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Life is always busy as a student – despite what some people might say – and keeping on top of it can be hard work. While technology can sometimes feel like it adds to the life load, it can also make you more productive – the key is finding the apps that work for you.

Look at the App Store on your Apple or Android device and you will be met with hundreds of apps.

Many would make great additions to your smartphone’s homepage, but finding the apps that will improve your productivity often requires a process of trial and error. But you haven’t got the time nor the energy to test apps for their value.

Here at Gadget Cover, we’ve tested the apps so you don’t have to. We’ve rounded up the best productivity apps – specifically for students – in several different categories, from managing money to making video calls.

Before we take a look at some of the top apps available for your mobile device, you need to make sure your gadget is protected with mobile phone insurance.

Gadget Cover policies can insure your phone against things like accidental and liquid damage, theft and loss (optional), for a price that’s right. Any accessories you have for your mobile will also be covered up to a certain limit, too.

Now we’ve got the safety warning out of the way, let’s look at the apps which will supercharge your productivity.

Managing money

Yolt

Being a student, you probably don’t have loads of money to play with every month. That means having to keep on top of your spending or you’ll spend half your time eating beans and rice.

Yolt allows you to see your current accounts and credit cards in a single view, but it also enables you to set budgets across different categories and track your spending, and set savings targets.

So, not only does it help you to make sense of your spending – so you can take action to stop leaving yourself short each month – it encourages you to put a little away from once you’ve finished university.

Price: FREE

 

My Weekly Budget

If trying to plan your money for the whole month is a bit too ambitious, why not try budgeting for the week instead.

My Weekly Budget works in four simple steps:

1. Choose a day of the week to start
2. Set a budget to stick to through the week
3. Input your spending with the easy-to-use interface
4. Instantly see how much you’re spending and tighten the purse strings if necessary!

At the end of the week, you’ll be given a summary of how well (or badly) you have done against your spending target. If you’ve done well, you can either carry the excess money over to the next week to put it in a savings account.

Price: 99p

 

Vouchercloud

Part of managing your money effectively is ensuring you don’t spend more than you have to. As a student, it’s normal to want to go out of an evening and have some fun.

It’s part of what being a student is all about. But make sure you’re making the most of any vouchers and discount codes.

The Vouchercloud app makes it easy to get the best deals – the “near me” function sources deals and codes for restaurants and social activities that are close by.

Just download the voucher code you need and use it when you go to pay.

Price: FREE

Remember, having the right mobile phone insurance in place means you won’t have to spend any money replacing a lost or damaged handset. Get a quick quote with Gadget Cover today!

 

Wellbeing

Sleep Cycle

How you start your day plays a big part in how you finish it. In other words, if you wake up in a good mood, you’re more likely to go to bed at night in chipper spirits. That’s the theory anyway.

Sleep Cycle promises to make it easy to get up in the mornings by waking you up when you’re in your lightest sleeps. So it goes, being woken up during deep sleep is what causes us to feel groggy and grump.

While this app says it will help you to start the day energised, it can’t work wonders. So, if you’ve had a heavy night and you need to be up for a lecture at 9am in the morning, don’t expect to feel on top of the world.

Price: FREE

 

Stop, Breathe & Think

As a student, it’s not always just a case of living your best life. When the exams start to come thick and fast, life can suddenly become very real.

During those times, it’s essential that you retain some clarity in your thinking, otherwise your thoughts can become a knotted mess.

The Stop, Breathe and Think app helps you do exactly what it says in the title. A short survey gathers information about your mood and then you follow guided meditations that are personalised to your results.

All it asks is five minutes of your day and promises to “broaden your perspective, and strengthen your force field of peace”. Using the app will be much better spent than having another mindless scroll of social media, trust us.

Price: FREE

 

8fit

Although life can sometimes be hectic as a student, there really is no better time to get fit and healthy.

Once you start working, you’ll no longer find yourself free at random hours during the day. So, instead of going back to bed, get yourself to the gym.

The 8fit app sells itself as being “your mobile personal trainer”, offering quick workout routines combined with a simple healthy meal planner tailored for you.

8fit isn’t all about striving for ‘perfection’ but progress. It emphasises taking care of your whole self, helping you make gradual habit changes through engaging and informative content.

Price: FREE for 14 days then a subscription

 

Studying

Evernote

Halfway through this article, we thought it’s about time we suggested an app that would help you in your studies… But we’d argue that all these apps will contribute to you being a better student.

For example, if you’re less worried about how much money you have in your bank account, it’ll be easier to focus on your work.

There’s plenty of note-taking apps to choose from, but the original and the best is still Evernote (in our opinion).

The app lets you sync your notes across all devices, meaning you can type on your tablet and then access all your lecture notes on your laptop when it’s essay time. Once they’re saved, you can search for any word that appears in the text.

Not only is it a more efficient way of taking notes, it’s saving trees. However, if you really want to continue handwriting your notes, Evernote lets you take photos of your pages and upload them to the app.

Price: FREE

 

Office Lens

If you’re on a course where there’s lots of handouts or the lecturer loves using the whiteboard to clarify a point, then you need Office Lens.

Office Lens is like having your very own scanner in your pocket, digitising notes on whiteboards and physical documents.

Then, when it comes to revision, you can really double down into the detail and aim for those top marks.

What separates it from just taking a photo, you say? Office Lens crops out everything around the thing you’re trying to capture (including any pesky backs-of-heads), so you won’t have to squint when reading it back.

Price: FREE

 

Any.do

The best students are those that are super-organised. For some people that comes naturally; for others, it requires a bit of effort.

With Any.do, being organised comes easy whether you’re a natural at it or not. Its wonderfully simple design makes getting things done even more satisfying – or, depending on what you’re doing, a little less painful.

Any.do lets you sync multiple devices. It also gives you handy reminders, as well as the ability to share lists and assign tasks to different people – ideal for a group project, or making sure everyone in the house does their bit on the cleaning front!

Price: FREE

 

Travel

Citymapper

As a student you benefit from long holidays – well-earned you would argue, of course. As long as you haven’t burnt through all your cash on clothes and going out, that time can be spent travelling.

As you set about exploring new cities, make sure you’ve got the Citymapper app ready to go.

It will provide you with all the best public transport options, so you’re not spending half your time away trying to make sense of subway maps and bus routes.

Offering routes whether you’re driving, cycling or on foot, Citymapper really is the ultimate travel companion. Live in 39 cities including Barcelona, Stockholm and New York, the apps maximises your sight-seeing opportunities.

Price: FREE

 

Kiwi

If you are planning to do a bit of travelling in the ‘off season’, make sure you’re getting the cheapest flight connections possible.

The Kiwi app finds you the lowest fares by searching for unique flight connections.

Scanning flight connections from 700+ airlines around the globe, it creates almost limitless flight combinations to get you the cheapest price.

It doesn’t always give you the most direct route, but if you have time on your hands, it makes a lot of sense. Another great feature of the app is that it covers you for flight delays cancellations and schedule changes, which is a massive comfort, especially when you’re booking more than one flight for your trip.

Price: FREE

 

Guides

The old guide books of the past can no longer compete with their more modern digitised cousins.

The Guides app by Lonely Planet comes packed with offline maps, must-see sights, neighbourhood guides, audio phrasebooks, immersive experiences and backed by advice from on-the-ground experts.

There are 8,000+ city guides to be found on the app, so dig in. It’s great for a bit of inspo as well as helping guide you once you get there.

Price: FREE but you will need a subscription for full functionality

 

Video calling

WhatsApp

Every now and again, you really should call home. When the time comes – once a week is probably a good ratio – you really can’t go wrong with WhatsApp.

First of all, there’s a good chance that they will have it on their phones already and secondly, it’s just a clean and simple interface that everybody can understand.

Price: FREE

 

Discord

Discord promotes itself as being “the only cross-platform voice and text chat app designed specifically for gamers”. But it has wider uses, if you want it to.

You can chat with like-minded folks about any topic you can think of, so there’s nothing stopping you from getting all the people on your course who like… football, then creating a bit of a mini community.

Dare we say, you could even use it for more productive matters like group projects?

Price: FREE

 

Facebook Messenger

If you don’t want to do video calls all the time, keep your family updated with some text messages on Facebook Messenger.

If you do want to call a family member or friend from home, as long as you’re connected on Facebook, you don’t even need their telephone number.

Just hit the telephone icon and you’ll be able to speak to each other in an instant.

To send a voice message, just tap and hold the microphone to the left of the text field on your chat.

Once you start a message, it’ll send when you stop holding the microphone, but you can drag it away to delete it. A great invention if you’re just too busy – or too lazy or hungover – to type!

Price: FREE

 

Find mobile phone insurance in the UK

With your smartphone now loaded with apps, make sure it’s covered with quality mobile phone insurance courtesy of Gadget Cover.

We can provide insurance for your phone if it’s less than 18 months. Once purchased, there’s no limit to how long your gadget can be covered.

You also need to make sure your device is in good condition and full working order, and that you’re able to provide proof of ownership.

For peace of mind that your smartphone is well protected against life’s little mishaps, get mobile phone insurance with Gadget Cover today.

Get a quote – and in the meantime, why not check out our other blog on 12 iPhone apps to improve your life?