5 Secret Study Apps Every Student Must Know (Actually Useful!)

Summary

The video argues that students often miss tasks and forget material not because they lack motivation, but because they rely on memory to manage too many details. A better study system uses tools to organize resources, support revision, reduce distractions, and schedule work.

The Five Recommended Apps

1. Notion — organize study materials

   • Create a separate page for each subject, such as History, Geography, and Civics.
   • Within each page, make sections for topics you still need to study, have studied but need to revise, and feel confident about.
   • Add notes, diagrams, screenshots, and other useful resources to the relevant subject page instead of leaving them scattered across notebooks, your phone gallery, and messaging groups.
   • The aim is to spend less time searching for materials and more time studying.

2. Google NotebookLM — work from your own sources

   • Upload materials such as textbook PDFs, photos of notes, and lecture recordings.
   • Ask questions about the material. The video presents the tool as answering from the sources you provide rather than searching broadly across the internet.
   • Use its generated audio summaries for listening-based review, and its mind maps and flash cards to support understanding and revision.
   • The subtitles also refer to the tool as “Gemini Notebook.”

3. Quizlet — practise recall with flash cards

   • Create cards with a question on one side and the answer on the other. For example, ask when the Nagpur session took place and put “December 1920” on the answer side.
   • Make cards for facts, comparisons, geography, and other material that needs to be remembered.
   • Review the cards regularly. The video says difficult cards are shown more often, while easier ones appear less, helping direct practice toward weaker areas and reinforce information over time.

4. Forest — limit phone distractions

   • Start a virtual tree-growing session when you begin studying.
   • The tree grows while you stay off other phone apps; leaving the session to use another app causes the tree to die.
   • The video suggests this simple consequence can help students maintain focus and build a study streak.
   • It also says that points earned through the app contribute to real tree planting.

5. Google Calendar — schedule study and deadlines

   • Use it as a study timetable, not just for birthdays or events.
   • Assign specific subjects and tasks to set times across the week, including what to study and how to revise it.
   • Enter tests, submission dates, and other deadlines as soon as you learn about them, then use reminders.
   • Schedule the other apps too—for example, when to organize material in Notion, review NotebookLM materials, or practise Quizlet cards.
   • This shifts the job of remembering tasks from your mind to the calendar.

Overall Lesson

The apps are intended to work as one system: organize resources, study and clarify material, practise recall, protect focus, and schedule the work.

The presenter emphasizes that installing the apps or watching the video is not enough. Students need to start using them by adding their current study materials and tasks.

Other Apps Mentioned

The presenter briefly promotes Next Toppers for study-related resources and Skilled Brain for skills development. These are separate from the five apps discussed in detail.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Digraj Singh Rajput — presenter and narrator
• Notion
• Google NotebookLM — referred to in the subtitles as “Gemini Notebook”
• Quizlet
• Forest
• Google Calendar
• Next Toppers and Skilled Brain — promotional mentions