Hacks that will save you time, money and really get things done without breaking into a sweat.

1) Have a bunch of notebooks that all look the same? Colour the page ends of each book with a different coloured sketch pen. This will help you easily recognize the different subject books in your bag or on the shelf and will also bring a great pop of colour to your study space!

2) The key to combatting smelly shoes is… tea bags! After playing your favourite sport or walking all day, the best (and most eco-friendly) way to fix your smelly shoes is to take two tea bags and put them in your shoes before you put your shoes away. You can also put small bags of potpourri or a handful of aromatic flowers and spices. Your bag, locker, or shoe cabinet will never reek again!

3) Making presentations can be nerve-racking especially if it counts to your final score. If you are using notecards while presenting, use a different coloured pen for each point or line. This will help you remember your points better and read with ease, without fumbling, thus, allowing you to seamlessly transition from one point to another.

4) Lost your eraser again? Try using a small piece of bread as an eraser. Back before erasers were invented, people used bread as an eraser! If you haven’t got any bread, find a rubber band and tie that at the end of your pencil to use as an eraser. Or, if your eraser is attached to the end of your pencil, and it’s “over”, you can sharpen the end and it will reveal some more of the eraser!

5) Take notes using different coloured pens. Not only will it nicely organise your notes and make them look attractive, it will also help you recall the content easily. However, if you’re not into coloured pens and prefer writing in one colour only, studies show that notes in blue ink are easier to remember than those in black ink!

6) Use ‘scholar.google.com’ for essays or research instead of google.com. You’ll find more reliable and relevant resources there other than general blogs from people.

7) Drawing tables and diagrams in your notes increase the mind’s recall capacity!

8) Use a dry erase marker at home without a whiteboard! Mirrors, frames, glass, are all perfect substitutes for a whiteboard and you can use such surfaces to note down quick to-dos, last minute formulas, and so on! To remove the marks, just use a cloth or a piece of damp paper!

9) If you’re feeling low and just want to curl up into a ball and take a nap, write some positive affirmations to motivate yourself! Use colourful pens and be as creative as you want…it will really lift up your spirits and drive you through the rest of the day.

10) When starting a new notebook, leave the first few pages blank. You can then create a handy table of contents to find notes easily during exam time!

11) After writing your essay, copy-paste it onto Google translate and listen to it. Listening makes it easier to find mistakes.

12) Stick some post-it notes in an empty tray or chalkboard and use that as a great to-do list organiser! When you’re done with the tasks, simply discard the paper. You can also take one off when you need it and stick it anywhere!

13) Keep all your stationery organised and in one place using this fun D.I.Y. Take a few old plastic jars and glue them together as shown in the picture. Once the glue dries, fill them all up with stationery!

14) Keepmeout is a great website and app that helps you beat distractions! If you’re working on the desktop, this website will keep you out of sites such as facebook.com, youtube.com, etc. And on the phone, this app will lock your phone for any number of minutes specified!

15) You can also use the “flight mode” on your phone to beat distractions or just restart your phone in “safe mode”.

16) If your pen is not working because the ink is dry, you can try putting some heat on it using a hand dryer or a hair dryer! Pretty soon, your pen will work as good as new!

17) A friend asks for a pencil but you only have one? Break your pencil into two and sharpen the other one!

18) Every second counts when you’re getting ready for school. Make a playlist of upbeat songs that take exactly the same amount of time as you do to get ready and leave the house for school! Pretty soon, your morning schedule will work according to specific songs and you will know when you’re running a little late! Getting ready for school just got more enjoyable, don’t you think?

19) If you have highlighted something by mistake or simply want to remove some highlighted text from your book, simply take a Q-tip and soak the bud with lime juice. Then, swipe the bud over the highlighted text. This hack really works like magic – no highlight and the text stays perfectly intact!

20) If you want to remember the digits of pi, just memorise the sentence – “May I have a large container of coffee?” Count the number of alphabets in each word, and you have it – 3.1415926!

21) Always getting confused between “affect” and “effect”? Here’s a trick to remember – “Affect” is an Action. Both the words start with an A. Hence, affect is a verb. “Effect” is a thing. Hence, effect is a noun. If you can’t remember this, just use the word “impact” and you will never go wrong!

22) Had enough sleep but still feeling super tired when you wake up? You’re just dehydrated, drink a glass of water!

23) Need to draw a circle but don’t have a compass? Just take two pencils and tie them with a string. Use one pencil as the centre of the circle and the other to draw. Alternatively, you can use some paperclips as shown below!