Usually, in the weeks before you go back to school, you start thinking about how many binders you’ll need for each subject, if you have enough pencils and erasers, and whether your worn-out backpack will make it another year. While these are all important, there’s another area you should focus on before the school year starts.
As schools move to digitalized study materials and assignments, focusing on using your devices to succeed academically is a smart step before the year begins. One feature you should use to stay organized and on top of your schoolwork is widgets, and here are the ones you should configure before the first day to stay ahead of the academic chaos.
1Add All Your Classes and Use the Calendar Widget
Before you start school, you will want to input your course schedule into your calendar. This will help you stay on top of your schedule and remind you when your next class starts.
Luckily, some schools offer the feature toimport your class schedule directly into your calendar, so you don’t have to do each class individually. Furthermore, the import already knows when the semester starts and ends, so you don’t need to input that information manually.
When all your classes are imported and put in,adding the Calendar widgetto your homescreen is worthwhile. With this widget, you’re able to see your following courses, what the rest of your day looks like, and any upcoming school events.
This is especially useful when you’re in a time crunch and want to quickly glance at your schedule to see what’s coming next. It’s also helpful when you haven’t fully memorized your schedule and are wondering whether you have time to grab a quick snack or need to book it to your next class. It’s ideal for when a friend asks if you can hang out or attend a party that night. You can quickly glance at your schedule for the day to give them an answer on the spot.
In iOS 18, Apple merged the Calendar and Reminders apps so you could see both sets of information in one app. This means any reminders you’ve added into the Reminders app with a date would show up in the Calendar when viewing events for the day.
These reminders, such as those in the Calendar app, also appear in the app’s widget. That means, along with your schedule, you’ll see any reminders you’ve dated.
Using the Calendar app widget can help you survive the rush when everything around you is moving quickly and you need essential information at a glance. It lets you stay on top of things when life starts moving too fast.
2Don’t Forget Anything With the Reminder Widget
Even though reminders show up in the Calendar widget, there is still one for the native app. Furthermore, even if you have the Calendar widget on your homescreen, it’salso worth adding the Reminders app widget.Reminders is a great app for school. It helps you remember to do assignments, study for an exam, or get school supplies for a project.
Additionally, the Reminders app allows you to add a location and time and pick which reminder list to include it in. However, that’s not all; you may also add tags to it, level its priority, add an image, and have it automatically remind you when messaging a specific person.
These features are great since you can set a reminder to go off, reminding you to do your homework when you arrive back at your house or your dorm. On the other hand, you can also set it to remind you to ask your friend about the assignment due tomorrow for math class when you’re casually texting them.
With the Reminders widget, you’re able to see all the reminders you’ve set for specific classes or lists at a glance. Unlike the Calendar widget, which typically shows events for the day, the Reminders widget displays all the reminders it can for a list.
Widgets can also be stacked on top of one another to swipe through, which works very well with the Reminders widget. If you create a different list for each class, you may stack them on your home screen and easily swipe through to see your tasks for each course.
If you aren’t the stacking-widgets type, you can alsoutilize the Smart List featurewithin the app and set it as the primary list on the widget once created. This list will automatically pull reminders from various lists based on specific criteria you’ve set, like tags, dates, and priority, just to name a few.
you may also complete tasks directly from the widget without opening the native app. This can save time when tackling multiple tasks simultaneously and you want to check them off in one go.
The Reminders widget is an excellent tool for staying on top of your assignments, ensuring you do your homework, and keeping yourself accountable by completing your tasks when you finish them. Furthermore, customizing your tasks within the native app can help you succeed with your academic work.
3Access Your Notes Quickly
We’ve all been there: right before an exam, you forget the information you need for the test. Getting to your class notes as quickly as possible is essential in these moments.
The Notes app is a great place to take and keep your class notes during the school year. You can organize them into folders, collaborate with others,mention others in them, andgive them tagsto find in the future easily.
Like the other apps, the Notes app offers a widget that allows you to access your notes quickly from your home screen. You can choose which folder you want to see notes from, and they will appear right within the widget.
You can switch which folder of notes is shown depending on which course is most important at the moment, or, like with the Reminders widget, you can stack multiple folders on top of one another.
If you’d rather not have your course notes be shown, then you can also set the widget toshow your Quick Notes. This can come in handy when you need to jot down something said in a lecture or conversation and want an easy way to return to it later.
The Notes app may seem like a standard app for quickly writing things down and creating checklists, but its different features can benefit students. Additionally, by adding the widget, you can easily access your class notes during a study session or when you need that quick refresher right before an exam.
4Don’t Forget Your Umbrella With the Weather Widget
If you are in college, you know how important it is to see the weather for the day. You don’t want to walk to class in the rain without an umbrella. This is why adding the Weather widget to your device’s home screen is beneficial. It lets you see the weather quickly throughout the day and the week without opening the app and scrolling through all the information.
Weather can be unpredictable sometimes, so staying on top of it can be helpful, especially if you need a specific forecast for your assignments. For example, if you’re a photography student and need it to be sunny outside for your shoot, you’ll want to know how the weather holds throughout the day.
Knowing the weather for the whole day is essential, especially when you cannot quickly get an umbrella or other weather-protective gear from your room. It’s not only about whether it’ll rain or the temperature for the day, but also when the sun is going down.
Some people may want to know this for safety reasons, especially when going from one spot to another later in the day. This can help you avoid walking alone at night. Fortunately, there is also a widget for this. It will tell you when the sun is rising and setting, so you can get an idea of how many hours of daylight you have during the day.
Having widgets for your courses is essential to academic success, but the Weather widget can also help when you have to move between different buildings and the weather is unpredictable. The widget lets you check the forecast quickly, and can sometimes make the difference between arriving to class dry or soaking wet.
5Access Your Files Quickly in an Organized Manner
One of themost underrated apps on Apple devices is the Files app. It allows you to place and organize all your files in one spot and can beconnected to other file-sharing programs, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.
Adding the Files app widget to your home screen can help you quickly and easily access various file types, such as projects, notes,and photos. You can set a specific folder you want showcased, and the folders and files within it will be displayed on your home screen through the widget.
This is great when you’re working on a big project or presentation and want quick access, or when you’re about to present and need to pull up your visuals and slides without digging through multiple menus and folders and delaying the process.
The Files app widget is also helpful when you want to pull up study slides or notes between classes or when you have a free moment. You can use the Files app’s tagging feature to tag all your important academic files within and then have only those shown on the widget for easy access.
The Files app widget, like the Notes app widget, allows you to quickly access important documents and information without needing to dig through the app. Everything you need to answer a question, refresh your knowledge on a subject, or pull up your project to present is just a tap away without being buried within multiple menus.
Apple iPad Air (M3)
2025’s iPad Air upgrade features an M3 chip, is compatible with a new keyboard folio case, and has support for Apple Intelligence. It’s almost identical to the previous model in terms of look and feel.
Widgets can show helpful information at a glance or serve as shortcuts to important files and folders. There are plenty to choose from—not just Apple’s apps, but many third-party options as well.
If you’re a student, using widgets can make the school year easier by helping you study, stay on top of homework, and quickly access files and study materials when you’re in a pinch. With these productivity-focused widgets on your home screen, you can navigate your semester more smoothly without hunting for information or specific files.
