This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Clemson chapter.
Hey Gorgeous!
I’m Leah and I’m new around here. This is my first real post for Her Campus apart from my introductory
Q&A post. So, allow me to tell you just a little about myself. I am a sophomore English major, who has
yet to truly pick out her minor. I have to declare one, but the possibilities are endless and I just don’t
know what to pick. Once I decide, you will be the first to know. Pinky promise! Anywhooo, I also have a
blog. It’s called The Calico Cat. It is a beauty and lifestyle blog, with smatterings of fashion, food and
specifically college life. I think you would like it a lot! With that being said, I have a lot of things to juggle
each day, week and month – school, social life and blog. It can be a lot to handle for one girl sometimes.
But I do have a little helper. It is my Staples 2015/2016 Large Weekly/Monthly Academic Planner in
Black/White Polka Dot. To see a full review of this specific planner, click here.
I have been using a planner for about 2 years now to help me stay organized with college classes and life in general. Before,
I would always try to keep due dates straight in my head or marked on the calendar in my phone. That
worked alright until I started confusing due dates. I knew that I needed a planner and I needed one fast!
I went to Staples and picked out a planner that had a monthly and weekly spread, ran from July to
August and didn’t have sections by the hour. I combed the aisles for the other things that I needed to
get organized. 2 years later, I love my planner and the system I have created. Today, I am here to tell
you what I use for my planner and how I use the organizational system that I have created. Let’s start
out with our shopping list!
– Academic Planner
– Multi-Colored Pens (I use the Pilot Frixion Clicker Eraseable Pens)
– Multi-Colored Highlighters (such as Sharpie Liquid Accent Highlighter, Assorted)
– Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent Marker in Black
– Washi Tape (whatever colors you want; I am using Scotch Expressions Washi in Pastel Blue and
Scotch Expressions Metallic in Gold.)
At the beginning of each semester, I assign a color to each of my classes – a matching pen and
highlighter. This will be the color of that class, causing my notes, tests, planner entries, etc. all to match.
For example, my World Literature class is pink. I use a pink pen and pink highlighter for all of my notes,
readings, and tests as well as each World Lit planner entry. I can quickly look for the pink in my weekly
or monthly spread to see what due dates are coming up and what needs to be completed for World
Literature. Color-coding is a great way to stay organized! This may seem overly neat to some people, but
it is what works for me.
At the beginning of each week, I pull out my course schedule, create a to-do list based on what is due
that week and add any due dates that fall within that week to the weekly spread using the coordinating
color for each class. I typically use a colored pen for my classes and then use black for things that don’t
involve school, such as doctor’s appointments, birthdays and blog to-do’s. If it is the beginning of the
month, I will write out all of the major things coming up into the monthly spread. Typically, I use the
monthly spread to record things like tests, papers and general due dates along with appointments and
birthdays. The weekly spread is what I get the most use out of. I write everything out that I need to do
each day. This helps me to determine what needs to be done first based on importance. I love lists,
which is what I create for each day in my weekly spread. Being able to mark things off of the day’s list
helps me to feel like I am actually accomplishing something.
The washi tape and permanent marker are used for blog posts only in the weekly spread. I typically do
these week by week, just because it can sometimes change. The washi tape catches my eye and adds a
bit of decoration to the otherwise boring pages. It helps me to keep track of which posts are going live
that week and that is the washi tape’s only use. To mark out when I need to write a post or network, I
mark it on the specific day in black ink. You could use this method to mark the days that you work or
even for special occasions. However, you could also omit this step entirely.
I know that it can be hard to keep track of it all, but having a planner can and will help to keep you
organized throughout the semester. I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check out the other
things going on here at Her Campus – Clemson.
XO,
Leah