For most, it can be hard to get back into the swing of things come the fall. The good news is that if you have strategies to stay organized from the start of the year, it can be a lot easier to stick to it and have a great semester-and ultimately a great year. These are just some tips to get in the right mindset for school, from using a planner, all the way to mapping out your classes.
1. Sync your Schedule to Google Calendar
For some colleges, their websites allow you to download your schedule and it will sync with your Google Calendar app on all of your devices.
2. Organize a Planner
Find a planner that works best for you-do you need something small and light? With lined pages? Do you prefer larger space to write for each day, or a monthly overview?
3. Lay Out All Important Dates
Sometimes, final exam schedules are already available at the start of a semester. On the first day of classes, make sure to make note of any important dates (due dates for papers, in class midterms, group projects, etc) and put them in your calendar so you won't forget them.
4. Add Office Hours to Your Schedule
On the first day of classes, most professors will include their office hours. You should include these in your schedule so that in the event you need to meet with the professor, you will be able to easily determine what time you can go to their office.
5. Number Your Assignments
I recently started "ranking" my to-do lists in terms of importance. I put the most pressing and important things first, and add the less time-sensitive items to the end of the list. For example, you would put a problem set due that evening as number one on the list, whereas studying for the midterm in two weeks would be at the very bottom of the list.
6. Layout Where Your Classes Are
Especially for campuses with many class buildings that are spread out, you should make sure that your schedule includes the building, and the room number for that particular class. One step further would be to map the walk between two back-to-back classes in advance so that you aren't running around frantically on the first day.
7. Transcribe Syllabus into Planner
The moment you get the syllabus, you should either make a copy of it, or even better, fill it into your planner. It's so easy to lose that one piece of paper, so the sooner you get organized with your assignments and course expectations, the better.
8. Actually read the Syllabus
Make sure that you read over everything carefully, for example any extra credit opportunities that might be listed would be listed on the syllabus. Furthermore, you might overlook some critical information, like when a teacher states that the lower of the two exams will be dropped.
9. Get all of your Textbooks
From my own experience, I learned that it's never good to "wait and see" when it comes to getting your books. At the very beginning of the semester, once you have the list of the books you need, buy or rent the essentials (unless you've heard previously that certain books are not actually needed). It becomes a rush and a hassle when you wait until the night of your assigned reading to buy that book that sold out in the bookstore over a month ago...
10. Sticky notes, paper clips, post-it markers, clear highlighters
These are all supplies that can make it so much easier to remain organized and focused both in terms of classes and academics, as well as scheduling and other important parts of your daily routine (ie using post it notes for grocery lists).
