Master Notion for Students: 5 Game-Changing Techniques

Struggling to manage your student life with lots of classes and projects? We feel you!

Student life can be challenging with numerous classes, assignments, projects, and exams to juggle at the same time. Time management and organization are key to successfully navigating through these demands, but they can be hard to master.

This is where Notion can help! Notion is a productivity tool that allows you to create a comprehensive study planner where you can organize your class schedules, take notes, and track your assignments and exams all in one place. It's also customizable to your specific needs, allowing you to create a system that works best for you.

In this article, we will walk through how Notion can be the right tool for your studies, 5 game-changing techniques when using Notion, and free resources to help you get started and master Notion!

Why Notion for your studies?

1. Free for individual students & educators

Notion offers a free plan that is more than sufficient for your academic needs. With this plan, you can enjoy unlimited blocks and pages, allowing you to build your study hub precisely the way you want it.

One of the best things about Notion is that it allows you to store everything in one place. From notes, class schedules, assignments, and more, everything you need is just a few clicks away. Plus, it's easy to collaborate and share among your team of up to 10 people!

Source: Notion.so

2. It can be an all-in-one study hub

Notion doesn't just help with storing and organizing your study materials; it can serve as an all-in-one study hub. It provides features for a calendar, notes, a to-do list, and even a place to organize your classes or courses. You can track your grades, store various resources, create flashcards for efficient study, and even maintain a contact book. All these features make Notion the perfect tool to streamline your academic life.

Source: The Organized Notebook, 2024

5 Game-Changing Techniques for Students when Using Notion

1. Leverage the powerful note-taking features

Notion's note-taking functionality is flexible and can be tailored to various study needs. You can set up a note database system, categorize notes by subjects, classes, or usage, and create note templates for quick use. Here are some important tips to consider for note-taking in Notion:

• Input Different Types of Content to Support Your Notes: Notion allows you to input text, images, videos, links, and even code or formulas in your notes. This can make your note-taking more comprehensive and dynamic.
• Create Table of Contents with Headings and Subheadings: This feature lets you organize different sections effectively, easily navigate through your notes, and understand the structure of the information.
• Use Bullet Points and Numbered Lists: Notion lets you include bullet points, numbered lists, and checkboxes. These can be useful for summarizing information, creating checklists, and breaking down complex ideas into smaller, more digestible parts.
• Highlight and Color Code Your Notes: There are also many ways to highlight important parts of your notes and color-code different sections to make them more visually distinguishable.
• Link Between Pages: This can be especially useful when studying subjects that have overlapping concepts or when you want to cross-reference your notes.
• Connect your notes to classes or courses: This feature lets you systematically organize your notes under the right classes for easy retrieval in the future.

Source: The Organized Notebook, 2024

2. Streamline your study process by keeping courses, assignments & exams in one place

Notion can be your all-in-one academic dashboard where you can keep track of your courses, assignments, and exams systematically. By keeping all your courses, assignments, and exams in one place in Notion, you can have a better overview of your workload and manage your time more effectively. You can streamline the entire process with the following setups:

• Set Up a Course Database: This is where you can list out all your courses for the semester. For each course, add relevant details such as the course instructor, class times, course materials, and any other important notes. You can also link it to your notes and assignments for that particular course.
• Create a Tracker for Your Assignments and Exams: You can either create a calendar and schedule all your due dates in it or create a new table and list it out along with their due dates, status, and the course they belong to. You can sort this table by due date to prioritize your workload. For each exam, add details such as the course, exam format, and topics to study. This will ensure you are well-prepared for all your exams.

Source: The Organized Notebook, 2024

3. Facilitate teamwork and group projects by setting up a team hub

Notion can also be a fantastic tool to facilitate teamwork in school group projects. You can easily create a group hub where you can collaboratively work on projects, share resources, assign tasks, track progress and deadlines, and much more.

• Set Up a Group Project Page: This is a central hub where all members can access and contribute. You can structure this page according to your project's needs with different sections for various aspects of the project such as research, tasks, meetings, and resources.
• Collaborate in Real-Time: All changes made in Notion are synced in real-time, allowing all group members to work together simultaneously. This makes brainstorming and collaborative tasks seamless and efficient.
• Assign Tasks, Schedule Meetings and Deadlines: Using Notion's calendar feature, you can schedule group meetings and set reminders for project deadlines. This ensures everyone is on the same page about key dates and events.
• View Tasks and Track Progress: You can view a shared task list in Kanban board where tasks can be assigned to different team members. This provides a clear overview of who is responsible for what and the progress of each task.
• Share Resources and Notes: Notion allows you to create a shared space for notes and resources. This can be particularly useful for research-heavy projects where information needs to be collated and accessed by all members.

Remember, effective collaboration in Notion requires clear communication and regular updates from all team members. Make sure everyone is familiar with how to use Notion and encourage them to actively participate in the group hub.

4. Integrate Notion with Other Tools for Easy Communication and Organization

Notion can be integrated with various other productivity and communication tools that you might already be using, making it a central hub for all your needs. Here are must-have tools you can integrate Notion:

• Google Calendar: You can connect your Google Calendar with your Notion workspace. This allows you to track your schedule without having to switch between apps.
• Google Drive: Notion allows you to embed Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides into your pages. This can be useful for accessing study materials or group project documents directly from your Notion workspace.
• Slack: You can integrate Notion with Slack to receive important updates directly in your chosen Slack channel. This can be especially useful for group projects.
• Figma: If you're a design student, you can embed Figma designs into your Notion pages. This can be useful for presenting your work or getting feedback.
• GitHub: If you're a computer science student or involved in any coding projects, you can integrate GitHub with Notion. This allows for easy tracking of your coding projects.

5. Plan your week & stay on top of your study schedule with Notion Calendar

With Notion, you can create a weekly planner that gives you a clear overview of what your week looks like with your tasks, events, and personal schedule with reminders and deadlines. This not only helps you manage your time effectively but also ensures that you don’t miss out on any important tasks or deadlines.

But what is truly transformative is consolidating all your dates in the Notion Calendar. This calendar app displays everything from classes, meetings, and exam dates, to assignment deadlines, tasks, and events.

We have covered a full guide on how to set up your schedule with Notion Calendar. Check out the full guide in our tutorial video below!

Excited to learn how to use Notion for students?

Wait no more and join our Workshop: How to Build a Study Planner!

In this workshop, we'll guide you through the process of creating a comprehensive study planner using Notion. From organizing your class schedules, and taking notes to tracking your assignments and exams, we've got you covered.

Join us, ask us any question, and make the best out of your student life!