The Best Productivity Apps for Students

2019-05-18 · Tech review, setup or bag tour · Ali, Francesco D'Alessio · recording, 14:07 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech (also: Productivity and time, Learning and studying, Goals, purpose and life design) · mode: Review and recommendation · tags: Aimed at students

With Francesco D'Alessio of the channel Keep Productive, Ali goes through six kinds of apps for students: Anki and Quizlet for flashcards, OneNote and now Notion for notes, Notability for handwriting, Google Sheets instead of a to-do app, group Pomodoros and Forest, and Day One for journalling.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Ali introduces Francesco of Keep Productive and the six categories of apps

★★ Ali says Anki and Quizlet do pretty much the same thing: Anki is better for entering cards fast with typing and keyboard shortcuts, Quizlet has the nicer interface. — 00:00:29 · Anki, Quizlet, keyboard navigation
★ Ali says people like Tim Ferriss wholeheartedly endorse Anki for things such as learning languages. — 00:00:29 · Tim Ferriss, Anki

00:00:34 — Flashcards: Anki and Quizlet

★★ Quizlet makes it very easy to get other people's decks, such as medical decks on anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, Ali says; Anki needs a downloaded deck package. — 00:01:04 · Quizlet, Anki
★★ In Anki or Quizlet you see a flashcard, recall its contents and mark whether to see it again; Ali calls active recall the best way to learn. — 00:01:04 · active recall, Anki, Quizlet
★★ Ali says the spaced repetition algorithms of Anki and Quizlet are really good because they take into account how difficult you find a card. — 00:01:34 · spaced repetition, Anki, Quizlet
★★ Francesco D'Alessio: Francesco particularly loves Quizlet's decks pre-made by other people: they save a load of work, and once comfortable you can go on to create your own. — 00:01:34 · Quizlet
★★ Ali calls flashcard software fantastic for all students in general. — 00:02:02
★★ Francesco D'Alessio: Francesco used Evernote at university: when he lacked focus in a lecture he hit its audio-recording button, which he found really useful. — 00:02:02 · Evernote
★ Francesco D'Alessio: Francesco imported into Evernote the diagrams, pictures, PowerPoints and PDFs his teachers sent over. — 00:02:02 · Evernote

00:02:06 — Note-taking: Evernote, OneNote and Notion

★★ At university Ali used Microsoft OneNote most, mainly to scan in all his handwritten notes. — 00:02:36 · Microsoft OneNote
★ Ali expanded his scanned notes on Microsoft OneNote's infinite horizontal canvas with extra notes and screenshots from the internet and textbooks. — 00:03:05 · Microsoft OneNote
★★★ Ali no longer really uses Microsoft OneNote because he recently discovered Notion. — 00:03:34 · Microsoft OneNote, Notion
★★ After watching Francesco's videos about Notion, Ali thinks Notion will revolutionise things for students. — 00:03:34 · Notion
★★ For the MRCP, Ali breaks each subject in Notion into toggle lists, which forces him to systematise it in his head and lets him add active recall questions before his notes. — 00:04:03 · Notion, MRCP, active recall
★★ Ali promises a full deep dive into how he uses Notion in a video on Francesco's channel, Keep Productive, which he hopes will come out at the same time as this one. (hedged) — 00:04:03 · Notion
★★ Ali still uses Notability on his iPad Pro, as shown in his video on notes at medical school: he plans all his videos in it, and taking notes in talks and lectures keeps him awake. — 00:04:32 · Notability, iPad Pro
★★ Ali says the evidence shows taking notes is not a very good study method, but he still likes taking notes in lectures because it keeps him awake. — 00:04:32 · active recall

00:04:37 — Handwritten note-taking: Notability on the iPad Pro

★★ For his OSCEs Ali built one master document from lecture slides, PDFs and photos of notes and courses, not because taking notes is useful but because it kept him awake and gives a single source of truth. — 00:05:37 · OSCE, Notability
★★ Ali writes headings such as causes, management and end-stage features of Parkinson's disease into his notes, so on review he asks himself whether he knows each rather than reading through. — 00:06:06 · active recall, OSCE
★ Ali finds the Apple Pencil really nice to write with. — 00:06:35 · Apple Pencil

00:07:02 — To-do lists: Todoist, and Google Sheets with the retrospective revision timetable

★★ Francesco D'Alessio: Todoist, one of Francesco's personal favourites, is his daily task manager, where he plans his tasks ahead. — 00:07:02
★ Francesco D'Alessio: Todoist organises tasks into projects, Francesco says: a student could have one project per module. — 00:07:02
★★★ Ali has tried many to-do list apps: Wunderlist as a student, then Things, which he switched to a few months ago, but now he does not really have a to-do list manager. (hedged) — 00:07:32 · Things 3
★★ As a student Ali managed his time with his retrospective revision timetable in Google Sheets: after active recalling a topic he wrote down the date, sometimes colour-coding it by how good he was at it. — 00:08:01 · Google Sheets, spaced repetition, active recall
★★ Each day Ali chose what to revise by his weakest topics, asking which topic he would be least happy to see come up in the exam tomorrow. — 00:08:30 · spaced repetition
★★ Ali tried to-do lists as a student but did not stick to them, and they did not plan for what happened along the way, such as going out one night. — 00:08:30
★★ So many people swear by to-do list apps, Ali says, that you should probably try some of them out if you feel like it. — 00:09:00
★★ Ali explains the Pomodoro technique: work for about 25 minutes, rest for five, repeat, and after four Pomodoros take a longer break, for example half an hour. — 00:09:00 · Pomodoro technique

00:09:12 — Pomodoro timers: studying in Pomodoros with friends, and Forest

★★ Ali and his friends did Pomodoros together and set up a WhatsApp group called PomSoc, the Pomodoro Society, which is still running five years later. — 00:09:42 · WhatsApp, Pomodoro technique
★★ In PomSoc a tap on the table started the 25-minute timer, another tap at its end opened about five minutes of whispered chat, and a double tap restarted the timer. — 00:09:42 · Pomodoro technique
★★ Ali calls Pomodoros a really nice way to make studying into bite-sized chunks, especially when studying with friends. — 00:10:12 · Pomodoro technique
★★ Francesco D'Alessio: Francesco likes group Pomodoros because everyone takes breaks at the same time, so nobody interrupts anyone's flow; 25 minutes is not long and five minutes is the perfect break. — 00:10:12 · Pomodoro technique
★★ Francesco D'Alessio: In the Forest app the tree you plant dies if you leave the app, Francesco says, forcing you to stay off your phone while studying; he found it quite helpful. — 00:10:41
★★ Ali calls the journalling app Day One really good and very easy to add entries to; he keeps three different journals in it. — 00:10:41 · Day One

00:10:52 — Journalling: Day One and a physical journal

★★ Ali enjoys looking back at his journals from his student days, such as the angst he felt in third year, and can't believe he was like that. — 00:11:11
★★ Ali keeps a Day One journal of nice comments: he screenshots kind comments from Instagram or YouTube into it and browses them when he is feeling sad. — 00:11:11 · Day One
★★ Francesco D'Alessio: Francesco keeps a physical journal, the Baron Fig Confidant: he has used them for two or three years and has four or five full ones at home. (hedged) — 00:11:40
★★ Francesco D'Alessio: Francesco likes that handwriting in a physical journal tells a story of how he was feeling; he writes every two to three days, mainly about how he feels and approaches life. — 00:12:09
★★ Ali says there is a lot of evidence behind journalling: supposedly, writing down a few things you are grateful for each day boosts personal happiness more than doubling your salary. (hedged) — 00:12:09
★★ Ali promises a second video on Francesco's channel, a discussion of general productivity tips for students. — 00:12:40

00:12:51 — Closing: two more videos on Francesco's channel, the podcasts, sign-off

In the description and comments

★ The video's description links Ali's video on how he uses Notion, published on Francesco's channel. — video description · Notion

Threads in this video

refine · Should you use flashcards and Anki? — Ali says Anki and Quizlet do pretty much the same thing: Anki is better for entering cards fast with typing and keyboard shortcuts, Quizlet has the nicer interface. (00:00:29)
restate · Should you use flashcards and Anki? — Francesco particularly loves Quizlet's decks pre-made by other people: they save a load of work, and once comfortable you can go on to create your own. (00:01:34)
restate · Should you use flashcards and Anki? — Ali calls flashcard software fantastic for all students in general. (00:02:02)
restate · Which note-taking app should you use? — Francesco used Evernote at university: when he lacked focus in a lecture he hit its audio-recording button, which he found really useful. (00:02:02)
shift · Which note-taking app should you use? — Ali no longer really uses Microsoft OneNote because he recently discovered Notion. (00:03:34)
refine · Which note-taking app should you use? — For the MRCP, Ali breaks each subject in Notion into toggle lists, which forces him to systematise it in his head and lets him add active recall questions before his notes. (00:04:03)
promised · Ali promises a full deep dive into how he uses Notion, in a video on Francesco D'Alessio's channel Keep Productive (2019) — Ali promises a full deep dive into how he uses Notion in a video on Francesco's channel, Keep Productive, which he hopes will come out at the same time as this one. (00:04:03)
restate · Which note-taking app should you use? — Ali still uses Notability on his iPad Pro, as shown in his video on notes at medical school: he plans all his videos in it, and taking notes in talks and lectures keeps him awake. (00:04:32) → refers to How I take notes on my iPad Pro in medical school - Cambridge University medical student
restate · How should you take notes when studying? — Ali says the evidence shows taking notes is not a very good study method, but he still likes taking notes in lectures because it keeps him awake. (00:04:32)
refine · How should you take notes when studying? — For his OSCEs Ali built one master document from lecture slides, PDFs and photos of notes and courses, not because taking notes is useful but because it kept him awake and gives a single source of truth. (00:05:37)
restate · Should you run your work from a to-do list? — Todoist, one of Francesco's personal favourites, is his daily task manager, where he plans his tasks ahead. (00:07:02)
shift · Should you run your work from a to-do list? — Ali has tried many to-do list apps: Wunderlist as a student, then Things, which he switched to a few months ago, but now he does not really have a to-do list manager. (00:07:32)
shift · Which productivity apps should you use? — Ali has tried many to-do list apps: Wunderlist as a student, then Things, which he switched to a few months ago, but now he does not really have a to-do list manager. (00:07:32)
refine · How do you study effectively for exams? — As a student Ali managed his time with his retrospective revision timetable in Google Sheets: after active recalling a topic he wrote down the date, sometimes colour-coding it by how good he was at it. (00:08:01) → refers to How to study for exams - The Retrospective Revision Timetable
restate · How do you study effectively for exams? — Each day Ali chose what to revise by his weakest topics, asking which topic he would be least happy to see come up in the exam tomorrow. (00:08:30)
refine · Should you run your work from a to-do list? — Ali tried to-do lists as a student but did not stick to them, and they did not plan for what happened along the way, such as going out one night. (00:08:30)
restate · Should you run your work from a to-do list? — So many people swear by to-do list apps, Ali says, that you should probably try some of them out if you feel like it. (00:09:00)
retold · Ali and his friends study in Pomodoros together and set up the WhatsApp group PomSoc, the Pomodoro Society (2014) — Ali and his friends did Pomodoros together and set up a WhatsApp group called PomSoc, the Pomodoro Society, which is still running five years later. (00:09:42)
restate · Should you use the Pomodoro technique? — Ali calls Pomodoros a really nice way to make studying into bite-sized chunks, especially when studying with friends. (00:10:12)
restate · Should you study alone or with other people? — Ali calls Pomodoros a really nice way to make studying into bite-sized chunks, especially when studying with friends. (00:10:12)
restate · Should you use the Pomodoro technique? — Francesco likes group Pomodoros because everyone takes breaks at the same time, so nobody interrupts anyone's flow; 25 minutes is not long and five minutes is the perfect break. (00:10:12)
restate · How do you stop your phone and social media from eating your time? — In the Forest app the tree you plant dies if you leave the app, Francesco says, forcing you to stay off your phone while studying; he found it quite helpful. (00:10:41)
restate · Should you journal, and how? — Ali calls the journalling app Day One really good and very easy to add entries to; he keeps three different journals in it. (00:10:41)
restate · Should you journal, and how? — Francesco likes that handwriting in a physical journal tells a story of how he was feeling; he writes every two to three days, mainly about how he feels and approaches life. (00:12:09)
refine · Should you journal, and how? — Ali says there is a lot of evidence behind journalling: supposedly, writing down a few things you are grateful for each day boosts personal happiness more than doubling your salary. (00:12:09)
promised · Ali promises a discussion of general productivity tips for students, in a video on Francesco D'Alessio's channel Keep Productive (2019) — Ali promises a second video on Francesco's channel, a discussion of general productivity tips for students. (00:12:40)
kept · Ali promises a full deep dive into how he uses Notion, in a video on Francesco D'Alessio's channel Keep Productive (2019) — The video's description links Ali's video on how he uses Notion, published on Francesco's channel. (video description)
milestone · Ali prepares for the MRCP, a postgraduate medical exam (2019) — For the MRCP, Ali breaks each subject in Notion into toggle lists, which forces him to systematise it in his head and lets him add active recall questions before his notes. (00:04:03)
progress update · Ali promises videos for students on motivation, productivity, note-making, his phone apps and using the iPad at medical school (2018) — Ali still uses Notability on his iPad Pro, as shown in his video on notes at medical school: he plans all his videos in it, and taking notes in talks and lectures keeps him awake. (00:04:32)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Ali promises a full deep dive into how he uses Notion, in a video on Francesco D'Alessio's channel Keep Productive (2019) — kept
Ali promises a discussion of general productivity tips for students, in a video on Francesco D'Alessio's channel Keep Productive (2019) — open (no report in 2019–2024); last: promised, 2019-05-18
Ali promises videos for students on motivation, productivity, note-making, his phone apps and using the iPad at medical school (2018) — open (updates through 2019, not reported done); last: progress update, 2019-05-18
Ali prepares for the MRCP, a postgraduate medical exam (2019) — last documented in 2020; last: milestone, 2020-01-14

Mentioned

Central: Anki · Day One · Francesco D'Alessio · Notability · Notion · Pomodoro technique · Quizlet

Also: People: Tim Ferriss

Works: MRCP

Organizations: Emmanuel College · Pomodoro Society

Concepts: active recall · keyboard navigation · OSCE · spaced repetition

Products: Apple Pencil · Baron Fig Confidant · Evernote · Forest · Google Sheets · iPad Pro · Microsoft OneNote · Things 3 · Todoist · WhatsApp · Wunderlist

Only in the description or credits: Keep Productive

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