Picture this: You walk into your hardest class on a Monday and guess what: It’s test day. How could you forget? How did it happen so soon? I thought it was next week!
We’ve all been there. Okay, maybe not something as serious as a forgetting a test, but you get what I’m saying. We’ve all had moments where life just gets ahead of us and we find ourselves unprepared for what may be happening that day. In fact, this happened to me recently. I forgot to print my paper for one of my classes and had to rush to get it printed five minutes before class started. It’s definitely not a fun situation to be in.
Luckily, there are ways we can prevent this. There are a few easy habits we can add to our lives so we can stay on top of all the important things we need to do, get that GPA we all want and still make it to Ladies Night on Tuesdays! #yasssss
Keep an agenda (that you’ll actually look at)
Now I know what you’re thinking, “I already do this and I barely ever use it.” I’m the exact same way. Agendas are boring and I never remember to write in them. Bare with me, sis. Agendas don’t have to be so bad. I, actually, have fallen in love with mine because it’s a super cute one from Target and I just honestly like looking at it. That basically forces me to use it on a daily basis. Also, trends have started where using an agenda and organizing your life has become this extravagant process. One of the most popular methods you may have seen is bullet journaling. Bullet journaling is a way of organizing your tasks, habits and even your daily schedule. There’s plenty of examples on Pinterest and Youtube on ways you can start journaling your way into an organizational zen.
Calendars are your friends, I promise
Calendars sound almost as bad as agendas, I know, but a calendar will help you see what is coming up for the entire month. You can either include this in your agenda itself or invest in a big one for your room. I have one that hangs right above my desk and I write everything on it. Keeping an updated calendar is so important. You’ll never forget to do anything, especially if you have it somewhere you look at everyday like me. Now, don’t go and overcrowd your calendar with too much. Keep it neat. Your agenda should be where you put all your homework assignments, but your calendar should consist of important dates, events and especially tests! Write it big and bold then you’ll never forget that your economics exam is four weeks, three days and 37 minutes from today. #calendarjunkie
Color code everything… literally EVERYTHING
Personally, I’m a visual person, so color coding is extremely important for me to stay organized. I have the same color binder, notebook and pen for each class. So say for my anatomy class, I coded it blue, then I have a blue notebook in a blue binder and in my agenda, I write in blue pen. Then, when I have a test in that class, I write with a blue marker on my calendar. Now, I know that may seem like a lot, but you don’t have to be as OCD as me. You can keep it simple while still being able to distinguish each class from each other. You don’t have to do by class either. Maybe you could, for example, put all your test dates in red (so you don’t forget), put all your homework assignments in green and all your non-school related activities in purple. Find what method works best for you and become an organized rainbow!
Set reminders on your phone
Although using the three steps above can be great, I find myself still forgetting about things I need to do some days. Scheduling reminders can help. Let’s be real, we all check our phones maybe every hour (and if you don’t, teach me your ways please). Since we do this, having reminders pop up can make sure you don’t forget about certain things. I wouldn’t recommend using them to say what homework you have but using them to form a study schedule can be very helpful. I use them often, especially for study dates. If you set the reminder an hour ahead of the time you need to go meet with a study group or just the time you planned to go study alone at the library, then there’s no reason you should miss it (unless you happen to get the bubonic plague #gross).
Find friends that hold you accountable
Being in college, most of our parents don’t know our schedules and what we have to do everyday. In high school, my parents were on top of everything so they stayed organized for me. When I came to college, it became more difficult for me to stay organized because I didn’t have someone maintaining my schedule for me. Finding friends in college that help you stay on track can be crucial to staying organized. Not saying it’s your friends responsibility to upkeep your schedule, but having at least one person that makes you talk about what you have to do for the day can be super helpful. I’m blessed enough to have friends that ask me everyday what I have to do for the week and they even text me to make sure I’m doing what I said I would do (even though most of the time I’m taking a nap). I know not everyone is lucky enough to have friends like that, but an easier way to find a few that can keep you up to date is by making friends in your classes. If you have a friend in each class and you all hold each other accountable for that class, everyone will stay up-to-date and organized! #myfriendsaremyreceptionists
Learn when to say no
This last step was probably the hardest for me to get on top of. I love being with my friends in Toomer’s Corner just as the next girl would, but sometimes you have to miss out on things you really want to do. You can’t go out when you know you have important things coming up because that would just put you behind on what you need to get done. So don’t be scared to say no sometimes, I promise you won’t be missing out on too much. #GPAbeforethePARTAY