Some of the most helpful websites you’ve never heard of
By Nazeefa Ahmed, August 3 2022—
In the digital age, it is not about what you know, but how fast you can curate information. This is why I have compiled a list of websites that I have found helpful as a student and young adult that I hope could be of some use to you. Some of these I have been using for years, while others were a desperate find in a time of crisis. Regardless, the internet always has some useful gems.
While Grammarly is great for catching small grammar and punctuation errors, Hemingway will target paragraph structure, pointing out redundancy, sentence length and poor word choice. It is a great tool to use while writing to catch structural errors before your professor takes away marks for them.
This is a great way for students to check if a required textbook is available online. I have found many documents for my degree on this website, as well as older films for a night in. Searching does not require an account, but downloading items off the website requires one. The best part is that almost everything is free!
This is one of my favorite websites. Notion can help you organize your own content. It can house your agenda, school notes, annual goals, or keep meeting notes for a group project. Notion is so appealing because of the customization aspect. You can take a plane document and turn it into something functional using the many templates they provide. I personally use it for writing reviews of the books I read, using Ali Abdaal’s template as reference for my own.
Have you ever tried to search for a recipe and just when you thought you found it you have to scroll through useless paragraph after useless paragraph? While it is sometimes sweet to hear someone’s entire life story, more often than not, you just want to make some lasagna. This website curates clear instructions on how to prepare dishes from around the world. Just copy the link of a website with the recipe, and it will format the instructions in a digestible manner. Just have a look at this shepard’s pie recipe.
Getting the best deal is important for students who want to travel without breaking the bank to do so. Since tuition does not seem to be decreasing any time soon, saving on flights is necessary. This website also offers a variety of prices for hotel and car rentals. International students can also look for the best deals to get home for the break.
Struggling with your diet? There’s an app for that. Clearly list out your goals, personal taste and food restrictions, and this website will help you plan meals accordingly. This is a great tool for students living on their own and learning to take care of themselves for the first time. It may be easy to cook some instant noodles during midterm season, but planning for the week is a much better way to stay healthy. This is also a great tool if you are bored of eating the same thing everyday.
My Noise is great for those who struggle with staying focused, sleeping or anxiety. Depending on your needs, there is a sound in their library that will help. Though there are many background noise websites, My Noise is known for their quality sound, with reviews from the New York Times and the Atlantic. Their product does not require expensive noise-canceling headphones for the most part.
Read the latest thriller, romance or graphic novel from a website that lets you borrow books like a physical library. This is a great resource for people who have required reads for the semester, but they do not want to buy the book. Sometimes, the physical copy has a huge waitlist and the digital copy is just a lot more accessible.
We have all heard of our cognitive biases, but do we really understand it? This is Wikipedia’s diagram of 188 cognitive biases in a digestible format. The diagram covers how we generally view people we are familiar with as better, as well as how we prefer simple options to complicated ones. It is a great tool to understand that our brains are not as objective as we would like them to be.
This website is for gym rats everywhere. Pick some muscle groups on an interactive muscle diagram and it will curate a list of workouts to target those groups. The website also provides instructions for every exercise, including proper form to avoid injury and how to use equipment. Take charge of your workout routine with exercises that will help you see results.
This list could go on forever, but it is important that you consider which ones will improve your lifestyle, rather than trying to use them all. Personally, Notion is the one that I use the most because it helps me organize my day-to-day tasks. The key is to determine your priorities first, and then working your websites around that.