I was thinking it would be good to have a thread going sharing productivity/study/scholastic tips for getting the most of your Surface Pro 3. This is meant to share tips, and ask questions, this device has made my life so much easier, and I know there is still a lot more features I have yet to use. I work at a fire department fulltime, and am currently taking 16 credits, I'll share how the SP3 has made life easier for me.
- OneNote 2013. This, from a student standpoint, is THE program, almost makes my entire purchase worth it for this one program. I know I have only scratched the surface on it's abilities too. I have all my text books in here split into sections, I have all my notes in here as well. I like how I can annotate everything, put it in dock mode and look stuff up online, then bring an image straight into my notes. It organizes everything very well and I can search through everything. Yes there are things to be desired, but it does a pretty darn good job over all.
- Drawboard PDF. This is THE PDF app. Yes it costs you $10, but it is so worth it. I can annotate right on it. I can highlight chunks of text, instead of just a freehand highlight. It has the options wheel which is very conducive to using the pen and accessing tools quickly. Does a great job of organizing my PDF's within the app so I just have to launch it, and I can see all my PDF's from within it. I believe it has a free trial so give it a go. Also the developers are amazing. Any time I have had an issue and email them, I hear back in a few hours, even at 7pm on a Sunday.
- My Study Life. Great app! I have all my classes, assignments and tests in there. Reminds me what is coming up, what needs to get done, and when everything is due. It really helps me stay organized, and has apps for all platforms, so you can have it on your phone, other tablets, what ever else you use.
- Flashcards Pro. This is an amazing app. You can create your own flashcards, or search through tons and tons and tons of flashcards others made. I have yet to find flashcards it doesn't already have. Great way to take a "study break", throw on netflix and do some light reviewing.
- Khan Academy. I'm sure Khan Academy itself needs to introduction. The app for windows is fantastic, and since it is an app, I can snap it next to my OneNote 2013 and take notes on the lectures. Very well designed, and you can actually download the videos to be viewed offline.
Tips:
- Battery Life: Be sure you have all notifications turned off. I don't need this to tell me a new thing has happened or whatever, it just eats up battery by trying to ping alot. I noticed a decent increase in battery just by turning off notifications. Keep your screen to 35%, and open task manager and kill off all non-essential programs (skype is a big perpetrator, and if you normally use chrome, there will still be background processes running)
- Use IE 11: I personally hate IE, but chrome is a battery killer. If I need my SP3 to last 7 hours, I use IE 11. There are already alot of articles out there proving chrome is a battery killer, so if you are really curious, feel free to google around for them.
- So this is something I like to do for studying, and I love it. I get on youtube and find a lecture or video pertaining to what I am studying, chromecast it to my TV from my SP3 and then have OneNote open and can take notes on it. I can start and stop the video as I want. Sometimes for a specifically confusing section, I'll insert the link/time of the video into my notes, so when I am studying it in the future, I can open that for explanation.
That is all I can think of for now, but as I think of more, or get good suggestions, I'll update the OP with them. So let's hear it, what all do you guys do to utilize your SP3 to increase your work productivity, or studying?
