The Ultimate Notion Setup for Students: How to Organize Your New Semester

What Is Notion and Why Students Love It

Notion is an online platform that allows users to create, organize, and manage their personal and professional projects. It offers a variety of tools, from note-taking to database management and tracking.  

Notion launched in 2016 and quickly became popular because it is easy to use, highly customizable, and most importantly, free.

You can create your own templates out of a blank template, or look for finished templates (this may not be free, since users can sell their own templates through the Notion marketplace).

You can check my own Notion templates for a better idea.

How to Use Notion as a Student (Beginner Guide)

At first, setting up a Notion template seems overwhelming. However, don’t worry, once you understand the basics, you will have a smooth experience.

These are the Notion basics any student should know:

1. Creating new pages: By creating pages for different topics, you will be able to collect different information in a single space. For example, you can create different pages for each topic of a course to keep clean notes.
2. Inline databases: Databases allow you to store data in a single space. Databases can have different formats, for instance, tables, calendars, or boards.
3. To-do lists: Lists are the best friends of any student. You can create a calendar to keep track of all your assignments and then write down to-do lists based on those deadlines.

How to Build the Ultimate Notion Setup for Students

As a 4th-year college student who has tried several Notion templates, I have enough experience to say that Notion is any college student’s best friend.🫶

However, I admit that finding an effective Notion template for students can be tricky.

Whether you are trying to find a Notion template that suits you or you are building your own, here are the must-have blocks any student Notion template should have.

Check out my own Notion setup for a new semester.

1. General Overview

A general overview is necessary for any Notion template, not just for a college dashboard.

One of the best things about Notion is that it allows you to have all your information in one place: assignment deadlines, to-do lists, social calendars, semester marks, note bank, etc.

A general overview is basically an overview of your own mind! Keep it clean, aesthetic, and simple.

2. Course overview

This is where all your information related to one course should be. Try to keep all your notes, assignments, marks, general information, etc., all together.

It is essential to have a page dedicated to each course, since this is where you will go to whenever you are in class. You will keep all the information related to one class altogether, which will make finding information about it a lot easier.

3. Note bank

Inside each course’s page, you should keep what I call a “note bank”. This is where you will take and keep all your notes related to that class.

You can take your notes by date or by topic; it doesn’t matter. Just make sure you keep all of them in the same place.

4. Assignment tracker

Another block inside your course overview page is an assignment tracker.

Make sure this assignment tracker is synced with your calendar so that you don’t have to manually add it.

5. General assignment tracker

Apart from an assignment tracker for each course, you should keep a general one as well. It is always beneficial to have all your assignments in one place.

You can create a separate page for your general assignment tracker, or you can keep both your uni calendar and general assignment tracker in the same place.

PRO TIP: You can combine the assignment tracker and the calendar in the same inline database by adding a new database layout.

6. Planner

One of the best characteristics of Notion is that you can have several calendars in the same place.

My advice is to keep 3 calendars in the same place: study work calendar, social calendar, and general calendar, combining the previous two.

7. To-Do List

Keep a to-do list next to your calendar. Whenever you remember a task, write it down in your to-do list. Later on, once you have time, check your to-do list and assign time slots for each task.

8. Habit Tracker

Other than your study-related information, Notion is the best place to get all your goals.

Keep a habit tracker to make sure you are not only achieving your college-related goals, but also life goals.

9. Countdown

One of my favourite blocks for a student Notion setup is a countdown. Pomodoro is one of the most popular study techniques, so by having a countdown, you will be able to follow your Pomodoro sessions without opening a new page.

10. Study playlist

Notion allows you to add Spotify playlists to your template. Having your playlist in your college Notion setup will be the last piece of the puzzle to ensure you only need your Notion setup for any study-related work.

Final Thoughts

Whether you build your own Notion template or try someone else’s template, Notion will become your best friend.

I know that at first, Notion seems overwhelming. I thought so too. It took me several months to actually optimize my own Notion setup to ensure it suited me (get my Notion template here).

However, now there is nothing I could do without it. I don’t know how I was keeping track of my university work without Notion!

Give it a try, you won’t regret it! And don’t forget to tell us about your Notion experience in the comments!