Students nowadays suffer from two major problems that prevent them from demonstrating great academic results. Combined, they can lead to disastrous consequences – but there’s a way to avoid it.
We’re talking about a huge workload together with low productivity. It seems that they are inseparable, and while there are some temporary solutions like online homework help, these two issues still do need complex treatment.
Here, technology comes in handy. By allowing you to keep track of how you study, various apps can help you increase productivity. Then, the workload won’t seem intimidating anymore.
Why Should Students Keep Track of Their Study Progress?
“I’m genuinely curious why someone would track their study hours?”, a user on Reddit asked in a discussion. The answer he got pretty much sums it all up. We won’t cite this fully, but here are the main points:
- to see how many hours are spent on different study activities daily;
- to stay focused;
- to get statistics that help understand study habits.
Surely, all that can be achieved without using apps. If you’re naturally organized, you can just use a notebook and a clock and still be productive. But why do something manually when it can be done automatically?
Besides, modern time-management apps are so highly functional that anyone, including the most organized, will find something useful in them.
How to Choose the Best App?
Okay, so you’ve decided you need to try some app. But how is it possible to choose from an abundance of planners, productivity boosters, and time trackers offered by the industry? Well, it all comes down to testing in the end, but here are some tips to give you a direction.
This is what you need to start with:
Determine your goals
What do you need most – to track time, improve concentration, plan and prioritize tasks? Many apps have all these features combined, but still, some are better for certain purposes than others.
Choose the ones that support the right platform
While many popular apps are cross-platform, some of them only support one or several of them. So, it’s better to not waste time learning about something you won’t be able to use anyway.
Check ratings and read reviews
This is essential for making any deliberate choice. Luckily, you needn’t go far for that, as we’ve put together a nice list of great apps for you right here in this article!
Best Apps to Track Study Progress and Stay Productive
1. Productivity Challenge Timer
- Platform: cross-platform
- Price: free/4.99 (Pro mode)
This is one of the simpler but very effective apps to stay focused and track study or working hours. Its primary goal, as its developer strongly insists, is to “get you to work harder, even when you shouldn’t”.
Therefore, it’s mostly just a Pomodoro timer. But it doesn’t mean there are no advanced features to it whatsoever. The app does enable users to track working habits, plus it also offers a ranking system. The ranks are awarded on your performance and achievements, so there’s an element of gamification here, too.
2. Tide
- Platform: cross-platform
- Price: free (with in-app purchases)
Tide is more a focusing app than anything else, so it’s highly popular with anyone finding it hard to relax and concentrate. It can be used in practically any situation to reduce stress and get in a calmer mode, so people often use it for meditation, or when they can’t sleep.
However, students often find it hard to concentrate because of stress, too – so it can really help when you need to calm down and get that homework done.
Tide comes with the three main features that are:
- a focus timer;
- a sleep/nap assistant;
- relax breathing guide.
There also are some other nice features like a journal where you can write your observations about your progress during each session or a meditation mode which makes it perfect if stress and anxiety tend to be your main distraction factors.
3. RescueTime
- Platform: cross-platform
- Price: free/11.99 (Premium monthly)/77.99 (Premium yearly)
This app’s developers put a special emphasis on understanding the way you usually spend your time. So, its main function is automatic time tracking: it tracks the time you spend on various apps, websites, even documents, and then provides detailed reports.
In the next step, it offers to block your main sources of distraction so that you’ll be able to regain your focus, and set a timed session. You can also set daily limits on sites and apps and plan your sessions ahead.
4. Engross
- Platform: cross-platform
- Price: free/4.99 (Premium version)
Engross is a popular alternative to an even better-known app – Focus To-Do, and it offers pretty much the same functionality. Designed as a tool to increase productivity at work and study, it includes all the key features of such complex apps: focus timer, to-do list, and day planner.
Here, you can set daily work/study targets, create routines, get insightful statistics, block distractions, and more. There’s even a special feature for students: a revision timer that you can set right after your regular study timer!
5. iStudiez
- Platform: cross-platform (Android currently unavailable)
- Price: free/$2.99 (mobile), 9.99 (desktop)
Developed with students’ needs in mind, this app has all the functionality that anyone willing to track and improve their studies might dream of. It’s a one-stop-shop for planning, prioritizing, creating to-do lists, tracking habits, staying focused, and more.
Here, you can arrange assignments, set deadlines, enter grades, and even calculate your GPA. One small problem, however, is that to get full functionality (i.e. to be able to synchronize data between devices), you’ll need to pay for a pro version.
Wrapping Up
So, have you found something to suit your needs? Don’t hesitate to try it out then! All the apps listed above have a free basic version, so you’re not risking anything. Fingers crossed that you’ll find exactly what you need!
