Image Copyright: William Iven / Unsplash

Every day, you have many things, large and small, that you’d like to accomplish. Adding school to your eventful life increases the need for an effective time management strategy. At ACHS, we recommend setting aside about nine hours per week of study time per each three credit course. With that kind of commitment, organization is key to getting it all done.

Fortunately, there are free tools that can help boost your productivity while studying alternative medicine. These time management apps will empower you to get your schedule in order to tackle all of those important tasks on your list. They’ll help you grab more of that illusive resource we all crave and need… time!

Make a list

Remember The Milk, an app available for both iOS and Android, will take your to-do list to the next level. It enables users to organize their lists by due date and separate tasks into different categories (work, school, family…).

With this app, you can break down your to-dos by day or by week. Users can set reminders and create recurring tasks that make it easier to manage your daily agenda. New integrations enable the app to communicate with more programs and devices such as Gmail and Amazon's Alexa.

Take good notes

Imagine a notebook where you can record many different types of information, categorize those notes, and access them from all of your devices. With Evernote, an app for both desktop and mobile, you can do all of that and more.

Students can create notes and search with voice commands, save and organize the articles they find online, and collaborate with other students studying alternative medicine in shared notebooks. Evernote even searches the text in your pictures, so you can create a virtual catalog of your home library books!

With the ability to add attachments, include photos, make lists, and recover deleted content, Evernote is a perfect place to organize your thoughts.

Have a plan

My Study Life, another web and mobile app, is an online planner designed specifically for students. Users can input their holistic health class schedules and organize assignments for each course. The app also enables students to record information about their holistic health professors like contact details and course websites.

Users can set up reminders for incomplete tasks, course meetings, and upcoming exams. The app also enables students to track their progress by percentage, which can be helpful for keeping a larger assignment on schedule.

Bring it all together

Trello is an invaluable app for managing group projects. Available for web, mobile, and desktop, it enables users to organize projects on customizable boards. Users can collaborate on all aspects of a project and assign tasks, which makes it great for delegating pieces of a group assignment. The app enables teams to track deliverables by status with separate lists for tasks that are not yet started, currently in progress, and completed.

This app is ideal for those of us who are more “visual” learners. If you’re more of a “to-do” list kind of organizer, Asana is another cool tool that may be more suited to your style.

Beat distractions

Sometimes, students need a little help focusing. RescueTime helps its users manage distractions and gain a better understanding of how they're spending their time online. In addition to temporarily blocking sites specified by the user, the app continues to run in the background to track sites visited and apps used. It uses this data to create detailed reports to show users how they're really spending their time. If they don't like what they see, users can set daily goals and measure their productivity to track changes over time.

Site blockers can be extremely effective in keeping you focused while studying. If you don’t need all the data RescueTime provides, a simple site blocker like StayFocusd can do the trick. Available as a Chrome extension, you can add time-sucking to a block list (eh-hem… we’re looking at you, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube…). You can choose to limit the amount of time StayFocusd lets you visit these sites, or you can block them completely with the “Nuclear Option” for prime focus time.

If you need a site blocker on your smart phone, Forest is an excellent option (but does come with a one-time download fee). Instead of blocking sites completely, Forest lets you “plant a tree,” and if you’re able to stay away from your distraction sites and apps, the tree grows. But beware… once you give into temptation, the tree dies. L Forest is also available as a Chrome extension.

Make time for “me time”

While you may have a lot on your plate, remember to take some time for yourself. Check out this post for tips on incorporating self-care into your daily routine. Some rest and relaxation may be just what you need to be more productive.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.