College is one of the most transitional times in your life. Chances are, it's the first time you're living away from home and taking care of yourself without the help of your parents or guardians. You're responsible for more than just keeping up your school work, but also for your personal life, such as laundry, cooking, and life organization. It's difficult, especially if you're not used to self sufficiency. I'm new to the scene myself, but these are my top five favorite college hacks that have definitely helped me keep my head in the game.
1. Integrating different services between my electronic devices.
Just because the millennial generation loves technology, doesn't always make them tech-savvy. Technology has become easier to use with every update, and it can benefit students in multiple ways. I personally love using my phone, tablet, and computer to track homework, habits, and reminders. I own an iPhone, an iPad and a MacBook, which all have integrated systems and clouds, but there are plenty of services from Android and Microsoft that do the same. And some of these apps are third party and will work regardless of device!
My favorite app for tracking assignments is called the MyHomework App, and it's available on iOS and Android devices. For Mac, there is an app, but there is an online website that can be used with the account you create. The app was a little tricky to navigate at first, but after I got the hang of it, it was a game changer. First, select what college you attend. Next, copy your class schedule into the system. You can select what days you have your classes on, the time in which they happen, the building and room they are in, and even a nifty color for organization. You select "new assignment", give a description, and choose a class. The rest of the fields should be filled automatically due to the class information you put in earlier. However, if need be, that information can be changed. Your account will sync, and you can check your assignments from any of the apps or from the website. I've been using it since high school, but it's been even more important in college.
Secondly, don't neglect to check your emails. I personally know that there are people who check and organize all of their emails, and then there are those who have 13,000+ unread emails showing up on their phones. Emails from school are of utter importance. Learn to create folders and labels on your email server, which will make organization of your emails much, much easier. I've learned to do that for college, so that I have a folder for every class that sends me emails. This way, it's much easier to find an email from a professor rather than using the search feature or scrolling through a huge list.
Finally, use the reminders feature on your phone, or download some sort of habit tracker app. Apple's Reminders feature syncs between all devices under the same apple ID, but plenty of third party apps for Android work just as well. Create different reminder lists: one for self upkeep (brushing teeth, flossing, taking allergy medications), one for weekly tasks (doing laundry, vacuuming your dorm, purchasing milk), and one for miscellaneous things (picking up a package, photo-copying a page out of a textbook). It's much easier to have these lists in the back of your pocket than on a flimsy piece of paper.
2. Bring a Mode of Transportation
I don't mean a car, but if you can afford your own in this day and age, good for you! But you won't need a car to get to all of your classes. I highly suggest bringing a scooter, a skateboard, a longboard, roller skates, or a bicycle. These are wonderful methods of getting around campus that aren't walking. If you have classes in different buildings across campus, having one of these will help you get around my faster. So far, none of my professors have objected to having one in class, as long as it doesn't take up too much space or doesn't crash around and make noise. A bicycle is better when there are available racks outside the buildings, but most scooters are foldable, and skateboards are easy to store. These can be really useful to ensure you aren't late to class.
3. Organize Your Meal Plan at the Beginning of Each Cycle
Depending on your university's meal plan, you may have enough to eat three times a day. If not, and you rely on some home cooked food, look at your schedule and plan out when and when not you can eat outside of your dorm (or apartment). If you have a packed schedule on one day, make sure you find spots to eat near your classes, and plan what you can pick up. If you have meal blocks in your plan, it is much more efficient to use them on days you have classes, and on weekends, cook at home (or at your dorm). Planing your food out is a great way to make sure you don't end up starving at the end of your cycle.
4.Clean Regularly and Never Leave Anything Undone
Some of us are naturally organized. Some of us... are not. If you were one of those people who lived with laundry covering your bedroom floor, college is a hard time to break that habit. You're busy all the time and you feel like there's no time to do any chores. However, living in a comfortably clean dorm can increase study habits, health habits, and life habits. So how does one increase their consciousness to organize?
One way, as noted briefly in point one, is to make lists of chores, and repeat them weekly (probably on your weekend). Find time on Saturday to quickly vacuum your dorm. Wash your dishes and organize your books. Take some Windex or Lemon Pledge and get rid of the dust on your desk.
Another way is to build the mentality that nothing should be left undone. For example, if you're doing laundry, keep track of how long your laundry is in the washing machine, then the dryer. When your laundry is done, fold it and put it away right away. If you put aside a task to be "finished later," it gets much harder to pick up again, and you end up not doing it, only contributing to the mess. The more you complete tasks from beginning to end, the stronger the mentality gets and the easier cleaning becomes.
5.Prepare For The Next Day The Night Before
This is a popular hack, but I cannot stress how important it actually is. In college, chances are you don't have the same classes two days in a row. Trying to switch books early in the morning when you're barely functioning, or trying to pick out clothes you need for the day when your room is still dark, is really, really difficult. This is why, even if you're dying to go to bed, to prepare your materials for the day the night before.
Not every college has classes that have a strict dress code, but sometimes you might be taking a dance class, or you might be in a shop class that you don't want to ruin your favorite pair of pants in. Know what you should be dressed in for your day, especially when the weather hits. You don't want to be wearing your favorite sandals in the cold where you can see your breath. The same goes for books. Don't grab your English binder for your math class in the morning. Instead, pack your bag the night before. This will make sure you constantly have the right course materials, and it keeps you really organized.
