In this blog post, I will put myself in the shoes of a student preparing to start University, college or school in September. The last time I started formal learning was as a distance learning student in 2007 at the Open University.
This post is a follow-up to our note-taking and knowledge management applications for students in 2023 and our guide to using Obsidian for students.
Notion as a note-taking application
For me, Notion isn’t the best note-taking application, and if we were purely looking at a personal knowledge management system, especially when compared to the likes of Obsidian and Logseq, which are the two best note-taking and knowledge-management applications I have ever used.
For me, the Notion application is a good all-rounder. It is a good note-taking application and a great productivity tool. This is why Notion is worth considering by any student. You can read more on my thoughts on Notion in my review.
Another option worth considering is using Notion with another note-taking application, such as Obsidian or Logseq, making full use of both application’s capabilities. Unfortunately, you will encounter some friction around the boundaries of both systems. What you need to consider is what system will work best for you. What works well for me won’t necessarily work for you.
If you do decide to use Notion as your note-taking application, then I recommend our guide on setting up a note-taking system in Notion.
Using Notion with Obsidian or Logseq
Notion and Obsidian work well together as they can work with markdown files; the same will be true for Logseq. I have included links on importing and exporting notes between Notion and Obsidian. I haven’t gotten around to writing similar guides for Logseq and Notion, but the process will be very similar.
I will also link to our guides on how you can use Obsidian as a student and how you can use Logseq as a student.
Using Notion to Manage Your Student Life
Note-taking and creating a personal knowledge management system is only one aspect of life as a student. You have to manage all the other aspects of being a student, such as your timetable, study-related tasks, hand-in dates and, of course, your social calendar and Notion can help with this.
Notion comes with a wide range of free templates suitable for students, and if you are new to Notion, this is an excellent place to start, as you can always look to modify them.
Of course, you can build a system from scratch, but that will take a lot more effort and time. Notion is a popular application, and a lot of helpful content is available to you. I have added a link to our Notion section from which you can see all our Notion-related posts.
Conclusion
While I don’t think Notion is the best note-taking application for students or anyone else. It has a place in helping you to organise your life as a student. If I were going to start studying again, I would, as I do now, use Obsidian to manage my knowledge system and Notion to manage my productivity.
In fact, even though I’m not a student, you will find my blog post on how I use my productivity and knowledge management system in 2023.