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As a college freshman, just about every piece of advice I received before embarking my first semester can be summarized into one sentence: get involved.

Now entering my senior year at Florida State University, I can confidently say I got involved and then some. Attending a university with over 750 registered organizations to choose from came with the privilege of encountering endless opportunities to make an impact on campus and grow as a student and individual.

I found organizations related to my major, interests, hobbies and potential career paths, each providing environments to develop my leadership skills, grow my network, and enhance my student experience.

But once the semester started and classes were in full swing, keeping track of activities, internships, classwork, deadlines and socializing grew dangerously close to causing burnout.

Optimize your time

I have always been a strategic person, relying on creating plans and using tips and tricks to solve or prevent problems especially when in came to maintaining my academic performance. After learning how to manage my time after using Notion’s calendar features for over a year, I realized I had to learn how to manage my energy.

Speaking to numerous upperclassmen and alumni, I realized plenty of students relied on Notion to do just that: planning to use their mental resources wisely and efficiently.

https://youtu.be/YdCg7eSmYmI?si=MibVfd9F3qJr2AJ2

As a relatively new user, creating Notion workspaces from scratch was never a super strength I had. Luckily, I discovered Notion’s vast and creative community on YouTube, sharing workspace tours and templates designed to help me “optimize” my life.

Make a dashboard

I guiltily admit I spent a little to much time prioritizing the aesthetics and visually pleasing aspects of my workspace, but creating a reliable and dynamic brain dump that brought me joy and peace of mind allowed me to use my energy to think critically in my work and perform my best.

https://youtu.be/8T_qrsTWnyk?si=Lyr6OFJcOBW9Vief

Gathering inspiration from multiple Notion savvy creators and study strategy innovators, I used these key tips and tricks to make my dream dashboard:

• Create databases for tasks and assignments including the finest details and information about them
  • This allows you use your energy on completing the task rather than remembering the details
• Not everything in a template will work for your needs, and it is okay to customize (add or remove) elements that suit you
• Add pictures, gifs and widgets that bring you joy and inspiration to include some additional motivation where you are being the most productive
• Be open to learning about the most recent updates and features Notion offers to evolve your workspace and allow you to realize the software’s potential