Hypertabs is The Varsity’s online features subsection about all things internet. Our goal is to explore the depths of the online world and understand how it shapes our habits and affects our communities.

Like planning out your entire life? Say hello to Trello

As someone who enjoys being scared straight by the extent of their own procrastination, I work best when I can see all my tasks laid out in front of me. I’ve learned the hard way that having individual Google documents, calendar e-vites, and to-do list apps all scattered across your hard drive and the cloud like easter eggs is no way to go.

Earlier this year, a good friend of mine recommended Trello and thereby set me firmly on the path to organizational success. A delightful cross between a calendar, a to-do-list, and a Pinterest collection, Trello allows users to create boards for different categories and projects as well as organize information within those boards using lists and cards. With features for deadlines, checklists, and attachments, Trello is perfect for compiling all of your tasks in one place. Also, everything is synced to the cloud; you can use the app for personal matters or share boards with other users if you’re working collaboratively.

The best thing about Trello is its versatility: you can use it for managing a team, planning a vacation, or virtually anything else that requires organizing and categorizing information. As a student, I’ve found Trello to be perfect for keeping all of my deadlines straight. I have boards for schoolwork, job applications, and scholarships, and I’ve set up a queue list for each project according to its due date. When I start working on something, I move it to an ‘in progress’ list; when I finish it, it goes into the archives. And of course, everything is colour-coded to differentiate between projects. I know I’m a huge nerd, but thanks to Trello, I’m the most organized nerd you’ll ever meet.

If you’re looking for something to organize day-to-day tasks, Trello might be less suitable than a to-do list app like Todoist. But seeing all of your work laid out in front of you pops the comfortable bubble of ambiguity that can be conducive to procrastination. For those of us who regularly hand things in 30 seconds before a deadline, Trello might just be the kick in the pants we need to get smaller tasks out of the way before the semester gets viciously hectic. Install the app on desktop and mobile, write those five research papers, and congratulations, you’re a model student.

— Teodora Pasca

 

Organizing with EverNote

I am a sucker for all things Moleskine. It’s part of some over-romanticized vision of academia. So when I came across the EverNote and Moleskine collaboration in the U of T Bookstore, I saw it as the perfect excuse to further feed my notebook collection.

The notebooks are meant to be used with the EverNote app. But after purchasing the notebooks, I realized I could use the app with really any notebook.

While the app is simple, I personally love that I can take pictures of my notes and organize them easily. The idea is that you scan the notebooks with your phone, then tag them and organize the pages in file folders on your phone. So when it comes time to study for exams, you’ll have all your notes organized. The ability to tag your notes makes it so that you can search through all your uploads for a specific lecture topic or key term.

Though I am steadfast in my love of taking notes by hand, I am not the most organized. I have too many notebooks and loose leaf papers. At the end of the semester I always end up with a stack of unfiled papers, hoping that I didn’t lose any of my lecture notes. Every semester I promise myself I will be more organized or type out a separate copy of my notes but never do. EverNote allows my handwritten notes to be uploaded to a cloud, giving me a sense of security.

It also has the additional function of keeping all of your lecture notes on your phone and in one place. You can upload word documents to the files, as well as scans. So, if you keep up with it, you should be able to have all your coursework filed in the same place.

I highly recommend this app for students who also prefer to take notes by hand — or for students who have one of those professors that don’t allow computers. It might take a little extra time to scan the notes, but it’s a lot less time than having to rewrite them when you spill coffee or lose a notebook.

— Chantel Ouellet

 

A website blocker with explicit messages is surprisingly motivating

I am my own worst enemy when it comes to finishing — or even starting — my assignments. I see the minutes on the bottom right corner of my screen change, reminding me that I am wasting my time, but I pacify my inner guilt with one more video, one more episode, one more scroll on Youtube, Netflix, Twitter, Tumblr, or Reddit.

I planned to stay my own worst enemy, but a fleeting moment of self-awareness forced me to download a website blocker at the beginning of the academic year. This way — even if I overrode the website blocker, which I fully planned on doing — I could at least have the semblance of working hard.

If my website blocker could talk, I’m sure it would laugh and then swear at my naïvety.

I downloaded Go Fucking Work, a website-blocking extension available for download from the Google Chrome store, for its pleasing aesthetic and amusing profanity. This extension, developed by Toronto-based developer and conversion consultant Alexander Lam, blocks websites blacklisted by the user and redirects them to a page with alternating heartfelt and motivational messages.

These messages range from: “Your dreams are dying. Go fucking work,” to “What the fuck? Go work,” to my personal favourite: “You’re not a Kardashian. Fucking work.”

These messages are written in black Montserrat font against a simple white background that is pleasing to the eye and available in 10 different languages if the user prefers to be told to go fucking work in Hindi.

Go Fucking Work offers the user the option of pausing the website blocking for periods of time that can range from five minutes to 48 hours. It is easy, however, to extend a break or pause for longer than the interval specified if the user doesn’t refresh the page. To avoid this, Go Fucking Work has integrated an option to enable force refreshing, and an option to disable pausing altogether so the user can go fucking work.

— Zeahaa Rehman

 

Quizlet is the interactive and helpful tool that all students need

Quizlet is a helpful and free tool that has several notable features. You can use it to create flashcards, study sets, and diagrams. The tool is extremely helpful for visual learners or those who prefer to study on their laptops as opposed to pen and paper. You can use it on your computer or on mobile.

Interesting features of the the app include that it will give you study reminders, offer short and interactive study sessions, and reminds you about due dates. It also shows you your process of improvement. 

If you’re lucky, another user may have already created a set of flashcards with the information that you require in your own class. For instance, many users have created basic flashcards for introductory classes. Since introductory classes usually consider the basics of a certain subject, there is overlap in the teaching material, regardless of the institution.

Several users have created helpful flashcards and study guides for sociology classes such as Sociology of Families, Sociology of Gender, Sociology of Law, and more. If you prefer to make your own notes on paper, you can always use these study sets as a way of making sure that you have covered all of the material that you need.

Quizlet is not just useful for students. Instructors or teachers can create a room on the site and do a live quiz with their students. This tool can be used during review classes or as a fun way to interact with the class.

Quizlet seems to be a popular tool on campus. Why not try it out for yourself, if you haven’t already?

— Aisha Malik