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Getting stuff done is hard, especially if you are self-employed or need to do things for yourself that you usually put off, like paying bills. There always seems to be something else to do: a drawer that could be organized, a phone call to your sister or checking flight prices on a trip you have no intention of taking.

Enter: the Pomodoro Technique. This popular time-management method can help you power through distractions, hyper-focus and get things done in short bursts, while taking frequent breaks to come up for air and relax. Best of all, it's easy. If you have a busy job where you're expected to produce, it's a great way to get through your tasks. Let's break it down and see how you can apply it to your work.

We've definitely discussed the Pomodoro Technique before. We gave a brief description of it a few years back, and highlighted its distraction-fighting, brain training benefits around the same time. You even voted it your favorite productivity method. However, we've never done a deep dive into how it works and how to get started with it. So let's do that now.

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique was invented in the early 1990s by developer, entrepreneur, and author Francesco Cirillo. Cirillo named the system "Pomodoro" after the tomato-shaped timer he used to track his work as a university student. The methodology is simple: When faced with any large task or series of tasks, break the work down into short, timed intervals (called "Pomodoros") that are spaced out by short breaks. This trains your brain to focus for short periods and helps you stay on top of deadlines or constantly-refilling inboxes. With time it can even help improve your attention span and concentration.

Pomodoro is a cyclical system. You work in short sprints, which makes sure you're consistently productive. You also get to take regular breaks that bolster your motivation and keep you creative.

How the Pomodoro Technique works

The Pomodoro Technique is probably one of the simplest productivity methods to implement. All you'll need is a timer. Beyond that, there are no special apps, books, or tools required (though plenty of them out there if you'd like to go that route-more on that later). Cirillo's book, The Pomodoro Technique, is a helpful read, but Cirillo himself doesn't hide the core of the method behind a purchase. Here's how to get started with Pomodoro, in five steps:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished.

2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)

3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper

4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)

5. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

That "longer break" is usually on the order of 15-30 minutes, whatever it takes to make you feel recharged and ready to start another 25-minute work session. Repeat that process a few times over the course of a workday, and you actually get a lot accomplished-and took plenty of breaks to grab a cup of coffee or refill your water bottle in the process.

It's important to note that a pomodoro is an indivisible unit of work-that means if you're distracted part-way by a coworker, meeting, or emergency, you either have to end the pomodoro there (saving your work and starting a new one later), or you have to postpone the distraction until the pomodoro is complete. If you can do the latter, Cirillo suggests the "inform, negotiate and call back" strategy:

1. Inform the other (distracting) party that you're working on something right now.

2. Negotiate a time when you can get back to them about the distracting issue in a timely manner.

3. Schedule that follow-up immediately.

4. Call back the other party when your Pomodoro is complete and you're ready to tackle their issue.

Of course, not every distraction is that simple, and some things demand immediate attention-but not every distraction does. Sometimes it's perfectly fine to tell your coworker "I'm in the middle of something right now, but can I get back to you in....ten minutes?" Doing so doesn't just keep you in the groove, it also gives you control over your workday.

How to get started with the Pomodoro Technique

Since a timer is the only essential Pomodoro tool, you can get started with any phone with a timer app, a countdown clock, or even a plain old egg timer. Cirillo himself prefers a manual timer, and says winding one up "confirms your determination to work." Even so, we've highlighted a number of Pomodoro apps that offer more features than a simple timer offers. Here are a few to consider:

These are just a few good tools to choose from. You can also use Google as a timer. Don't hesitate to experiment with others, but remember, the focus of the Pomodoro Technique is on the work, not the timer you use. If you would like an actual tomato timer like Cirillo uses, this one is available for $7 at Amazon. Alternatively, you can buy a tomato timer and a copy of the book together from him directly. If you want Kindle or ePub versions of the book, grab them directly from Cirillo's store as well.

Who the Pomodoro Technique works best for

The Pomodoro Technique is often championed by developers, designers and other people who have to turn out regular packages of creative work. Essentially, people who have to actually produce something to be reviewed by others. That means everyone from authors writing their next book to software engineers working on the next big video game can all benefit from the timed work sessions and breaks that Pomodoro offers.

However, it's also useful for people who don't have such rigid goals or packages of work. Anyone else with an "inbox" or queue they have to work through can benefit as well. If you're a system's engineer with tickets to work, you can set a timer and start working through them until your timer goes off. Then it's time for a break, after which you come back and pick up where you left off, or start a new batch of tickets. If you build things or work with your hands, the frequent breaks give you the opportunity to step back and review what you're doing, think about your next steps, and make sure you don't get exhausted. The system is remarkably adaptable to different kinds of work.

Finally, it's important to remember that Pomodoro is a productivity system-not a set of shackles. If you're making headway and the timer goes off, it's OK to pause the timer, finish what you're doing and then take a break. The goal is to help you get into the zone and focus-but it's also to remind you to come up for air. Regular breaks are important for your productivity. Also, keep in mind that Pomodoro is just one method, and it may or may not work for you. It's flexible, but don't try to shoehorn your work into it if it doesn't fit. Productivity isn't everything -it's a means to an end, and a way to spend less time on what you have to do so you can put time to the things you want to do. If this method helps, go for it. If not, don't force it.

Integrating Pomodoro with other productivity methods

Since the Pomodoro Technique focuses squarely on how you do your work and not on how you organize your work, it's just begging to be remixed with other methods and systems .

For example, if you're a fan of GTD (aka, Getting Things Done) ,you can easily use GTD to organize and prioritize-and then use Pomodoro to actually get your work done. It also works well with methods like , which emphasizes continual improvement over time, or , which demands flexibility in organization and priority, but still requires results. Many productivity systems focus on organization or specific tools. In those cases, the goal is to help you avoid forgetting things and prioritize your work. Pomodoro's focus is on making sure you make progress on your tasks, stay focused, and get things done without going insane. However, even though it plays well with others, resist the urge to over-hack your method and make it unnecessarily complicated. Pomodoro's utility is in its simplicity.

Finally, the Pomodoro method is highly personal. Since it only really impacts how you work, you don't need to get other people on-board with it before it's useful.

If you'd like to learn more

At this stage, you have the tools required to get up and running with the Pomodoro system if you want to give it a try. It's not difficult, and you may find that it helps you focus. There's more to the picture here, and Cirillo's book can offer more guidance and specific examples if you need them. Beyond that, here's a short list of additional resources worth reading:

To a certain point, you can only read so much about the Pomodoro Technique-you have to just try it out on your own and see if it works for you. With luck, it'll give you a way to be continuously productive while keeping you from burning out. Don't worry if you don't rack up five or 10 pomodoros in a day: Many people who love the method note you may only get one or two in before you're distracted by something unavoidable. The upshot however is that those one or two pomodoros may be more productive than anything else you do all day.
This story was originally published on 7/2/14 and was updated on 7/12/19 to provide more thorough and current information. Updated 3/3/22 with new details.

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Productivity 101: An Introduction to The Pomodoro Technique

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We've never done a deep dive into how it works and how to get started with it. So let's do that now.

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"You'll Never Learn!" The Myth of Multitasking

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"You'll Never Learn!" The Myth of Multitasking

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Living rooms, dens, kitchens, even bedrooms: Investigators followed students into the spaces where homework gets done. Pens poised over their "study observation forms," the observers watched intently as the students-in middle school, high school, and college, 263 in all-opened their books and turned on their computers.

For a quarter of an hour, the investigators from the lab of Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University-Dominguez Hills, marked down once a minute what the students were doing as they studied. A checklist on the form included: reading a book, writing on paper, typing on the computer-and also using email, looking at Facebook, engaging in instant messaging, texting, talking on the phone, watching television, listening to music, surfing the Web. Sitting unobtrusively at the back of the room, the observers counted the number of windows open on the students' screens and noted whether the students were wearing earbuds.

Although the students had been told at the outset that they should "study something important, including homework, an upcoming examination or project, or reading a book for a course," it wasn't long before their attention drifted: Students' "on-task behavior" started declining around the two-minute mark as they began responding to arriving texts or checking their Facebook feeds. By the time the 15 minutes were up, they had spent only about 65 percent of the observation period actually doing their schoolwork.

"We were amazed at how frequently they multitasked, even though they knew someone was watching," Rosen says. "It really seems that they could not go for 15 minutes without engaging their devices," adding, "It was kind of scary, actually."

Concern about young people's use of technology is nothing new, of course. But Rosen's study, published in the May issue of Computers in Human Behavior, is part of a growing body of research focused on a very particular use of technology: media multitasking while learning. Attending to multiple streams of information and entertainment while studying, doing homework, or even sitting in class has become common behavior among young people-so common that many of them rarely write a paper or complete a problem set any other way.

But evidence from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience suggests that when students multitask while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention. They understand and remember less, and they have greater difficulty transferring their learning to new contexts. So detrimental is this practice that some researchers are proposing that a new prerequisite for academic and even professional success-the new marshmallow test of self-discipline-is the ability to resist a blinking inbox or a buzzing phone.

The media multitasking habit starts early. In " Generation M²: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds," a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and published in 2010, almost a third of those surveyed said that when they were doing homework, "most of the time" they were also watching TV, texting, listening to music, or using some other medium. The lead author of the study was Victoria Rideout, then a vice president at Kaiser and now an independent research and policy consultant. Although the study looked at all aspects of kids' media use, Rideout told me she was particularly troubled by its findings regarding media multitasking while doing schoolwork.

"This is a concern we should have distinct from worrying about how much kids are online or how much kids are media multitasking overall. It's multitasking while learning that has the biggest potential downside," she says. "I don't care if a kid wants to tweet while she's watching American Idol, or have music on while he plays a video game. But when students are doing serious work with their minds, they have to have focus."

For older students, the media multitasking habit extends into the classroom. While most middle and high school students don't have the opportunity to text, email, and surf the Internet during class, studies show the practice is nearly universal among students in college and professional school. One large survey found that 80 percent of college students admit to texting during class; 15 percent say they send 11 or more texts in a single class period.

During the first meeting of his courses, Rosen makes a practice of calling on a student who is busy with his phone. "I ask him, 'What was on the slide I just showed to the class?' The student always pulls a blank," Rosen reports. "Young people have a wildly inflated idea of how many things they can attend to at once, and this demonstration helps drive the point home: If you're paying attention to your phone, you're not paying attention to what's going on in class." Other professors have taken a more surreptitious approach, installing electronic spyware or planting human observers to record whether students are taking notes on their laptops or using them for other, unauthorized purposes.

Such steps may seem excessive, even paranoid: After all, isn't technology increasingly becoming an intentional part of classroom activities and homework assignments? Educators are using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as social sites created just for schools, such as Edmodo, to communicate with students, take class polls, assign homework, and have students collaborate on projects. But researchers are concerned about the use of laptops, tablets, cellphones, and other technology for purposes quite apart from schoolwork. Now that these devices have been admitted into classrooms and study spaces, it has proven difficult to police the line between their approved and illicit uses by students.

In the study involving spyware, for example, two professors of business administration at the University of Vermont found that "students engage in substantial multitasking behavior with their laptops and have non-course-related software applications open and active about 42 percent of the time." The professors, James Kraushaar and David Novak, obtained students' permission before installing the monitoring software on their computers-so, as in Rosen's study, the students were engaging in flagrant multitasking even though they knew their actions were being recorded.

Another study, carried out at St. John's University in New York, used human observers stationed at the back of the classroom to record the technological activities of law students. The spies reported that 58 percent of second- and third-year law students who had laptops in class were using them for "non-class purposes" more than half the time. (First-year students were far more likely to use their computers for taking notes, although an observer did note one first-year student texting just 17 minutes into her very first class-the beginning of her law school career.)

Texting, emailing, and posting on Facebook and other social media sites are by far the most common digital activities students undertake while learning, according to Rosen. That's a problem, because these operations are actually quite mentally complex, and they draw on the same mental resources-using language, parsing meaning-demanded by schoolwork.

David Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan who's studied the effects of divided attention on learning, takes a firm line on the brain's ability to multitask: "Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don't compete with each other for the same mental resources. An example would be folding laundry and listening to the weather report on the radio. That's fine. But listening to a lecture while texting, or doing homework and being on Facebook-each of these tasks is very demanding, and each of them uses the same area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex."

Young people think they can perform two challenging tasks at once, Meyer acknowledges, but "they are deluded," he declares. It's difficult for anyone to properly evaluate how well his or her own mental processes are operating, he points out, because most of these processes are unconscious. And, Meyer adds, "there's nothing magical about the brains of so-called 'digital natives' that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking. They may like to do it, they may even be addicted to it, but there's no getting around the fact that it's far better to focus on one task from start to finish."

Researchers have documented a cascade of negative outcomes that occurs when students multitask while doing schoolwork. First, the assignment takes longer to complete, because of the time spent on distracting activities and because, upon returning to the assignment, the student has to refamiliarize himself with the material.

Second, the mental fatigue caused by repeatedly dropping and picking up a mental thread leads to more mistakes. The cognitive cost of such task-switching is especially high when students alternate between tasks that call for different sets of expressive "rules"-the formal, precise language required for an English essay, for example, and the casual, friendly tone of an email to a friend.

Third, students' subsequent memory of what they're working on will be impaired if their attention is divided. Although we often assume that our memories fail at the moment we can't recall a fact or concept, the failure may actually have occurred earlier, at the time we originally saved, or encoded, the memory. The moment of encoding is what matters most for retention, and dozens of laboratory studies have demonstrated that when our attention is divided during encoding, we remember that piece of information less well-or not at all. As the unlucky student spotlighted by Rosen can attest, we can't remember something that never really entered our consciousness in the first place. And a study last month showed that students who multitask on laptops in class distract not just themselves but also their peers who see what they're doing.

Fourth, some research has suggested that when we're distracted, our brains actually process and store information in different, less useful ways. In a 2006 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Russell Poldrack of the University of Texas-Austin and two colleagues asked participants to engage in a learning activity on a computer while also carrying out a second task, counting musical tones that sounded while they worked. Study subjects who did both tasks at once appeared to learn just as well as subjects who did the first task by itself. But upon further probing, the former group proved much less adept at extending and extrapolating their new knowledge to novel contexts-a key capacity that psychologists call transfer.

Brain scans taken during Poldrack's experiment revealed that different regions of the brain were active under the two conditions, indicating that the brain engages in a different form of memory when forced to pay attention to two streams of information at once. The results suggest, the scientists wrote, that "even if distraction does not decrease the overall level of learning, it can result in the acquisition of knowledge that can be applied less flexibly in new situations."

Finally, researchers are beginning to demonstrate that media multitasking while learning is negatively associated with students' grades. In Rosen's study, students who used Facebook during the 15-minute observation period had lower grade-point averages than those who didn't go on the site. And two recent studies by Reynol Junco, a faculty associate at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, found that texting and using Facebook-in class and while doing homework-were negatively correlated with college students' GPAs. "Engaging in Facebook use or texting while trying to complete schoolwork may tax students' capacity for cognitive processing and preclude deeper learning," write Junco and a co-author. (Of course, it's also plausible that the texting and Facebooking students are those with less willpower or motivation, and thus likely to have lower GPAs even aside from their use of technology.)

Meyer, of the University of Michigan, worries that the problem goes beyond poor grades. "There's a definite possibility that we are raising a generation that is learning more shallowly than young people in the past," he says. "The depth of their processing of information is considerably less, because of all the distractions available to them as they learn."

Given that these distractions aren't going away, academic and even professional achievement may depend on the ability to ignore digital temptations while learning-a feat akin to the famous marshmallow test. In a series of experiments conducted more than 40 years ago, psychologist Walter Mischel tempted young children with a marshmallow, telling them they could have two of the treats if they put off eating one right away. Follow-up studies performed years later found that the kids who were better able to delay gratification not only achieved higher grades and test scores but were also more likely to succeed in school and their careers.

Two years ago, Rosen and his colleagues conducted an information-age version of the marshmallow test. College students who participated in the study were asked to watch a 30-minute videotaped lecture, during which some were sent eight text messages while others were sent four or zero text messages. Those who were interrupted more often scored worse on a test of the lecture's content; more interestingly, those who responded to the experimenters' texts right away scored significantly worse than those participants who waited to reply until the lecture was over.

This ability to resist the lure of technology can be consciously cultivated, Rosen maintains. He advises students to take "tech breaks" to satisfy their cravings for electronic communication: After they've labored on their schoolwork uninterrupted for 15 minutes, they can allow themselves two minutes to text, check websites, and post to their hearts' content. Then the devices get turned off for another 15 minutes of academics.

Over time, Rosen says, students are able extend their working time to 20, 30, even 45 minutes, as long as they know that an opportunity to get online awaits. "Young people's technology use is really about quelling anxiety," he contends. "They don't want to miss out. They don't want to be the last person to hear some news, or the ninth person to 'like' someone's post." Device-checking is a compulsive behavior that must be managed, he says, if young people are to learn and perform at their best.

Rideout, director of the Kaiser study on kids and media use, sees an upside for parents in the new focus on multitasking while learning. "The good thing about this phenomenon is that it's a relatively discrete behavior that parents actually can do something about," she says. "It would be hard to enforce a total ban on media multitasking, but parents can draw a line when it comes to homework and studying-telling their kids, 'This is a time when you will concentrate on just one thing.' "

Parents shouldn't feel like ogres when they do so, she adds. "It's important to remember that while a lot of kids do media multitask while doing homework, a lot of them don't. One out of five kids in our study said they 'never' engage in other media while doing homework, and another one in five said they do so only 'a little bit.' This is not some universal norm that students and parents can't buck. This is not an unreasonable thing to ask of your kid."

So here's the takeaway for parents of Generation M: Stop fretting about how much they're on Facebook. Don't harass them about how much they play video games. The digital native boosters are right that this is the social and emotional world in which young people live. Just make sure when they're doing schoolwork, the cellphones are silent, the video screens are dark, and that every last window is closed but one.

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University, and MindShift, a news website focusing on innovations in education and new trends in teaching and learning.

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The New Marshmallow Test: Students Can't Resist Multitasking

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Living rooms, dens, kitchens, even bedrooms: Investigators followed students into the spaces where homework gets done. Pens poised over their "study observation forms," the observers watched intently as the students-in middle school, high school, and college, 263 in all-opened their books and turned on their computers.

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Choosing your words carefully can serve you well. And delivering your message to another person's communication style is effort well spent.

But how often do we think about the non-verbals we're giving off?

The Presentation Design folks at Ethos3 created the infographic below, outlining some valuable tips on nonverbal communication.

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The Importance of Nonverbal Communication [INFOGRAPHIC] | Balanced Work Life

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Choosing your words carefully can serve you well. And delivering your message to another person's communication style is effort well spent. But how often do we think about the non-verbals we're giving off? The Presentation Design folks at Ethos3 created the infographic below, outlining some valuable tips on nonverbal communication.

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Process the present

Discover what adds real value to your life and what distracts you from what matters.

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Meet the analog method for the digital age that will help you track the past, order the present, and design your future.

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Expert Guides on How to Study for College - Intelligent

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Expert guides and resources to study smarter for college.

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Study Strategies Library | Academic Skills Center (ASC)

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The Academic Skills Center is committed to guiding students with their studies; achieving synergy with work, school, and life outside of school; and much more. In this endeavor, we have accumulated a collection of strategies we think will guide students to thrive at Cal Poly.

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Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control) (Published 2019)

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If procrastination isn’t about laziness, then what is it about?

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CLOSE

CINCINNATI - A gunman carrying hundreds of rounds of ammunition opened fire in a downtown office building Thursday, killing three people and wounding at least two more before he was fatally shot by cops.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said three or four officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, identified as Omar Santa Perez. The 29-year-old Perez was armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol that was legally purchased, Isaac said.

No motive for the carnage had immediately been determined. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman appeared to target random people during the "horrific" attack.

"There's something deeply sick at work here, and we as a country need to work on it," Cranley said.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters told WLWT-TV that the rapid police response likely prevented many more casualties. He says officers immediately charged toward the sound of gunfire coming from the Fifth Third Bancorp's 30-story headquarters along Cincinnati's Fountain Square.

He says an investigator told him the suspect had enough ammunition to cause "a bloodbath beyond imagination."

According to records available online, Perez was a North Bend, Ohio resident who previously lived in South Carolina and Florida. Police were searching his apartment in North Bend Thursday afternoon, looking for any clues about the attack or its motive.

Perez is a U.S. citizen born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, family members said Thursday. Yudy Martinez Perez broke down crying in the kitchen floor of her Forest Park, Ohio home Thursday afternoon when she learned that her nephew was the shooter.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," the woman said as she slumped against the wall and spoke to Perez's sister.

The reason Perez selected the bank tower for the shooting is unclear. But in the past, he has made allegations against at least one financial corporation.

In 2017, he filed a lawsuit against CNBC Universal Media, LLC and TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation, alleging that the two companies infiltrated his personal electronic devices, uncovered his identity and published private details about his life. A federal magistrate threw the case out of court, concluding that Perez' claims were "rambling, difficult to decipher and border(ed) on delusional."

Isaac said the rampage took place on the loading dock and then the lobby of the Fifth Third Center in the heart of downtown. A phalanx of police officers and ambulances rushed to the scene at the height of morning rush.

City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld was the first city official to reveal that the assault had resulted in deaths.

"Terrible shooting incident in the heart of our city this morning," Sittenfeld said. "Multiple shot, and tragically there are fatalities. Details still emerging. Pray for our city."

Killed were Pruthvi Raj Kandepi, 25, Richard Newcomer, 64, and Luis Felipe Calderón, 48, Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco, said.

A Louisville, Kentucky woman was shot 12 times but survived, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. Whitney Austin, 37, is in stable condition, her brother-in-law Lonnie Gardner told the Courier Journal on Thursday evening. Austin was conscious following the shooting and called her husband, Waller, from the ambulance, Gardner said.

A witness said he heard up to 15 shots. Leonard Cain was entering the bank when someone alerted him to the shooting. He said a woman was also walking into the bank and people tried to get her attention, but she had headphones on.

"She walked in the door and he shot her," Cain said.

Michael Richardson, who works in the building, was just outside the main doors smoking a cigarette when he heard gunshots. He said he saw a man firing a gun inside the bank lobby.

"I looked behind me and saw the guy - he shot and then he shot again," Richardson said. "After that I started running."

Police said two people were wounded. The University of Cincinnati Medical Center said that two victims died at the hospital and that one survivor was in critical condition and another was in serious condition.

"We prepare for situations like these and hope they never happen," said Amanda Nageleisen, UC Health spokeswoman. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and all involved."

Radio traffic indicated other victims may have been transported to Good Samaritan Hospital.

Gov. John Kasich and Ohio's senators, Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, said they were monitoring the situation.

"There was a senseless act of gun violence on the streets of Cincinnati this morning," Kasich said. "I've spoken with the mayor and informed him the state will provide any necessary resources to the local police.

The building is located in Fountain Square, a hub for entertainment and dining in the city.

Fifth Third Bank is one of Cincinnati's dominant financial institutions with 121 local branches. The shooting took place at the corporate headquarters, a skyscraper on Cincinnati's main downtown square.

"What a sick, tragic way for this day to begin," Sittenfeld tweeted. "The scourge of gun violence leaves only loss."

Steve Conner lives on the first floor of the apartment building where the Perez lived. Conner said Santa Perez walked often, "looking (angry) at everybody. ... He had a mad look on his face."

Connor said Perez often ignored Conner's attempted greetings.

Perez's aunt said her nephew held various jobs and was currently working, though his aunt and her family did not know where.

"He was very quiet," said Martinez, who speaks only limited English. "I do not know why. I do not know why."

Perez' criminal record is a smattering of low-level offenses: entering or refusing to leave the premises in Greenville, South Carolina; marijuana possession in Palm Beach, Florida; traffic offenses in Lake Worth, Florida; traffic offenses in Deerfield Beach, Florida; disorderly conduct in Coconut Creek, Florida. He also has a traffic violation in Cincinnati in 2015 for driving with an expired license plate.
Bacon reported for USA TODAY from McLean, Va. Contributing: Bob Strickley, Sharon Coolidge,Anne Saker,Kevin Grasha and Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati Enquirer
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2NTkUPa

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Cincinnati gunman armed for 'bloodbath' kills 3

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CLOSE CINCINNATI - A gunman carrying hundreds of rounds of ammunition opened fire in a downtown office building Thursday, killing three people and wounding at least two more before he was fatally shot by cops. Police Chief Eliot Isaac said three or four officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, identified as Omar Santa Perez.

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10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started College

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10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started College

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Students are moving on college campuses and embarking on this exciting new chapter of their lives as university freshmen orientations begin all over the world. It is such an exciting time in your life, and one where not only do you learn a great deal about the world, but about yourself. I learned a lot in my four years in college, but there is so much I wish I knew that would have prepared me for this era of life, and how to use it to better prepare for young adulthood. Here are 10 things I wish I knew before I started college:
1. Focus On Self-Confidence
Confidence is based on accomplishments, so work hard, do well in school, immerse yourself in things that interest you and become skilled at them. Building confidence is hard work, but going through life with low self-esteem, constantly doubting yourself and not believing you're worthy of quality relationships and opportunities is infinitely harder. If you have confidence, it is so much easier to get to know yourself. You are able to be more decisive and thoughtful, enabling you to make more informed decisions regarding activities and people.
2. Really Put Some Time Into Thinking About The Direction You Want To Go
So many people spend college floundering, and it's a waste of opportunities and resources. You're at school to prepare yourself for adult life, and if you graduate and do not really know what you want to do for work, it's like starting a race a few minutes after everyone else. The sooner you know what you want to do for work, the better position you are in professionally. The students who make connections and get internships early on are the ones who will most likely have entry-level jobs from the company of their choice when they graduate, because they were four years ahead of everyone else. School is absolutely a time to discover what you want to do, and to explore the possibilities, so start thinking about it now. Because if you leave it for senior year, you will have wasted three years of studying, networking and job opportunities.
3. Reach Out To People In The Industry You Want To Be In
When you think you know what industry you want to work in cold email people you admire, beginning with alumni (if there are any) and professionals who are geographically close to you, and ending with your dream company and idol; ask them if you can buy them a cup of coffee for 15 minutes of their time. People love to give advice to students, and are more willing to give advice during this time of your life than when you become a working professional, so take advantage of that and meet as many people as you can, and maintain those connections. Who you know is at least as important, if not more important than your experience when you apply for internships and jobs, the sooner you meet people in your industry of choice, the better off you will be.
4. Apply For Jobs And Internships Now
You won't know until you have spent time working in an industry if you will want to work in it after you graduate. Apply for an internship or job in a field you're interested in while you're still in school. Start working early on and get as much experience as you can. If you can have work experience before graduation, you will be extremely well positioned to have a job waiting for you upon graduation.
5. Protect Your GPA
The higher your GPA, the more options you will have in the future. Many top companies will filter applications by GPA, so don't get yourself eliminated for something that is in your control. You limit your future options by neglecting it. Make school the priority, study hard, work hard, build relationships with your professors and maintain a good GPA, you will not regret it.
6. Take That Random Class That Interests You
If you have no idea what you think you'd like to do, take a class that interests you (especially if it has an excellent professor). You never know where it could lead, and at the very least it could simply be a class you enjoy. This is your time to explore new subjects, seize the opportunity.
7. Eliminate Toxic People
It is so easy to get swept up in the social scene in college, and to subscribe too much value to running in certain crowds and being in certain clubs. It is also easy to rationalize spending time with people who don't treat you and others well because they're part of a certain social circle. If people are unkind to you, talk about you behind your back, etc. they are bad for you. Surround yourself with good people who want the best for you and make you feel good about yourself. Find friends who share your interests and ambitions, and who support you through the ups and downs and plateaus in your life. The sooner you have the confidence to choose your own friends and go your own way, in spite of what is "cool," the happier you will be.
8. Take Care Of Yourself
Get into a health and fitness regimen while you are at school. Physical education and sports are not built in to your life in college the way they are in high school, and it is easy to pack on unhealthy pounds while you're first adjusting to school. Get some workout buddies to make it a social activity, or join an intramural league. But make sure you're exercising regularly and eating mindfully, it will help sharpen your focus and build your self-confidence.
9. Manage Screen Time
Though it feels like everything from job applications to dating is all done online, your social skills and ability to get along with people in many ways matters more than ever as more and more people are competing to distinguish themselves in their respective industries. Invest time in developing your social skills, and your ability to get along and work with people from all different backgrounds and areas of study. Don't get too caught up in curating your life online to be the life you really want to be living. Be present in your own life, do not simply record it. Popular streaming services make it easier than ever to stay in and not socialize, push yourself to go out and meet people. You will never be in a place where there are thousands of people your age in such a confined space, take advantage of it by getting to know as many people as you can and socializing. It will never be easier to spend time with your friends than it is right now.
10. Where You Go To School Defines The Geography Of Your Job Opportunities
I want to preface this by saying this is not a hard and fast rule; there are schools and particular programs at certain schools that have a broad reach and relationships with companies and employers all over the country and the world. But in general, schools have the strongest relationships with the cities they are located in or are geographically adjacent to. So you should go to a school where you think you want to live, ideally. If your school is not located in your ideal future home, it is that much more important to start networking there soon.

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10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started College

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Students are moving on college campuses and embarking on this exciting new chapter of their lives as university freshmen orientations begin all over the world. It is such an exciting time in your life, and one where not only do you learn a great deal about the world, but about yourself.

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10 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Was 18

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10 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Was 18

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Okay, full disclosure: I'm turning 31 this week. Having cleared the hurdle of turning 30 last year, I assumed 31 wouldn't even faze me, but for some reason, this birthday is throwing me into a full-on existential crisis. Why am I here? Where am I going? How is it possible to have acne and wrinkles at the same time? Why is this music so loud? And why is my Facebook feed full of baby pictures?!

Don't worry. You've got years and years before you have to worry about all of that. And I have to say, getting older is actually pretty great in a lot of ways. Sure, there are lots of un-fun responsibilities like mortgage payments and saving for retirement and having to buy all my own groceries. But I also have my own money, limitless freedom, and, most important, experience.

There are so many things I know now that I wish I'd known when I was in high school and college. If only someone older and wiser had deigned to impart their knowledge to me! Well, actually, there's a good chance someone did, but, in my teenage arrogance, I didn't pay attention. But in hopes that you, dear reader, are more receptive to advice than I was, and in honor of my impending birthday, I've decided to bestow upon you the gift of my own hard-won wisdom.

Nope, nope, don't even say it, because, first and foremost . . .

1. You do not know everything. At 18, I thought I had just about everything figured out. Well, let me tell you something, kiddo: no one has everything figured out. Life has to be tackled one day at a time, and it's a never-ending learning process. Always keep an open mind and be willing to listen to others.

2. If you really want something, go after it with everything you've got. I am not without regrets. Goodness knows I've wasted time on my fair share of time on pointless endeavors. If I could go back and change anything, it would be to chase down my dreams more aggressively. Have your heart set on a certain college or career? Do everything you can to make it happen-even if it doesn't, you'll sleep better knowing you gave it your all.

3. Be nice to your parents. Your parents love you and they mean well. They may not behave exactly the way you want them to sometimes, but they're only looking out for your best interest. Treat them with respect, even when it's hard to, and when you go off to college, make sure you keep the lines of communication open.

4. Your grades are more important than your social life. I'll admit, I let my social life get the best of me my senior year. I was taking AP classes and I had an afterschool job and a thousand fun things to do every night and on the weekends. And I was exhausted. I should've sacrificed the fun stuff, but instead, I sacrificed sleep and studying, and, not surprisingly, my grades suffered. Find a way to strike a balance between your academic and social calendars. Your future self will thank you.

5. Refuse to give in to senioritis. You may have already been accepted to college, but that doesn't mean you can slack off. Finish high school on a high note, not just because many colleges require you to submit a copy of your final transcript, but because you've worked hard for the past four years and you should be able to graduate with a sense of accomplishment and your head held high.

6. We are judged by the company we keep. Surround yourself with people who are going to help you succeed and find happiness in life, not drag you down. The older I get, the less patience I have for the drama that permeated my social life in high school. Plus, hanging out with not-so-great people can make others perceive you as a not-so-great-person. Life's too short to waste it on ne'er-do-wells.

7. You are not going to marry that person. It's inevitable. The first time you fall in love, you feel like you're destined to be together forever. I hate to burst your bubble, but you won't. I mean, you might, but that's a big "might." You're going to change so much during your time in college, and the person you are as a teenager isn't the person you'll be 10 years from now-or even one year from now. And the person you're dating is going to change too. But don't worry. You're going to meet some seriously amazing people in your future, and one day you'll look back and see that everything worked out the way it did for a reason.

8. Be more of a listener than a talker. As financier and philanthropist Bernard Baruch (for whom Baruch College is named) once said, "Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking." Learn when to shut up and observe.

9. Be yourself, because shortly after you walk the stage at graduation, everything that seemed so important in high school isn't going to matter. At. All. "Fitting in" may seem like the most important thing in the world right now, but guess what: all those cliques and cool kids aren't going to exist anymore after you graduate. So learn to be true to yourself and let your freak flag fly, because once you get to college, no one is going to care about how bizarro your haircut was in 10th grade or the time you slipped and fell on an icy patch right in front of your crush because you're a total klutz. College is a clean slate.

10. Everything is going to be okay. It may not seem like it now, but life is going to get better. Whether you've had a great time in high school or a not-so-awesome time, things are only going to improve. When I look back on the past 13 years since I graduated (oh golly, I feel old . . . ), I see so much time that I spent worrying needlessly. I can't say that everything has been perfect, but everything always seems to work out as it should, and I'm happier and more confident than I've ever been before.

Do I ever miss being a teenager? Honestly? Not really. Maybe a few parts of it, like living rent-free and not having to worry about things like eye cream and income taxes. But overall, my post-high school years have been incredible. You have so much to look forward to! Which is why my last piece of advice is this: life goes by in a blink, so savor every single moment and strive to go to bed each night with the ability to say (to paraphrase Thoreau), "Today I lived deep and sucked all the marrow out of life."

Now go carpe the heck out of this diem!

Note: Did you know you could win a $10,000 scholarship for college or grad school just by registering on CollegeXpress? This is one of the quickest, easiest scholarships you'll ever apply for. Register Now "

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10 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Was 18

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Okay, full disclosure: I'm turning 31 this week. Having cleared the hurdle of turning 30 last year, I assumed 31 wouldn't even faze me, but for some reason, this birthday is throwing me into a full-on existential crisis. Why am I here? Where am I going?

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The importance of career networking shouldn't be discounted when you are in the midst of a job search. In fact, career networking should become a part of your daily work and career-related endeavors. Your career network should be in place for when you need it, both for job searching and for moving along the career ladder. Since you never know when you might need it, it makes sense to have an active career network, even if you don't need it today.

Career networking, or "professional" networking, involves using personal, professional, academic or familial contacts to assist with a job search, achieve career goals, or learn more about your field, or another field you'd like to work in. Networking can be a good way to hear about job opportunities or get an "in" at the company you'd like to work in.

Networking can help you get hired and help you grow your career. LinkedIn reports:

70 percent of people in 2016 were hired at a company where they had a connection.

80 percent of professionals consider professional networking to be important to career success.

35 percent of surveyed professional say that a casual conversation on LinkedIn Messaging has led to a new opportunity.

61 percent of professionals agree that regular online interaction with their professional network can lead to the way into possible job opportunities.

Past or present co-workers, colleagues, managers, supervisors or employees

Past or present clients and customers

Business associates

Alumni of your undergraduate or graduate alma mater

Acquaintances you know from your personal life

Acquaintances you know through your spouse or your family

People from your church, gym, yoga studio, or community organization

Past or present teachers or professors

Anyone you meet and have a productive, professional conversation about your career path!

1. Include the right people: Your career network should include anyone who can assist you with a job search or career move. It can include past and present co-workers, bosses, friends with similar interests, colleagues from business associations, alumni from your university, or acquaintances you have met via online networking services. Your network can also include family, neighbors, and anyone who might have a connection that will help.

2. Know what your career network can do for you: Over 80% of job seekers say that their network has helped with their job search. Networking contacts can help with more than job leads. They can provide referrals to or insider information about companies you might be interested in working for. They can provide information on career fields you might want to explore or what the job market is like on the other side of the country. Your network can give you advice on where to look for jobs or review your resume. The possibilities are endless.

1. Keep in touch - work your network: Don't just contact those who can help when you have just been laid-off from your job or decide you want to look for a new position. Keep in touch with your network regularly - even if it's just a brief email to say hello and to ask how they are doing. People are more willing to help when they know who you are.

2. Give to get - what can you do for your career network? Networking shouldn't be a one-way street. If you come across an interesting article or a relevant job listing, share it with your network. The point of having a career network is to have resources who can help, but you should reciprocate whenever you can.

1. Keep track of your network: Keep track of your personal career network somewhere. Whether it's electronically or on paper, make sure you know who is who, where they work, and how to get in touch.

2. Network online: Online job searching networking does work. Sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and a variety of other online networking websites can help you get in touch with other networkers at specific companies, with college affiliations or in a certain geographic area. In addition, if you're a college graduate, your institute may have an alumni career network you can access. When networking with people you don't know, make sure that you know what you want. Are you looking for company information? Do you want to know about job opportunities? Be specific in what you ask for.

Attend networking events: Networking in person works, too. If you belong to a professional association, attend a meeting or a mixer. You'll find that many of the participants have the same goals you do and will be glad to exchange business cards. If your college alma mater holds alumni networking events (many schools hold them at locations across the country) be sure to attend. There are many different types of networking events you can attend.

Here are some examples of how career networking can help:

Susan noticed a help-wanted ad for a job at a local veterinary clinic. She called a friend who happened to use that vet. Her friend called the vet and recommended Susan. Susan got an interview and got the job. The vet was glad to hire someone who came highly recommended by a good client.

John was interested in pursuing a career in medicine. He mentioned his interest to a family friend who happened to be a doctor. The doctor arranged for John to spend a day shadowing him at the hospital and provided an excellent recommendation for medical school.

Angela was interested in changing careers and moving from public relations to publishing. Even though she graduated more than a few years ago, she tapped her college career network and came up with a contact at a top New York publishing firm. In addition to being sent new job postings, her resume was hand-delivered to Human Resources when she found a position she wanted to apply for.

In casual conversation at the orthodontist's office, Jeannie, the assistant, just happened to mention to a patient's mom that she was interested in horses and in a part-time job working with them. The mom had horses and a bunch of contacts. Jeannie had a part-time job working on a local horse farm by the end of the week!.

As you can see, career networking really does work and it's important to have a viable network in place throughout your career and to use your network to your advantage when job searching or exploring career options.

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The Importance of Career Networking in Job Searching

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The importance of career networking shouldn't be discounted when you are in the midst of a job search. In fact, career networking should become a part of your daily work and career-related endeavors. Your career network should be in place for when you need it, both for job searching and for moving along the career ladder.

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Free Personality Tests and Career Assessments - Truity

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Take free, scientifically validated personality tests based on Myers and Briggs' 16 types, Enneagram, DISC, Holland Code and more to instantly find your strengths.

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Extensive, research-backed profiles of 16 personality types: learn how different personalities approach romantic relationships, career choices, friendships, parenthood, and more.

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goalmap | Best goal-setting app to track and reach your life goals

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goalmap is a free iOS and Android app to set, track and reach all your life goals. goalmap is the best app to stick to your resolutions and stop procrastinating.

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Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals - UMass Dartmouth

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You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them.

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We know that rejection really hurts, but they can also inflict damage to our psychological well-being that goes well beyond mere emotional pain. Here are 10 lesser known facts that describe the various effects rejection has on our emotions, thinking, and behavior. Let's begin by examining why rejection hurts as much as it does: 1.

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MyStudyLife | Free Student Planner & Study App

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Transform your study habits and get better grades with MyStudyLife’s game-changing student planner. Get organized, improve time management and achieve success.

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Technology, for a free-lancer like me, creates a powerful and not entirely mad illusion that we work in a peopled environment of rich diversity and experience. As I sit to write each morning, I draw upon the vast network of people (many in active chat windows) with whom I've worked in the trenches over the course of a 35-year career, while also having the benefit of opinions and insight by expert strangers a click away. I sometimes even wear earplugs that allow me to immerse more deeply into my subject matter, creating a bubble that blunts distractions and sharpens my focus. For me, it's the best of both worlds. Alone, and yet truly interacting with people, even if they are across town or in a different country.

But what about younger people just entering a traditional office environment? The necessary and artful tango between inner-directed and outward-focused, first chronicled in David Reisman's landmark 1950 book The Lonely Crowd, has been problematically transformed by technology. There's a new lonely crowd in the workplace.

My informal survey of a dozen people I know under the age of 35, working in a range of desk jobs, all in the U.S. - law firms, big entertainment companies, small start-ups, publishing houses - revealed that whatever the design of their office spaces, most younger people in our increasingly post-telephonic office world wear headphones about half of the time they're working. And all but one of those I interviewed said that they had at least one G-chat or Skype window open throughout the day, every day - some of them checking in with as many as five non-work friends or family members every hour. And the majority of these young workers said that they felt far more connected moment to moment with people outside their workplaces than with any co-workers - the nearby colleagues, including bosses, with whom they communicate primarily through e-mails or chat programs.

This is very much a new world with myriad legal and security issues for both employer and employees, which are beyond the scope of this post. My focus, rather, is on the profound impact these new 21st century forms of divided attentions and isolation have on the psychology of individuals and company cultures, how they make people more than ever all alone among a group of nominal comrades.
Missing out on opportunities to contribute and advance
One person with whom I spoke told me that "wearing headphones actually makes me feel anxious a lot of the time, because I'm always worried that someone might ask me a question or say something to me and I'll miss it." This person is right to be concerned. Over the course of my earlier professional incarnations I worked in mission-driven organizations with more or less open office plans - Sesame Street, SPY magazine, Nickelodeon - where much of our successes were driven by the invisible but powerful sense of shared purpose generated by the news and information that was simply overheard. If I'd had headphones on, exclusively aware of the work in front of me, I would have missed out on important details, let alone the collective high that was experienced when a good piece of news rippled through. The more I participated in the ambient, informal life of the office, the more committed I became to the work of the company. A company spirit formed and evolved, and I shared in it unconsciously and consciously.

These days, by contrast, as one young interviewee put it, "usually whoever is talking to me will make sure they get my attention if I didn't seem to hear the first time. I've never missed something urgent, usually just part of a conversation that was going on in the office." Precisely. It's just that kind of loss of daily osmotic information exchange and collaborative bonding that ought to concern 21st century employees and employers. It's about information exchange, resource exchange, idea generation and on and on. If an employee is glued to her desk with headphones on, immersed in music and G-chatting with her best buddy, she is missing the opportunity to create relationships with people on the job who might be launching a project for which she'd be perfect, or who's kicking around the idea to launch a new firm that needs precisely her talents. It's a huge and real loss in terms of career development.

Companies also lose some of the opportunity to have employees contribute new ideas that might be percolating within the larger culture but under the radar of the organization. Because actionable cultural knowledge is now so diffuse, to remain competitive companies need all employees to bring fresh thinking into the workplace. Imagine an employee who happened, say, to be the roommate of someone launching a startup in 2010, and missed out on overhearing a colleague ask if "anyone knows anything about this new app that colorizes photographs so they look old-fashioned" - extreme, yes, but even short of missing out on an early partnership with Instagram, every company must be configured to into tap a workforce's collective informal knowledge base as much as possible.
Eroding employee loyalty
The image of legions of headphone-wearing employees sitting silently at their workstations, oblivious to the flesh-and-blood community around them but actively engaged with a virtual world, seems like a dystopian future envisioned in movies like Minority Report. But that future is here. A Wall Street Journal piece on the "officeless office" had a sidebar with six new rules for office etiquette which included #1, no sneaking up; #5, limit chit-chat; and #6 use headphones. That may increase a certain kind of productivity, but at what cost?

Management professors Sigal Barsade at Wharton and Hakan Ozcelik at Cal State Sacramento are among the pioneers in studying how employee isolation correlates with organizational outcomes. In a recent study, they found "because they feel more estranged and less connected to coworkers, lonelier employees will be more likely to experience a lack of belongingness at work, thus decreasing their affective commitment to their organizations." Something to think about before you decide to limit social chit-chat or put those headphones back on.
A drain on innovation
Isaac Kohane, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School, has studied i f and how scientists benefit from close physical adjacencies at work.

Even though scientific research obviously has been enhanced by internet connectedness (the web, after all, began 23 years ago as a vehicle for scientific collaboration), Kohane and his researchers found "striking evidence for the role of physical proximity as a predictor of the impact of collaborations." As Kyungjoon Lee, a research assistant on the study put it, "science is all about communicating your ideas so others can build on them." It seems obvious to me that not just science but most professional pursuits significantly benefit from this kind of perpetual accidental physical-world collaboration. But as my interviews revealed, when we put on our headphones and fire up our messenger client of choice, we effectively make ourselves remote telecommuters even when we are physically present.
Is there an upside?
Headphones can operate as a visual "do not disturb, I'm working" signal for employees who, in open-plan offices, need solitude in order to execute their work. As one interviewee told me, her headphones "put me in a 'get stuff done' frame of mind" and others reported that headphones made them "more focused" and that work was "more fun." Being able to achieve that sense of solitude when necessary is clearly important.

Organizational psychologists such as K. Anders Ericsson at Florida State and Adrian Furnham at University College London have studied the phenomenon. "If you have talented and motivated people," Furnham says, "they should be encouraged to work alone when creativity or efficiency is the highest priority."

And instant messaging at work can have its uses. As my editor at HBR says, "I instant-message with colleagues who sit next to me. It seems the best way to brainstorm headlines." IM can also cut down on the number of time-consuming emails sent and received, and help employees who are actually physically remote communicate more easily with people in the office.

But organizations need to develop protocols that avoid making isolation the universal default office norm, and that encourage face-to-face interaction. Some personal-bubbledom is necessary. But too much creates a lonely crowd.

How can you find the right balance? Accept the reality of our electronically networked workplaces and private digital media consumption. The new workforce, raised on perpetual multi-screen multi-tasking, would not be able to function well in a closed, 20th-century-style environment. Rather than creating unenforceable rules, employees and organizations should be helped to understand what's being lost in the process of mindless, unplanned mass capitulation to the machines. Create working environments that encourage physical interaction; have small lunches that cut across hierarchical levels; include people who tend to shy away from group activities to participate in the softball team or fantasy football or Oscar pools. And keep managing by walking around, even though text-messaging and email seem to make real-world encounters unnecessary. As Rachel Silverman and Robin Sidel reported in their piece on the officeless office, GlaxoSmithKline, which has saved $10 million in annual real estate costs by shifting 1,200 employees at one New Jersey site to unassigned seating, found that decision-making among their staff had risen by 25% primarily because e-mail exchanges had been replaced by good old-fashioned face-to-face conversations - conversations that never would've happened had all their employees been wearing headphones.

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Technology, for a free-lancer like me, creates a powerful and not entirely mad illusion that we work in a peopled environment of rich diversity and experience. As I sit to write each morning, I draw upon the vast network of people (many in active chat windows) with whom I've worked in the trenches over the [...]

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25 Apps Every College Student Should Have

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25 Apps Every College Student Should Have

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College? There's an app for that! Well, lots of apps, actually. Each semester we find new apps that are the next social media trend, health buddy, or just all around life saver. And honestly, college students are getting not only more high-maintenance (just kidding), but also really, really, ambitious. And ambitious people need ambitious technology to help them change the world. While there are far too many apps for college students to list here that are both resourceful and unique, here are some of the latest game changers that fuel our technological hunger. Below are 25 apps every college student should have!

What's great about these exciting times in tech development is that certain apps are not only really useful for students, but they have sparked generational phenomena. Spotify, Uber, and many other platforms are not just things that you download, but are world-famous movements that have changed, created, or shook entire industries to their core and will be known for years (and case studies) to come.

Learning Apps For College Students

Want to learn a language? DuoLingo 's free app takes all the benefits of Rosetta Stone and puts it in an easy to use (and free!) app. If you want a foreign language credit but always have a full schedule, you may be able to dedicate your time outside of classes to the app and CLEP (College Level Examination Program) out of the foreign language!

Going for the LSAT, MCAT or GMAT? Benchprep will help make sure you are sufficiently prepared through the use of digital flash cards and other study materials.

Homework Helper Apps

Note cards are many people's preferred way to study, but they're also hard to keep track of. Cram is just the solution; allowing you to create your own custom flashcard decks or even searching for pre-created decks on your topic of study.

Have you found yourself swamped with countless essays to write this semester? While there's not an app to write the papers for you (at least not yet), there is one to automatically generate citations. EasyBib takes a picture of the ISBN/Barcode of the book and inputs the citation in MLA, APA or Chicago to your phone. You can then email the citations to yourself! No more losing easy points on papers because of citations.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

It definitely doesn't hurt to have a dictionary conveniently tucked away in your back pocket (or purse...or backpack - wherever you keep your phone). When you're reviewing a lecture or reading a text book and you stumble across a word you don't understand, just take out your phone and look it up. This is great for improving your vocabulary.

It's like if Pinterest, Excel, sticky notes, group chats, checklists, and email threads all had a child together. This app is awesome for project management and group work. If you are a hardcore organizer with a high-stakes project, or are just sick of your team members in class, try this tool to help you organize and manage different tasks that come up in a project, with visual interaction for increased accountability.

Productivity Apps For College Students

If you are a procrastinator, or someone who is easily distracted, this app might be exactly what you're looking for. This app actually works best on a laptop as it restricts your access to distracting websites for a designated amount of time. This means you can study, write you paper, or do your research work without any temptations from outside websites.

Keep track of your life in the palm of your hand. Seriously. You can track every assignment, deadline, appointment (or whatever) and set reminders...this app is a life saver for the forgetful.

Sunrise is an app with a companion webpage (sunrise.am) that serves as an easy to use calendar. Since you sync it with your email account, you can quickly input dates from emails or texts with a push of a button. Great for keeping track of meetings!

School Necessities Apps For College Students

Registration can be super stressful. But for some colleges, Courseoff can pull up all of the classes that will be offered right before the registration period begins, so you can schedule however you want before your school's actual registration happens. This means zero stress when registering, because not only can you see all the details of next semester's courses; you can also play around with times and sections on the calendar, giving you a nice visual to how your week will look - literally. You can also make multiple back-up schedules and share them all with your friends! (The mobile app has almost no functionality except for being able to see your calendar, so I would recommend using the website.)

We all know that a new semester means new textbooks. But don't jump the gun and start purchasing all your books from the school bookstore - unless of course you want to throw tons of money down the drain. Instead, download the Chegg app which lets you search and rent any available textbooks...for much cheaper than actually buying the book! Plus, when you're done with the book, you can put it back up on Chegg and rent it out to another lucky student.

Your University's App (if they have one)

Most universities are starting to become mobile friendly and have created their own apps providing easy and centralized access to things such as school email, student records, grades, campus information, etc.

Budgeting Apps For College Students

Make paying rent, splitting tabs, and reminding your friends they owe you $$ from the bet you won last weekend a breeze with the Circle app. Just link it to your debit OR credit card and instantly life is so much easier.

Different college students have vastly different budgets for their lives, and not a lot of students really know how to handle their money well. Mint is an amazing user-friendly budgeting tool that uses Intuit software and connects to your bank account to closely monitor your spending habits, allowing you to create personalized budgets so you can be smart about your money. You don't even have to be into finance - it just gets you to start thinking about where your money goes and how you can be more of a responsible spender. There's an online and mobile version. You don't have to do a lot of work or tracking, either, because when you create a budget, you can see how much you've spent on, say, your allotted grocery amount for the month, and it'll even text/email you when you've gone over your limit!

Not enough college campuses seem to have gotten the hang of this magical tool which helps you pay back your friends whenever, for literally whatever. The gist of Venmo, for those who don't know, is that you can pay or request money from your friends at any time, and link it to your bank account. So whether it's for the ride home last Friday night, splitting rent between roommates, or getting lunch; you never again have to worry about how you'll pay someone back or that you're footing the bill, because Venmo makes it incredibly easy to handle splitting money for the things you love doing. A little too easy, if I might add. It's almost like you're not spending money at all, so be careful! Another plus - Venmo is also very secure and has exceptional customer service.

This app is only available in a few major cities, like Austin, Atlanta, and Chicago for now. But if your school happens to be in any of those types of places, download this now. It's a really cute app that "scouts" for deals and discounts in your city for smaller (and usually trendy) stores, boutiques, events, and restaurants. A lot of things are 50-100% off regular price, and is an awesome way to explore hidden gems in your city. How is it different from Groupon? It's a lot more specific to supporting the small business owners in your area, and seems to be more geared towards services like food and coffee. It also has a really eye-catching interface and entertaining reviews and fun facts.

Health and Fitness Apps For College Students

If you don't want all of your resolutions to fade away into the abyss like in previous years, get an app for that! Productive is a habit tracker that lets you input routine activities you want to start or continue doing. It's not so much long term goals as it is little habits, like meditating for 30 minutes a day, taking a 20 minute walk in the middle of the afternoon, or taking that dreaded shot of apple cider vinegar before breakfast every morning.

"Watch your habits. They become character. Character is everything."

Working out relieves all the stress that college puts you under. With the combined chaos of classes, homework, clubs, activities, etc; it can often be hard to find time to make it to the gym (unless you are an organized person who follows her schedule to the dot...). Nike Training Club offers equipment-less exercises and timed circuits that you can do right in your dorm room, no gym required. Sorry to break it to you, but now you've got NO excuses to not get your butt into gear.

It's the new year, so your campus gym is probably flooded with people anyway, (that is until the middle of February when everyone realizes Netflix > gym) but despite this, if you're one to avoid the gym at all costs, you might want to check out Sworkit. Similar to the Nike app, this is just another option for working out, outside of the gym. It's always nice to switch up your workout routine, which is why it might be beneficial to have two fitness apps (gasp!). With all these apps, it's getting harder and harder to come up with excuses for being lazy!

Google Play Music (formerly Songza) has mood/activity geared playlists; a great way to set the tone for your workout.

Creativity Apps For College Students

Afterlight and Over (we couldn't pick just one!)

These days, anyone with an Instagram account can call themselves an amateur photographer of sorts. But with these two apps, you can make even more beautiful pictures to put on your blog or social media accounts. Afterlight is an app that has lots of shapes, formatting, and filters to make your pictures really beautiful. And Over is an amazing app that lets you put text on your pictures. What makes these two photo apps stand out specifically are that they are super sleek and classy, so really anything that you do to your photos with both of them makes your pictures 10 times better looking! Of course, these are more for your average Facebook/Insta use and not for professional photography persay, but anyone of any expertise can use them to make pictures really nice. You won't be able to stop editing!

Inspirational quotes to get you through the day? Check. Quick snack ideas? Check. Cute DIY craft ideas? Check. A must have app!

Just Because Apps

Have a bad habit of texting he-who-should-not-be-named after a night of demolishing jungle juice? Drunk mode allows you to block your phone's ability to contact certain people, unless you can answer a math problem.

Circle of 6 will message six trusted contacts (whom you choose) whenever you find yourself in a tricky situation; sending your GPS location, or even directly call emergency hotlines.

I guess these days you can get anything delivered instantly. There are so many apps for college students that depend on the existence of the hungry college student's inelastic food needs. Here's one that combines Uber and Grubhub to deliver not only food, but groceries as well, and is available in a lot of major cities.

Let's face it, when you graduate into the real world, you're not going to have all your friends living within a mile radius for you to hang out, party, and go to football games with. So realistically, if you are new to a city, or even just interning for a couple of months somewhere, it helps to join a group who has similar interests or backgrounds. And that may sound terrifying, or Tinder-esque, but the whole point is to find an entire group of people to hang out with and get to know. So maybe take a buddy, or ask around about activities, but give it a try so you'll get used to your new home.

While you're using all of these platforms to help you in your day-to-day activities, you should also take a second to appreciate how exciting it is to be in a time where every small, seemingly insignificant need is being met by pretty normal people with extraordinary talents. Won't it be cool to tell your grandkids that you were around when Uber came out and changed transportation forever, or that your phone began telling you how healthy you are? Even as a person who's pretty resistant to technology, I have to admit there are some apps for college students that I just can't imagine my college life without.
*Article contributors: Anu Sekar, Deborah Rankin and Sereen Hamawi
Which one of these apps for college students is your favorite? Let us know down below!

Featured image source: careergirldaily.com

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25 Apps Every College Student Should Have - Society19

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There are a lot of apps for college students. Here are the top apps for college students that our student editors picked from all the apps they use. These are the best apps every college students need for their next semester!

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Whether it's exercising or walking along the street, wearing your headphones can make you feel like you're in your own little world. Of course, that is the point. After all, the last thing I want to do during a commute is talk to some wacko about his insane conspiracy theories. I'd much rather pop on my headphones and relax with my favorite music or a great podcast..

Whatever your reason for wearing headphones, once you put them on, it's easy to forget what's going on around you. "What? Come on, I'm minding my own business and keeping to myself!" I hear you...

But before you tune out the world, check out my top 3 quick and dirty tips for headphones etiquette:

Tip #1: Vet the Volume

In a classic Saturday Night Live skit, Bill Murray plays the world's most annoying passenger on a plane, shouting to others over the noise of his headphones. His irritating rudeness is absolutely hilarious...until you're on the receiving end of the character he portrayed in real life. Be it on a plane, at work, or while getting coffee, we've all seen it happen. Some people refuse to take the .005 seconds it takes to remove the headphones or at least pull them aside on one ear, to listen and speak to someone.

How on earth can you not realize that you're screaming? I mean, maybe if you're a child, but when an adult does this, there's no excuse? I mean, we should have all mastered the art of volume regulation while wearing headphones by now. It's not a new invention, folks.

Be in your own world and listen to your music all you want. In fact, it's proper to wear headphones when you're in public so others don't have to hear your soundtrack to Wicked for the umpteenth time. However, the moment you need to speak to someone, remove the hardware and pay attention.

I don't care how swift you think you are, you cannot have a lucid conversation while wearing your headphones. It's impossible. The other party will likely get annoyed because you refuse to give them 5 seconds of your uninterrupted attention. After all, that's why there's a pause button on your iPod. It's OK, you can return to it in few seconds, I promise.

Tip #2: Zoning Out at Work

I'm totally guilty of zoning out while using my headphones at work. I pop them on, listen to my music, find my zen place, and then pound out whatever needs to get done in peace. What's wrong with that? It's win-win for everyone - I listen to something I enjoy without bothering colleagues around me and I get a little "me time."

This is a perfectly sound argument and honestly, I have a hard time debating it. However, the one thing I can discuss is how zoning out can turn unmannerly when you're around others and ignore them completely. For example, say you're at work and you plug your headphones into your laptop to get you in the zone to meet a deadline. And then Larry from marketing comes over and asks you about that quarterly report. You're so zoned out, you don't even hear him. He asks a few times, you seem to ignore him, and he stalks off deflated thinking you're the rudest person on two legs.

The lesson here: The workplace is not your zen place.

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Whether it’s exercising or walking along the street, wearing your headphones can make you feel like you’re in your own little world. Of course, that is the point. After all, the last thing I want to do during a commute is talk to some wacko about his insane conspiracy theories.

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Volume control

Is anyone listening? Monitoring your teen's headphone volume can help avoid hearing loss

As a parent, do you often find yourself asking your child to remove their headphones? You may want to consider doing it even more often.

If you're the parent of a teenager, you likely have concerns about the link between headphones and hearing loss. Today, 1 in 5 teens will experience some form of hearing loss-a rate about 30% higher than it was 20 years ago. Many experts believe the escalation is due, in part, to increased use of headphones.

According to James E. Foy, DO, an osteopathic pediatrician from Vallejo, California, listening through headphones at a high volume for extended periods of time can result in lifelong hearing loss for children and teens. "Even a mild hearing loss due to excessive noise could lead to developmental delays in speech and language," he cautions.

Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, or DOs, look beyond your symptoms to understand how lifestyle and environmental factors affect your wellbeing. They listen and partner with you to help prevent injury and encourage your body's natural tendency toward self-healing.

How loud is too loud?

Most MP3 players today can produce sounds up to 120 decibels, equivalent to a sound level at a rock concert. At that level, hearing loss can occur after only about an hour and 15 minutes, warns Dr. Foy. "I stress to my patients and their parents that if you can't hear anything going on around you when listening to headphones, the decibel level is too high," he says.

Dr. Foy advises that people should not exceed 60% of maximum volume when listening through headphones.

How long is too long?

Duration of exposure to noise is also a major factor when examining headphones and hearing loss. "As a rule of thumb, you should only use MP3 devices at levels up to 60% of maximum volume for a total of 60 minutes a day," says Dr. Foy. "The louder the volume, the shorter your duration should be. At maximum volume, you should listen for only about five minutes a day."

What are the signs of hearing loss?

"The type of hearing loss due to headphone use is typically gradual, cumulative and without obvious warning signs," explains Dr. Foy. "A hearing test and a medical examination are the only way to truly diagnose hearing damage."

However, if you or your child experiences any of the following symptoms, Dr. Foy recommends a visit to a physician immediately:

Ringing, roaring, hissing or buzzing in the ear.

Difficulty understanding speech in noisy places or places with poor acoustics.

Muffled sounds and a feeling that your ear is plugged.

Listening to the TV or radio at a higher volume than in the past.

What is the treatment for hearing loss?

"Unfortunately, the type of hearing loss caused by over exposure to very loud noise is irreversible, making prevention paramount," says Dr. Foy. "Hearing aids and implants can help in amplifying sounds and making it easier to hear, but they are merely compensating for the damaged or nonworking parts of the ear."

How can I prevent hearing loss?

"First and foremost, follow the 60/60 rule in regards to percentage of maximum volume and duration of time," says Dr. Foy. Additionally, he suggests using older style, larger headphones that rest over the ear opening instead of earphones that are placed directly in your ear. "Whether using headphones or earphones, moderation is key," says Dr. Foy. "Avoiding excessive use of listening devices altogether will go a long way in preventing hearing loss."​​​​

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James E. Foy, DO, an osteopathic pediatrician, examines the link between headphones and hearing loss and offers tips for minimizing your child's risk.

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When World War II ended, submission-and-denial was exactly what returning veterans craved when they found themselves surrounded by the clamor and demands of the open-plan family rooms of the postwar suburbs. By then, they knew what device provided it. In the '50s, John C. Koss invented a set of stereo headphones designed explicitly for personal music consumption. In that decade, according to Keir Keightley, a professor of media studies at the University of Western Ontario, middle-class men began shutting out their families with giant headphones and hi-fi equipment. Further, they recalled the sonar systems they saw at war.

The Walkman appeared in 1979, the invention of Sony, and headphones became part of a walking outfit. Headphones and earbuds are now used with MP3 players, mobile phones, tablet computers and laptops.

Most discussions of the transformation of music by digital technology focus on the production end. But headphones transform sound for the consumer too. Headphones are packed with technology. When an audio current passes through the device's voice coil, it creates an alternating magnetic field that moves a stiff, light diaphragm. This produces sound. If you think about all the recordings, production tricks, conversions and compressions required to turn human voices and acoustic instruments into MP3 signals, and then add the coil-magnet-diaphragm magic in our headphones, it's amazing that the intensely engineered frankensounds that hit our eardrums when we listen to iPhones are still called music.

Whatever you call it, children are listening to something on all these headphones - though "listening" is too limited a concept for all that headphones allow them to do. Indeed, the device seems to solve a real problem by simultaneously letting them have private auditory experiences and keeping shared spaces quiet. But the downside is plain, too: it's antisocial. As Llewellyn Hinkes Jones put it not long ago in The Atlantic: "The shared experience of listening with others is not unlike the cultural rituals of communal eating. Music may not have the primal necessity of food, but it is something people commonly ingest together."

Headphones work best for people who need or want to hear one sound story and no other; who don't want to have to choose which sounds to listen to and which to ignore; and who don't want their sounds overheard. Under these circumstances, headphones are extremely useful - and necessary for sound professionals, like intelligence and radio workers - but it's a strange fact of our times that this rarefied experience of sound has become so common and widespread. In the name of living a sensory life, it's worth letting sounds exist in their audio habitat more often, even if that means contending with interruptions and background sound.

Make it a New Year's resolution, then, to use headphones less. Allow kids and spouses periodically to play music, audiobooks, videos, movie, television and radio audibly. Listen to what they're listening to, and make them listen to your stuff. Escapism is great, and submission and denial, too, have their places. But sound thrives amid other sounds. And protecting our kids' hearing is not just as important as protecting their brains; it is protecting their brains.

Points of Entry: This Week's Recommendations
POLYPHONIC
Who will make the biopic of Nathaniel Baldwin, the inventor of headphones? He was a polygamy defender who blew his fortune on gonzo polygamy-oriented causes but was himself married only once. Read all about him at history.utah.gov.

SKULL AND PHONES
In the great Utah gadget tradition, Skullcandy, the leading-edge American headphones retailer, is based in Park City. Skullcandy.com showcases the thrills and risks of the headphoned life; it also sells some of the best headsets around. Use in moderation.

YOUNG EARS
It's a Noisy Planet is a campaign by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders aimed at kids 8 to 12. See noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov for facts and advice on protecting their hearing.

Correction: February 27, 2011

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When World War II ended, submission-and-denial was exactly what returning veterans craved when they found themselves surrounded by the clamor and demands of the open-plan family rooms of the postwar suburbs. By then, they knew what device provided it. In the '50s, John C.

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How to Tie a Tie (Mirrored / Slowly) - Full Windsor Knot

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Planning on attending a fancy or formal dinner party? Have a go at our Dining Etiquette Quiz to find out if you have the savoir-faire!

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This free personality test will allow you to obtain your four-letter type code according to Jung's typology as developed by Myers, Briggs, von Franz, and van der Hoop. Our test is one of several ways to quantify interpretations of Jung's typology, similar but not identical, to the MBTI test (the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® MBTI), the Jung Type Indicator, and other such instruments.

IDR Labs Personality Type Test is the property of IDR Labs International.

Ours is one of the few free tests that is subjected to statistical controls and validation. Even so, please keep in mind that tests are merely indicators - a first peek at the system to get you started.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and MBTI are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Myers & Briggs Foundation, in the United States and other countries. The MBTI® instrument is published by The Myers-Briggs Company. The Jung Type Indicator is the property of Psytech International.

Personality tests, whether they are professional or "official" tests like the MBTI® (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®) test, the Jung Type Indicator, or free online personality tests like this one, are indicators to help you find your personality type. No test ever devised can designate your personality type with complete accuracy or reliability, and no personality type test can replace familiarizing yourself with the works of Myers, Briggs, von Franz, van deer Hoop, and Jung in depth.

As the publishers of this online free personality test that allows you to discover your psychological type in the typology of Jung, Myers, Briggs, von Franz, van deer Hoop, we have endeavored to make this free online personality type test as reliable, accurate, and complete as possible.

Like the "official" tests based on the Jungian typology, and other professionally-developed, accurate instruments, our free online test is subjected to statistical controls and validation in order to make the results as accurate as possible.

We primarily draw on the psychology of personality types presented in C.G. Jung's Psychological Types as well the psychological insights into personality type tests as presented in the work of Isabel Briggs Myers, co-creator of the MBTI® test, as set forth in her work Gifts Differing. Furthermore, the works of van der Hoop, Conscious Orientation and Character and the Unconscious, were also influential in the making of this test.

This test follows established theory. Our test follows the written theory of Jung, Myers, von Franz, and van der Hoop on the topic of personality type, rather than some slapdash approximation of Jung's theory.

Ours is one of the free online tests which also draws on the works of J.H. van der Hoop and has endeavored to provide an accurate psychological assessment that stays as close to the official and authorized works of van der Hoop as possible.

The authors of this free online personality test are certified in the use of multiple different personality tests and have worked professionally with typology and personality testing. Prior to using our free online personality test, please note that while the four-letter type code provided is compatible with the type codes provided by official typology tests and training material, this test should not be confused with official trademarked tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, the Grey-Wheelwright Type Indicator, the Jung Type Indicator, or similar. The results of our free online personality test are provided "as-is", for free, and should not be construed as providing professional or certified advice of any kind. For more on our online personality test, please consult our Terms of Service.

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Personality Test Based on Jung and Briggs-Myers

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This free personality test is similar but not identical to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI test). Made by Jungian type experts, it is short yet accurate.

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"My Students Don't Know How to Have a Conversation"

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"My Students Don't Know How to Have a Conversation"

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Surviving College | University of Michigan-Flint

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It is important to remember that there are only 24 hours in each day and only 168 hours in each week. It is common for college students to try to participate in more activities than their time allows and, as a result, perform poorly in many of the activities.

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If you wonder this at the end of your work day, then you're probably struggling with time management.

Menial tasks, lack of organization, and distractions can cause major time management issues. Chances are you're spending valuable time on tasks that can be automated and you lack apps that keep you in the zone.

We did our research and compiled 17 of the best time management apps that will help you say goodbye to procrastination and hello to productivity.

Tight on time? Jump around to any section.

1. Slack - Real-Time Messaging for Teams

Slack connects coworkers through channels, private rooms, or direct messaging. It's easy to share files, store data, and there are several service integrations that simplify working on projects. Easily communicate with your team to establish sales goals, accomplishments, and lay out to-do's.

Cost: Basic free option. Try more features with a Standard ($6.67 per month) or Plus plan ($12.50 per month).

Platform: Mobile/desktop (also available on Apple Watch).

2. TweetDeck - Stay in the Loop & Schedule Tweets

TweetDeck allows users to manage their own Twitter accounts as well as influencers, prospects, and competitors. Set up columns to track mentions, direct messages, hashtags, and tweets from (or directed toward) any handle. You can also schedule your own tweets to go out when you want them to. One of the best time management apps for multitasking.

Cost: Free. Once you're logged into Twitter, you're in.

Platform: Desktop.

3. Yesware Templates - One-Click-Insert Emails, Personalized

No more rewriting the same message over and over again. With Yesware templates you can save your email messaging for quick access right within Gmail or Outlook. Templates include custom fields, placeholders, and/or drop-downs to fill in whenever they're inserted into an email.

BONUS: Reporting allows you to A/B test your emails to see which gets the most opens and replies.

Cost: Free 28-day trial, then $12 per month for the year.

Platform: Desktop.

4. Gmail Delay Send - Reach Out When the Timing's Right

Schedule that Gmail email to send later, at whatever date and time you want - even specify the send-time to your recipient's time zone. This tool lets you write your emails when convenient for you, and auto-send when the timing is right for your prospect.

Cost: Free 28-day trial, then $12 per month with other tools like Templates (mentioned above).

Platform: Desktop

5. Focus@Will - Neuroscience & Music

If you struggle to concentrate through a chunk of time, Focus@Will can help you get into the groove. This time management app uses neuroscience and music to boost productivity. Research has found that sound impacts neural circuitry in areas important for memory, analysis, and creativity.

Cost: Free 3 week trial of unlimited listening. Then $3.99 per month (or $34.99 per year) to continue.

Platform: Mobile/desktop. Designed for iPhone and iPad.

6. RescueTime - Remove Distractions

Get more work done. RescueTime gives you detailed reports uncovering the websites you spend the most time on. Get more time back in your day by limiting how much time you spend on websites (hint: Facebook).

Cost: 14-day trial then $9 per month or $72 per year (4 months free).

Platform: Mobile/desktop

7. Focus Booster - Get in the Zone

This time tracker app helps you avoid distractions by using the pomodoro technique. You'll work in 25-minute sessions with short breaks in between. You can track your productivity (and breaks) in timesheets to analyze how your day was spent.

Cost: Several plans including Starter (free), Individual ($3 per month), or Professional ($5 per month).

*All plans include a 30-day free trial of the Professional plan.

Platform: Desktop.

8. Sanebox - Train Your Inbox

The average employee spends 28% of their day processing emails. To prevent users from wasting time on unnecessary emails, Sanebox separates important emails and summarizes the rest in a daily digest. Features include snooze, automatic attachment uploads to the cloud, and quick organization of no-replies.

Cost: Plans run monthly, yearly, or bi-yearly. Start with the "Snack" plan ($7 per month).

Platform: Desktop/mobile.

9. Dropbox - Managing Files & Folders Made Easy

This cloud storage service is ideal for documents, videos, files, photos, and more. You can easily create a shareable link to the Dropbox folder for quick collaborating with coworkers, customers, or prospects. Connect all of your devices to stay in sync.

Cost: Free 30-day trial. After that, there's a Pro plan, Business plan, or Enterprise.

Platform: Mobile/desktop.

10. Evernote - Save Text, Image & Video Files

Evernote helps users stay organized across all platforms. Doing research on a prospect? With Evernote's Web Clipper, you can clip and save sections (or entire pages) of websites and annotate them. And shortcuts help you quickly access the most frequently used content in your account like searches, notes, and tags.

Cost: Basic free plan or Plus plan ($34.99 per year) or Premium plan ($69.99 per year).

Platform: Available on desktop & mobile. Mac or Windows, Apple App Store, Google Play, or Windows Store.

11. 30/30 - Assign Time to Tasks

With 30/30, you can create a running list of tasks and assign an amount of time to spend on each. It's not tied to a calendar, so if you get derailed with something else at work, you can return to where you left off when you have time.

Cost: Free.

Platform: Mobile for iPhone users.

12. Automatic Reminders for Gmail - Never Miss a Follow-Up Again

Add a reminder to any outgoing email so you're flagged when you want without having to write anything down or set a separate task for yourself. The best part? Reminders pop up at the top of your inbox - where you're working throughout the day.

Cost: Free 28-day trial, then $12 per month with other tools like Templates and Send Later.

Platform: Desktop.

13. 1-3-5 List - Prioritize Your Day Quickly

Use the 1-3-5 method to complete tasks. Choose 1 big thing, 3 medium things, and 5 small things to accomplish, checking them off as you complete them. You can create any type of list you want, or use predetermined templates.

Cost: Free (basic account) or Premium ($2.50 per month).

Platform: Mobile/desktop (Google Chrome extension).

14. Wunderlist - Let's Get Organized

Dual to-do list and task manager. Wunderlist lets you capture, share, and complete lists with others or work on your own. One of the best time management apps for organizing all of your tasks for work and personal life.

Cost: Free (or $4.99 for Pro Subscription).

Platform: Mobile/desktop.

15. Giphy - Animated Graphics That Explain for You

Show, don't tell. Type an emotion, situation, etc. into the search bar, and Giphy turns options to choose from. This time management app helps you break away from standard email messaging and catch more eyes. Send a refreshing GIF instead of adding to a pile of quickly-deleted sales asks.

Cost: Free.

Platform: Desktop.

16. Skitch - Illustrate Your Point

Create quick graphics for emails, proposals, or presentations with Skitch. Demonstrate your point in seconds by adding arrows, boxes, or annotations to an image. You can take screenshots, use a blank canvas, or upload files from your computer.

Cost: Free for Mac users.

Platform: Desktop.

17. Licecap - GIFs Galore

Need to visually display a point? Licecap lets you record an area of your desktop and then turn it into a GIF. Use it to show the benefits of your product or walk users through issues.

Cost: Free.

Platform: Desktop. Works for Windows and OSX.

Over to you: What are your favorite time management apps? Tweet us: @Yesware.

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17 Time Management Apps To Win Back Hours Each Day

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If you wonder this at the end of your work day, then you're probably struggling with time management. Menial tasks, lack of organization, and distractions can cause major time management issues. Chances are you're spending valuable time on tasks that can be automated and you lack apps that keep you in the zone.

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Undoubtedly, technology has allowed us to connect, perform, improve, and leverage our resources beyond what was once imaginable, and one of the biggest ways is through time management apps. But with so many apps to choose from, how do you know which ones to use?

The best way to identify an app is to look at your current challenges with time management. Do you get distracted too easily and never complete a task? Or perhaps you end the day without achieving much, wondering where all your time went?

We all have challenges when it comes to being more productive. The best time management apps around vary depending on your needs. That's why we've put together a list of 15 of the best time management apps to help you with the most common challenges.

If you're not taking advantage of some of the hundreds of time management tools , you're missing out.

Let's dive straight into the list.

15 Time Management Apps You Need To Try

1. Rize - Use Your Time Wisely

If you don't know what you did all day or feel that you haven't accomplished much at the end of the day, you will be excited to know about . Rize not only tracks your time but also gives you valuable insights to improve your productivity, build better habits and increase your focus. The highlight is that you don't need to constantly input information, this is automatically done for you.

You can see how many hours you have worked, how much of that time is focus time, how much time you spend context switching, and which websites distract you most, among many other features. Tracking and managing your time efficiently has never been easier.

2. Notion - Keep on Top of All Your Tasks

Think of Notion as a single platform with different productivity apps, helping you keep your notes and work in one place. You can collaborate, share documents and notes, and create a central knowledge base for your team, supporting you in all your project management needs.

You can use Notion to replace your to-do lists, project management, note-taking apps, spreadsheets, etc. It saves you time and money and helps you keep on top of your time management and organization.

3. Forest - Boost Motivation to Complete Tasks

is a unique reinvention of time management apps. This unique and fun app helps you stay focused and incorporates the Pomodoro technique, breaking work into chunks with short intervals. The concept is simple: If you stay focused during this time, your virtual tree will grow. If you lose focus, the tree will die. As the app's name implies, you can grow multiple trees to create a virtual forest!

On top of this particular time management tool being really fun, it reinforces the need to focus on the task. Go ahead and build a wonderful and colorful virtual forest to use as proof to you that you can focus!

Pro tip: Staying focused all the time isn't easy, especially when distractions are everywhere these days! Try the Time Flow System and learn how to sharpen your focus!

4. Spark - Finally Reach Inbox 0

Even with hundreds of communication tools available to us, email use continues to grow. Whether your job is based largely on emails or not, managing your email and staying on top of it is key to productivity. You will be shocked to see how much time can be wasted with email by not having structure or automation to support you in staying on top of your game.

According to a survey by Adobe, people spend at least 3.1 hours checking and reading emails at work. Spark has many features, from removing distractions to only notifying you of important emails to snoozing emails. You can also send an email to your Task Manager to add to your to-do's, reply quickly with templates, as well as get reminded to follow up on emails and schedule to reply to certain emails later.

Finally, reach inbox 0 with Spark.

5. Serene - Focus on Tasks at Hand

One of the biggest time wasters is giving in to distractions, multi-tasking, and not completing tasks because of this. Serene takes productivity to the next level in three easy steps and helps you to get more done in your day.
It helps you to:

1. Plan your day - Define your goals and tasks for the day and when you want to do them.

2. Block Distractions - When starting a task, Serene blocks websites, updates your statuses (ie. unavailable on Slack), and eliminates distractions overall.

3. Focus Enhancers - It helps you to stay focused on the task with timers, music, breaks, etc.

It is an all-in-one time management tool you want in your kit.

6. Fathom.Video - Zoom Is Your Minute Taker

Since COVID-19, the Zoom app has been downloaded 485 million times in 2020. Although Zoom has been a huge contribution to productivity, so much time is wasted capturing notes and important information, never mind losing focus on what is being said.

Fathom is an excellent time management tool for meetings and super easy to use. During your meeting, you can highlight important moments, such as decisions, questions, action items, etc. These are sent to you after your meeting with a transcription of the meeting and highlights. This tool syncs your notes to Hubspot, Salesforce, and other CRM platforms accordingly and automatically.

7. MyLifeOrganized (MLO) - Manage Your To-Do Lists Effectively

Excellent time management techniques entail to-do lists and having a system to manage your tasks. However, even with various apps and methods, they can be overwhelming for people. This is where MyLifeOrganized comes in.

This task management software helps you target what you should be focusing on to reach your objectives. MyLifeOrganized is one of the best time management apps for focused work. It automatically generates to-do lists with priority actions for your immediate attention so that you can track your progress methodically.

8. 1Password - Have All Your Passwords Remembered

How much time do you spend looking for login details or having to reset passwords? 1Password is still a must-have time management app as it allows you to keep all your passwords in one encrypted database - protected by one password.

According to research, more than half of Americans have had to reset five passwords each month on average. This saves you time when you forget your passwords and need to retrieve them and also allows you to use various passwords for different accounts so you don't compromise on security.

9. Alarmy - Joyful Alarm Clock

Waking up early to have time for yourself and set yourself up for the day is the ingredient to mastering your day. Alarmy makes it impossible to sleep in or snooze by giving you a few options of challenges to complete before the alarm turns off.

You can play memory games, do math, take photos, squat, and many more. By the time you have completed the challenge, you are already awake, and your mind is active. There are other great features, such as personalizing your sounds and recording how you feel, to gain insights. Get more out of your day with Alarmy.

10. Focus@Will - Boost Your Attention Span

This amazing app combines neuroscience and music to boost your productivity. According to the developers, it's possible to increase your attention span by up to 400% using Focus@Will, making this one of the best time management apps available, which is why it stays on our list.

Focus@Will is ideal for those who find it difficult to focus while studying, working, or reading. It also helps you control your ADD.

11. Alfred - Interact With Your Computer in a Smart Way

Alfred is a small and simple tool that lets you launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes. This is one of the greatest time management techniques as it removes the need for searching through multiple folders to find what you need. The only downside is that it's only available for macOS.

12. Habitica - Gamify Your Habits

Having the right habits can either save you hours of time or waste hours, and how productive you are, depends on your habits. The challenge is that the initial excitement and motivation to develop new habits wears off quickly, and when there is no consistency in building the new habit, it will never replace the old.

This is where Habitica becomes your partner in success. Track your goals, to-dos, and habits. Stay accountable for achieving your goals with features such as rewards, punishments, and streaks. Finally, have fun getting things done!

13. Quire - Unfold Your Ideas

Quire is another excellent and innovative time management app that boosts your team's productivity. The strength of this app is in its features for collaboration and ease of sharing. Through the various time management techniques this app offers, you can streamline and adjust your workflow based on your team's needs and preferences.

14. Doodle - Scheduling Has Never Been Easier

It can be quite frustrating going back and forth spending more time than needed coordinating a day and time that works for everyone to get together. Doodle comes to the rescue here.

Whether you're planning a meeting or a party, Doodle sends everyone options and times and tracks the time that works best for everyone to schedule. It keeps everyone up to date with all current and upcoming events and also syncs with Zoom, Google Meet, Outlook, Microsoft teams, and Zapier for easier collaboration.

15. Dropbox - Store and Send Large Files Easily

Dropbox stays on the list of the top apps that allow you to transfer content from your computer to other devices and access it anywhere. It is free, and it is easier to use than the others.

With the Dropbox app, you can even access and share important files on the go. It is an easy way to share your files and documents with others for improved productivity.

Final Thoughts

The above list covers what we consider to be the very best time management apps and tools available. And the good news is that many of them are completely free of charge! So, what are you waiting for? Select the ones that will be the most valuable to you, and begin boosting your productivity now!

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15 Best Time Management Apps and Tools (2023 Updated) - LifeHack

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With hundreds of apps and tools to choose from, you may not know where to start. Here're 15 best time management apps for productivity.