Welcome to another Notion post! After the three-part introductory series to Notion (linked below) I think it’s time to share my latest Notion setup.
- Easy Guide To Using Notion As A Student
- How To Effectively Organize Your Student Life With Notion
- My Full Notion Setup As A Student
Additionally, I’ve created a new Ultimate Student Planner Notion Template, just for students. If you get it now, you also receive the 2024 edition of the template at the same time upon download.
Keep reading for my latest Notion setup!
What Is Notion?
Notion is a website and app that allows you to create a completely customized database to organize your life.
You can take notes, add tasks, manage long-term projects, collaborate with teams, and much more. It has a free plan for personal use and a free pro plan for students, and I recommend these instead of the paid ones– they’re totally enough.
To use Notion, simply go to notion.so and click Sign Up in the upper right corner. Signing up will ensure that your pages and workspace are saved so that in case of any technical glitch, your data won’t be lost.
Once you’re signed up, go to Download and choose the option you need. In my opinion, the desktop app works best due to the size and flexibility of the computer in comparison to a mobile phone, so I suggest going to Mac & Windows. And now you’re ready to go!
My 2021 (Minimal) Setup
If you read my 2021 version of this post (My Full Notion Setup As A Student), then you’ve seen my minimal Notion page. It looks like this:
If you’d like to download this template for free, visit the post here. This template works perfectly well, and I used it for several years. However, I decided to change it up in 2023/2024 and completely redesigned my setup. Keep reading to see its new look!
YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: 15 Student Desk Essentials For The Best Study Space
My New Setup
Homepage
Here’s what my new Notion homepage (all screenshots are from the template I made for you) looks like below. Note that although it says 2022 on these images, the template has been updated for the new year, and it is completely customizable to work for any future year!
As you can see, there is a section for reflection at the top of the template. Here, there is space for you to write down what you were grateful for in the previous year, what you learned, and your New Year’s Resolutions.
Then, on the left, you have space to designate a few monthly focuses, as well as a daily to-do list. The morning and evening routine pages also include a gratitude journal and a daily journal. Here’s what the morning routine page looks like:
On the right, there is a navigation with a few important links and pages. I will go into detail about those pages soon! Meanwhile, take note of the daily habit tracker near the bottom– fill in the leftmost column with habits you’d like to build and check each day that you complete it to make it a routine!
Lastly, at the very bottom, you can track upcoming assignments, due dates, project deadlines, etc, with the academic schedule. They are filtered to show tasks due within the next week and within the next month to maximum efficiency.
Now, let’s get into the various links in the navigation!
Projects
Here, you can list a few projects (maybe from your New Year’s Resolutions!) and plan how you’re going to achieve them.
With each goal, you can set progress checks, and for each of those progress checks, you can assign actionable to-dos. By dividing up large projects, you won’t get overwhelmed and are more likely to achieve them!
School
Here, you can track your classes, academic schedule (this is the same as the one on the homepage), academic plan, and vocabulary (a personal favorite).
The classes and online courses databases haven’t changed from the 2021 template. Once you’ve added the class to the database, you can open the individual class and add more information about it, such as copies of the syllabus, Zoom links for your synchronous, online lessons, and even your lecture notes. You can take notes directly in Notion!
The academic schedule on this page is the master database for your due dates. Simply add to-dos, indicate which class it’s for, add a due date, and label what type of task it is (project, assignment, test date, etc).
The academic plan page is a bit more complex. This page is especially useful for high school students applying to college in the US. You can use it to keep track of due dates, organize your awards and extracurriculars, dream schools, scholarships, etc.
Lastly, a very intuitive vocabulary page to keep track of new words you’re learning! While you’re reading the news, a book, watching a movie… write down new words you see and expand your vocabulary.
Library
Under the school link is the library link, where you can keep track of books you’re reading this year. I’ve also embedded IMissMyLibrary, an interactive ambiance website made by yours truly.
With the bookshelf database, you can add all the books you’ve already read, are currently reading, and want to read. I’ve also included columns for the author, genre, read date, and rating. For each book, you can also open a page and write a review for it!
Keeping an organized database helps motivate me to read more, which is a New Year’s Resolution for me. Try it out!
Expenses
The expense tracker is super simple and intuitive.
I have a tag for each month, which helps me organize my expenses and earnings when I filter the table. I only display items for the current month, which I achieve by selecting Filter and adding a filter for where [month] is [current month].
An important thing to remember is that when adding your expenses, don’t forget to add a negative/subtract symbol in front of the number! If you don’t do this, the table will count this number as an earning and not an expense.
Wishlist
My wishlist is another simple table, only slightly different from the 2021 template:
You can customize the tags for the items on your list and label them however you want. Having a wishlist like this can help you determine which items you really need, and which is just a momentary impulse.
Goal board
Lastly, a goal board to help you list and plan for all the long-term and short-term goals you have this year. Feel free to put your New Year’s Resolutions here, too!
As you progress in a goal or reach it, you can move the card around to the right column. I’ve added the properties type and importance, which simply helps to organize them. You can also add detailed steps or helpful resources to each goal simply by opening each card.
Get the Template
Congratulations, you got to the end! As promised, I have this exact Notion template below:
Conclusion
And that’s it! Notion is a super helpful tool, so make sure to use it to your advantage! I wish you a happy and healthy new year, and remember that you are capable of amazing things.
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