4 Great Virtual Tools That Will Keep You Productive

It’s no secret that attempting to stay productive during the busy school year can be an onerous and exhausting process. We all know how simple it is to make a quick, mental, short-term promise to ourselves, saying that we’ll do whatever it is later, but when we don’t hold ourselves accountable and stay efficacious, things tend to go downhill. So, how does one resist the grueling temptation to procrastinate?

Learn how to be more productive using four great free apps and extensions and end the procrastination, once and for all.

1. Notion

We've all been in need for an extension that can helps us stay organized at some point in our lives. Notion is a software designed to help diverse community members with their daily lives by organizing all their files, documents, and personal lives in one spot. Not only does it provide a wide variety of templates, ranging from managing book lists to job applications, but it also provides a clean, minimalist, and overall aesthetic frame for your work. You can add wallpapers, write meaningful quotes, and even insert fully-customizable widgets that help you keep track of the world. Plus, it’s easy to set up and get the hang of (check out this video for some help on setting it up!).

Personally, as a student, I’ve found that Notion is practical for all kinds of work, and it’s helped me survive the increasingly demanding years of school. I love having all my assignments and goals in one place and am very attached to the clean aesthetic it provides.

2. Momentum

Have you ever been stuck when it came to choosing a web page wallpaper? If you’re like me, you might struggle to stick with just one browser picture, or maybe you simply won’t be able to find a wallpaper that suits your preferences. If so, then consider using Momentum. It’s a free chrome extension that changes your ordinary web page into breathtaking scenery from all across the world. Not only are all the photos enlightening and colourful, but they can also change daily, meaning you’ll never get bored of the ongoing stream of landscapes that are being presented. Plus, Momentum offers a to-do list in the corner of your web page, holding all of us procrastinators accountable when we open a new tab (wink wink). It also sets up motivational quotes and other simple mantras or greetings to brighten our days. That's why Momentum is such a flexible extension and a great tool to use if you want to spice up your web page.

3. Google Calendar

Although having a to-do list is important, keeping and regularly updating a calendar is critical when it comes to productivity. Task lists help you manage what you need to do, while calendars help you organize when and where it needs to happen. It’s also incredibly customizable, meaning you can personalize it into an aesthetic calendar you can be proud to show off. By simply googling any colour palette generator (my personal favourite is https://colors.muz.li/), you can insert the hex codes into the system so that all your tasks, reminders, and events become dazzling to look at. Plus, using google calendar, you can mark your contacts’ birthdays, observe the phases of the moon, and even set up google meets using its various features.

4. Forest

Calling all nature lovers out there! Forest is one of my favourite productivity apps due to its sheer simplicity and effectiveness. After a quick installation, Forest will let you set up a whitelist and a blocklist for all the apps that we really shouldn’t be using as we work and study. Then, start by activating the timer, which will then “grow” a tree each time you complete a session, which you can then add to your virtual forest! Even better, if you try to use one of your blocklisted apps or non-whitelisted apps (depending on which list you were using), a sorrowful message will appear: “Are you sure to give up? This will kill your cute, little tree.” Well now surely no one would be so cruel to choose to kill the poor little tree, right? This will force you to choose the more sensible decision and continue your productive exercises. In the end, both you and your tree are happy, as you got the work done, and your tree was able to reach adulthood without being brutally slaughtered.

Overall, no matter what apps or extensions or tools you use to stay productive, the effort you put in is most important. The amazing features of these apps and extensions won't be as valuable without your hard work and determination. Good luck on your journey to productivity!

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The writer, Linda Qi, is a grade 9 Pre-IB student at Merivale HS in Ottawa, Ontario. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as playing volleyball during her free time. In the future, she hopes to continue developing those areas and pursuing her passions.