Organisation is the Key to FRCR Exam Revision: Why I Love Notion

Are you sitting an FRCR Exam soon? If you have a strategy in place but you need a little help carrying it out, this article is for you.

I'd like to tell you about a useful little tool which can make your revision easier. It's called Notion.

Back when I was revising for my FRCR Exam, I had copious volumes of notes. I struggled to find the information I needed, when I needed it.

I would have been much more confident on the day of my Exam, if I had used Notion to get organised.

So what is Notion anyway?

Here's what the team at Notion has to say:

'Notion is "an all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases." It's a tool you can use to organize your thoughts, projects, and information.'

Well, that sounds nice. But how can you actually use it?

1. You can use Notion to set up your revision plan and follow through.

2. You can use Notion to put all your revision materials together in an accessible format.

What's the best part? The basic plans at Notion are free.

Now, I'm not promoting Notion. I'm not part of the organisation or affiliated to them in any way. But I have used Notion a lot and I'd like to share my insights with you.

Click here to check out some of the ways people have used Notion.

If you would like to learn how to create similar tools to help with your revision, make a free account here.

Is that done? Nice. Pull up a blank Notion page and keep reading.

Here's some Notion terminology to get familiar with before you start:

Notion Page

The page is the building block you'll use to create your knowledge castle. Once you've created a beautiful, convenient page, you can duplicate it as many times as you like.

Notion Workspace

All your pages get stacked together in a Notion workspace. It's the folder in which you keep your info tidy.

Have you created a workspace and labelled it, perhaps, 'FRCR Exam Revision'? Great, let's keep going.

Here are 3 basic aspects of Notion to help you dip your feet in the water.

1. The slash tool

The slash tool gives you a quick way to add images or text or what-have-you to your page. When you put a slash in a page, a drop-down menu pops up and shows you your options.

2. Notion templates

Why re-invent the wheel? Notion users have created templates (like daily planners) which you can take and make your own. Find them here.

3. Creating your own templates

Suppose you prefer organising your case notes in a certain format. For example: Image, Diagnosis, Findings, Key Points. You could turn that into a template. Once it's saved, your new template gets added to your slash tool menu.

Then, when you learn a new case, use the slash tool, find your template and put your revision notes into the format you made.

You'll thank your past self when you're doing your last-minute revision using your beautifully organised notes.

Dive in, the water's just fine.

Does this all sound a little complicated? Don't worry, the Notion designers have done their jobs well. The whole website feels intuitive and you'll be a happy camper in no time.

Here's some inspiration to help you take the plunge:

Picture yourself 3 months before your Exam date. You sit down and plan out your revision, down to the books you're going to read and viva sessions you plan to attend.

Once you've finished planning, you pull up a page with a calendar view on Notion. You add your revision plan to it.

Now that's done and you don't need to worry about what you're going to revise each day. You can put your head down and get to it.

Once in a while, you can course-correct using this calendar. You can ask yourself, ' Do I need more revision? Is my revision happening on schedule? Do I need to make any changes in the next month?'

When the Exam day comes into view, you're cool, collected and confident.

This article is a summary of a longer talk discussing Notion as a tool for FRCR Exam revision. If you'd like to watch the talk, or discuss your FRCR Exam revision, send me a message on LinkedIn. I'll be in touch.