you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem.

As such, while Microsoft To Do may not have the design functionalities of tools like Notion, it’s simple, clean, and efficient.

4. myHomework Student Planner (best for students who want a planner app exclusively for school life)

myHomework is a student-friendly planner app built specifically for academic life, with many features that help you track assignments and tests.

For instance, you can sort your tasks according to class, priority, or type! Other features include setting reminders, colour-coding your classes, and even syncing your schedule across your devices. It mimics a digital agenda book and is perfect for students who prefer structure over complexity in a planner.

All in all, it doesn’t have the same flexibility or integration features as Google or Microsoft apps, but it does a great job for academic organization, especially for those who want planners solely for school!

5. Google Tasks (best for quick task management and minimalism)

If you already use Gmail or Google Calendar, Google Tasks is a good add-on!

It’s a simple to-do list app that’s perfect for managing workload, as you can set dates, create to-do lists for different classes and add sub-tasks to your tasks. Thanks to its integration with Gmail and Google Calendar, Google Task’s features are directly connected to them. For example, tasks created in Google Task will automatically appear in your Google Calendar side panel and any email can be easily turned into a task by simply dragging the email from Gmail to Google Task! Thus, for students who already use Google services, this app is a convenient way to stay organized.

However, while Google Tasks is easy to use and integrate into Gmail and Calendar, it’s quite limited in features. There’s no advanced organization, just a clean and simple to-do list for students who are more minimalistic.

Lastly, a similar platform is Google Keep, which can be used to quickly jot down notes whenever you want. With colour-coded notes and even voice memos, Google Keep is perfect for staying organized on the go!

Being organized doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. You just need the right tools, so why not try out these planners? Finding the right one can greatly help you stay on top of school without all the stress. A little organization goes a long way! Most importantly, summer is on its way, so hang in there and good luck!

Jessica Y.