School & Tech: Improve Your Mental Health & Boost Productivity with these Tools

What if you could boost productivity without doubling up on espresso or pulling an all-nighter?

Technology is found to not only increase the productivity of students and teachers, but also improve how students learn and enhance their overall performance - all while reducing wasted time, energy and money.

In one report of surveyed educators, 78% of K-12 teachers believe technology positively impacts their classrooms and enhances the productivity of their students. And nearly 65% of those surveyed educators also believe students today are more productive than they were just three years ago thanks to technology.

So what productivity tools will take your student success to the next level? We break it down into three tech categories: tablets, tablet accessories and apps.

Tablets are quickly evolving into a laptop replacement option. With their many sizes and apps, tablets offer students a lot in terms of personalization. This is even more apparent for college students, where versatility and mobility are a necessity.

With the majority of study material and assignments online, tablets are essentially portable productivity for students on the go. Compared to laptops, they are more lightweight, easier to travel with, and have a better battery life.

In terms of power and price, the two are about equal. Laptops generally have more power, but nowadays some tablets, like Apple’s iPad Pro or the Microsoft Surface Pro, are just as powerful if not more.

And don’t just take our word for it. One study found that 81% of U.S. teachers feel tablets enrich classroom learning, while 86% of students feel tablets help them study more efficiently.

There’s really just one accessory you need to unlock your tablet’s full potential - a keyboard. While we’re all used to on-screen keyboards, they are really only good for whipping up short texts and tweets. When you need to type a term paper, an external keyboard is your best friend.

Whether you need an iPad keyboard or one for your Microsoft Surface Pro, a larger typing surface will allow you to type faster and with more accuracy. It also lets you use the command and function keys and shortcuts you’re used to using on a computer. The combination of both creates a mobile workstation made for total student productivity, whether you’re in your dorm room or at the library.

If you want the convenience of a tablet and the typing speed of a desktop keyboard, it’s worth considering a premium wireless keyboard.

And to tempt you even more, Brydge is currently offering back to school discounts on the majority of products, including bundles and accessories.

The following is a roundup of some of the best productivity apps for students:

Productivity is all about getting things done, and that’s what Todoist supports. It keeps you organized and on top of all of your tasks, whether it’s for the day, week, semester, or a certain class. With Todoist, you can create tasks, subtasks and subprojects, as well as set reminders and track productivity for each task to optimize your productivity. This app is also great for group projects because you can share and collaborate on to-do lists.

Users love Todoist’s clean and simple user interface, as well as its offline functionality and ability to work with different devices.

Forest is a timer and habit tracker app that follows the Pomodoro Technique—a time management method that breaks down working or studying into timed intervals that are separated by short breaks. If you struggle with checking Instagram or sending selfie snaps every 10 minutes, this app helps you stay away from your phone and focused on your current task. It works by you planting a tree in the app. The tree grows as you stay off your phone, for the time of your choosing, and eventually it grows into a full, healthy tree. But if you can’t resist seeing what’s new on Facebook, the tree dies when you leave the app. Forest is great to use when studying, writing and even when you’re just sitting in class or out on a dinner date. Forest has also partnered with Trees for the Future, so your focused efforts of building your own tree-filled forest helps plant trees in real life.

Noisli lets you select and play 'productive' tones. Some of your options include sounds of a forest, coffee shop, train tracks, wind and thunderstorms. You can choose one sound or mix various sounds to create your very own customized environment for being productive. So if your most productive self is at home listening to a rainstorm by your bedroom window, then you can mentally put yourself there instead of where you actually are. With your headphones in listening to these productive sounds, you block out annoying noises and distractions to increase your productivity while also reducing stress.

Users recommend Noisli for its ability to mix several sounds together at once and set a sound timer.

If writing isn’t your strong suit, now you don’t have to ask your roommate or pay someone to edit your papers anymore. Or even worse, wait for your professor to give you back a paper all marked up in red. Grammarly is compatible with Microsoft Office, Gmail and other apps, and it spots common and complex writing errors, like spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. It also suggests style and vocabulary improvements so you can improve your grammar and perfect your writing from nearly anywhere.

Users appreciate that this app works in real time, gives students more confidence when writing and that it doesn’t feel like a robot spell checker.

Every former and current college student can agree that a way to study smarter is at the top of college student needs. And Quizlet is one tool that helps you easily and more effectively learn and study an array of topics. In fact, according to Quizlet’s website, more than 95% of students who use Quizlet improve their grades. You can choose from millions of already-made study sets or create your own. You can also choose which studying style suits you best, be it using flashcards, games or another way.

Users like Quizlet’s customization study features, having access to premade study sets and the ability to use audio and images with flashcards.

Staying productive is easy with a tablet, Bluetooth keyboard, and efficient apps to keep you focused. If you are a student or educator, check out Brydge’s education page to learn more about how the right tech can make a difference in your classroom.