Time Management Resources and OT Favorites
Blank Calendars
Download calendars and templates for your use. For Google Drive files, navigate to File and select Make a Copy.
- Spring Term 2025 Calendar PDF - Download this for a handy term overview.
- Detailed Weekly Calendar - Sunday Start PDF
- Detailed Weekly Calendar - Monday Start PDF
- 30-minute Weekly Calendar - Digital
- Monthly Habit Tracker - Digital
- Monthly Habit Tracker - PDF
Resources from the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach (CTLO)
The CTLO has published a treasure trove of evidence-based study strategies that can help you get the most out of your studying and learn the material!
- Learning Resources Main Page
- The Learning Cycle - How to maximize your time in and out of class
- Focused Study Sessions - How to structure your studying
- Test-Taking Strategies - What to do before, during, and after a test
Apps and Additional Resources
Below is a list of our favorite apps and resources! These are resources we have personally tried and enjoyed. As much as possible, we try to present apps that have useful features in the free version, though some apps have premium paid tiers or have a cost.
Note: This is solely for your information only. Caltech is not sponsored by or otherwise affiliated with these programs.
Books
If you are on campus, check out a Kindle from the Caltech Library to read books for free!
You can also check out digital books from your local library using the Libby app.
Top Favorites:
- Feel Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal
- Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg
- The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil Fiore
- Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
- Teach Yourself How to Learn: Strategies You Can Use to Ace Any Course at Any Level by Saundra Yancy McGuire
- Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman
These books are also great reads (in alphabetical order):
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
- Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change by Shawn Achor
- Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived Joyful Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Second Edition: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works by Ramit Sethi
- Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel
- Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
- Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John Ratey
- Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari
- The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life by Sahil Bloom
- The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor
- The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky
- The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal
- Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant
- Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott H. Young
YouTube
- Ali Abdaal - Wonderful insights on productivity, study techniques, and living a fulfilling life!
Podcasts
- Huberman Lab Podcast - This podcast is a gem! Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about the science behind how our brains and bodies work and offers practical advice on a range of topics from sleep, nutrition, exercise, and more!
Organization and Notes
- TickTick (Free, educational discount available on the Premium version) - TickTick is a feature-packed to-do list app that lets you easily inbox, sort, and organize your tasks. TickTick turns typed due dates such as "every other day" or "tomorrow" into actual due dates, making it easy to input tasks quickly. It also lets you switch between list and Kanban board views, giving you additional ways to visualize your work. The free version includes habit tracking, Pomodoro timer, and Eisenhower Matrix features. Power users will appreciate the calendar integrations and additional calendar and timeline views available in the premium version.
- Notion (Free Personal Pro account when signing up with a .edu account) - Notion is an incredible workspace that aims to be the single catch-all space for thinking, note-taking, and creating. Its strength lies in its ability to support different media types (text, PDFs, code, images, etc.) and easily create databases with different views.
- Obsidian (Free) - Great for organizing your thoughts and "linking your thinking." Markdown makes it easy to format your notes as you go.
- Nick Milo's Obsidian For Beginners playlist is a great way to understand the power of Obsidian and get set up for the first time.
- GoodNotes for iPad (Paid) - This popular notetaking app features audio recordings that sync with your notetaking and can be viewed as transcripts for easy searching. Great for those who feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with the lecture while taking notes. It also offers a useful flashcard layout that helps you practice information using the spaced repetition technique.
- Anki (Free, open-source) - Anki is a flashcard app that utilizes effective studying strategies (active recall and spaced repetition) to help you learn information.
Reducing Online Distractions
- One Sec - This app has you take a deep breath and wait before proceeding to a social media or entertainment app you're trying to cut down on. Waiting a few seconds is sometimes all you need to make a different decision. Available as a phone app and as browser extensions!
- ScreenZen - Similar to One Sec but with more customization features in the free version.
Note on distraction blockers: If you use distraction blocker programs such as Freedom or ColdTurkey that restrict access entirely, it's important to set an intention where you are choosing to have an undistracted work period. Strategies that force you to work using guilt or shame generally don't work in the long run. Plus, you know exactly how to disable these programs!
Timers / Pomodoro Method
- Time Timer App - This simple timer provides a visual of how much time has passed, which makes it easier to stay on track.
- Forest - This app lets you plant a cute digital tree with each work session, but beware! If you exit the app before your work session is up, your tree will die!
- PomoFarm - PomoFarm is half focus timer and half idle farming game! As Tomato the Duck, grow your farm as you focus on tasks in the real world!
Note on timer apps: There are plenty of timer apps out there. The app you pick is not nearly as important as how you approach your work! We recommend setting a clear work goal (effort or time-bound goals work best, rather than aiming for results/finishing something) and clearing your space of all distractions. Take real breaks that allow you to defocus and unwind between work sessions, especially if you've been working 2+ hours. Allow yourself 20-30 minutes to go for a walk, talk to a friend, grab a snack, or appreciate the turtles! Set time maximums to limit the time spent feeling stuck on any single task. You're working more efficiently by reassessing your strategy or getting help sooner. This can save you precious time and help you manage your energy.
Money Management
- YNAB (1-year free trial for students) - YNAB stands for "You Need a Budget." This envelope-based budgeting system allows you to live flexibly and create distinct plans for your money. Their philosophy is to give every dollar a job. See reports of where your money goes, set goals, and visualize your net worth.
- Actual Budget (Free, open-source) - This budgeting app accommodates multiple budgeting approaches (forecast budgeting and envelope-based budgeting). It looks and functions very similarly to YNAB.