Top Tech Accessories for Going Back to School

The pandemic has changed multiple facets of normal life. Tech accessories that were considered a luxury in the past for students have now become a necessity, and learning feels like a never-ending stream of zoom sessions. If your tech can't keep up, you could lag behind other students.

Even as many institutions slowly return to face-to-face or blended learning, there is still a lot you can achieve with the right devices. The trick is in knowing which devices to choose from for your school year.

Here are a few key tech accessories that will help keep you productive:

Start with the Right Laptop

This one can’t be stressed enough, especially during the pandemic. Unlike a monitor, your laptop will provide you with the convenience of a portable workspace. Modern laptops are so versatile that you can store endless data on them and some can convert into tablets, making them extremely convenient if you want to write your notes by hand but have them stored on your laptop. Best of all, many come packed with enough power to handle even the most intensive tasks.

The ideal laptop for you will depend on your intended use. Do you need to run intensive programs that will require a lot of power, or will your usage take it easy and stick to online browsing? You also want to make sure it’s compatible with common computer accessories. 

Here are some of the most important factors you need to consider when choosing the right laptop for your education:

• Battery life

• Budget

• Processor and RAM

• Internal memory

• Screen size

• Portability

Drown Out the Noise with Noise-cancelling Headphones

Studying from home could expose you to a lot of distractions, with noise pollution being among one of the biggest. From family members or roommates interacting in another room to noisy neighbourhoods or even nearby construction, it can be tough to find a serene environment for studying.

If you know that you tend to struggle when there are a lot of distractions, noise-cancelling headphones could come in handy. The way you use them will depend on what drives your productivity. If you like working with a little background noise, some music will help. You could also play some ambient noise to create the perfect atmosphere for you.

Good noise-cancelling headphones can help those who prefer total silence, too. While passive noise-cancelling headphones use physical features to keep away the noise, active noise-cancelling options use both physical features and software tweaks. You’ll probably notice a price difference, but this style is more effective at keeping your workspace as quiet as possible in a chaotic environment.

Keep Your Devices Charged with a Charging Backpack

Do you get nervous when your phone or laptop is about to die? You might not always be in a position to charge them immediately, especially during class. Having your devices die on you can be frustrating, especially if you need to keep up with a deadline.

A charging backpack or Omni 20+ ensures you can keep your devices charged on-the-go. Make sure your devices never run out of power while you’re out and about with a smart charging backpack.

Keep Active with a Fitness Tracker

Never underestimate how effective a good workout session can be to your studies. Exercise is known to keep you productive, improve your sleep, and optimize your mental health. With the right amount of workouts, you could feel more motivated to keep up with deadlines. If your workout goal is to lose weight, a few hours of exercise per day could make this goal easier to achieve. 

Staying active is even more essential at a time when circumstances are forcing people to live a sedentary life. Fitness trackers ensure you can achieve your fitness goals. Modern trackers have evolved in terms of the volume of fitness data you can track, from the number of calories you have lost to the number of steps you took in a day. The right tracker will ensure you live a healthy life, which will translate to better productivity at school.

Go Paperless with a Reusable Notebook 

Do you get tired of carrying multiple notebooks around in your backpack? Or are you simply looking to reduce the number of books you have to keep track of? Consider buying erasable notebooks that allow you to upload your notes to the cloud before erasing whatever you wrote on them. 

You can also use these notebooks multiple times if you want. Most come with apps that you use to scan the notes before uploading them. Not only can this help you get organized, but it also takes away the struggle of scanning your notes physically for storage. Best of all, you will be supporting environmental conservation in an age where everyone is looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

Optimize Your Sleep with a Smart Alarm Clock

You already have a phone; why do you need a smart alarm clock? First, relying on your phone as an alarm clock can be a slippery slope. If you have fallen into the trap of scrolling through your phone every morning, you know how much this habit can drain your productivity. Before you know it, you have spent your first working hour on Instagram. Second, if you like to fall asleep watching videos, you don’t want to find you accidentally fell asleep without putting the phone on the charger and the battery died in the middle of the night.

If you are wondering why you shouldn't just use a traditional alarm clock, the answer lies in optimizing your circadian rhythm. This is your body clock - it controls your sleep and wake cycle. Sure, a traditional alarm clock will wake you up, but you may not always feel well-rested if you’re in the wrong part of your sleep cycle. An impaired circadian rhythm could expose you to a lot of issues, from sleep inertia to insomnia. It could eventually impact how productive you are at school.

Kick your phone away from your nightstand and replace it with a smart alarm clock. The clock can not only wake you up but also monitor your sleep cycle. Most use the latest sleep research to provide tips on how to sleep better based on your sleep patterns. Adding a smart alarm to your tech bag could revolutionize your productivity when done right.

Tech Makes Studying Easier

The advancement of technology has made studying easier. All you have to do is to pick your best gadgets. Have a hurdle that's keeping you from being productive in your studies? There is a tech accessory for that, as long as you know where to look.