Staying organized can be very difficult. Here are a few tips to keep you on track.
1. Invest in a big calendar in addition to a planner.
Yes, having both a planner and a desk or wall calendar may seem a bit excessive, but a big calendar can work wonders that a planner cannot.
Big calendars allow you to easily see when due dates or important events are coming up, so you can plan accordingly. There are no surprises with big calendars! All of the significant dates of the month are visibly displayed.
Extra tip:Color-coding for every class is a great way to see how much work you have to do for each course for a particular month.
2. Print your syllabi to every class and keep them in the front of your notebooks or binders.
If you have a question for your professor, the chances are that the answer is in the syllabus. Why not always have it easily accessible then? Printing your syllabus and keeping it in the front of your notebook can eliminate awkward discussions with your professor and will also just make your life a whole lot easier.
3. Take time at the beginning of each month to fill out your planner and calendar.
On the first day of every month, use your syllabi (that you intelligently printed out) to fill out important due dates and exam dates on your big calendar and planner. Doing this provides you with a sense of awareness of what will be on your plate over the course of the next few weeks. It also will save you the trouble of sporadically filling out your planner throughout the month.
4. Make the executive decision for each class -- notebook, binder or laptop?
Deciding whether to use a notebook, binder or your laptop to take notes for every course massively affects how organized you will be for the rest of the semester. But how should you know when to use which?
When to use a binder:You should use a binder for any class where you will have to print a lot of handouts. Cramming sheets of loose paper into the front of a notebook will always end up in a mess. Binders can be filled with a stock of loose leaf lined paper for note taking in addition to any other handouts you may have for the class.
When to use your laptop:Sometimes your hand can’t write as fast as the speed that your professor is lecturing at. Typing notes on a laptop can be a lot more time efficient than handwriting your notes.
When to use a notebook: Using a notebook is typically considered the default choice. Notebooks are the most suitable option for classes in which the professor writes notes on the board. Notebooks are also the best option if you consider yourself to be more of visual learner. For visual learners, information is best learned and remembered through drawing charts, diagrams, outlines, etc.
5. Give yourself a week’s heads up for due dates.
If you have an exam or important due date coming up, leave yourself a reminder in your planner one week in advance. When you have a lot going on in your life, some things sneak up on you. You can’t always count on your professors to remind you of when your exams are. Also, it is best to start preparing for exams or papers at least a week before they are due anyway!
6. Create folders on your laptop desktop or on Google Documents for each class.
Doing this eliminates the hassle of searching through all of your documents to find one specific item. Especially when you are using your laptop in class, you can simply open the folder and have easy access to everything you need.
7. If you have a smartphone, utilize it.
There is an abundance of free apps out there to help yourself maintain an organized lifestyle. Always set reminders on your phone to keep yourself from forgetting upcoming due dates, meetings, appointments, etc. Other apps (like the Google Calendar App) allow you to organize your schedule online while also saving all of the information to the application on your phone so you can take a glance while you’re on the go. A planner, a big calendar and an app calendar? The more calendars the merrier!
8. Maintain your organizational habits.
Getting started on all of these tips is pretty easy. The tricky part is not loosing your groove. Once you are able to establish a routine, you’ll find yourself to be a new and improved, more organized student!
