College can be a crazy busy place, but I’m here to help give you some tips on how to help you begin to manage your life. Once you start becoming organized, college seems a little less scary and stressful. Just remember, it is never too late to start being organized!
1. Get a planner that works for you:
Having a planner is ESSENTIAL for having an organized life. If I didn’t have one, I can only imagine how messy my life would currently be. Between multiple jobs, school and my social life, planning out my days has become a necessity. It is important to pick a planner that will work for you! You can buy one with simple calendars, one with daily planning space, or even one with time slots for you to plan your life out down to the minute. I personally use one that allows me to list my daily plans without specific time slots. Just understand how much you plan to do each day and use that to help you purchase a planner.
2. Make a to-do list:
To-do lists are another one of my must do things to stay organized! Everyday I look at my planner and the things I need to complete each day. I write down a to-do list with those things in the order that I want to complete them. This helps me know exactly what needs to be done every day and helps me decide what is most important to complete first during my day.
3. Organize all assignments and exams from your syllabi:
At the beginning of each semester you should go through all of your syllabi and write down when everything is due for the upcoming weeks and when you are going to complete them. I like to do this every few weeks so that I can keep the current few weeks up to date and it helps me to not become too overwhelmed.
4. Assign your chores to a specific day of the week:
It is so important to set a specific day every week to complete your chores. I like to pick Sunday as my “chore day” but pick whatever day works best for you! I do my laundry, change my sheets, clean the bathroom, etc. every Sunday. This way I know exactly when my chores will get done each week, and it is easy to complete these chores around my other plans on that day.
5. Plan the next day the night before:
Every night I look at my planner to see what plans and assignments I will be doing the next day. I pick my outfits and pack my backpack the night before to avoid stress the next morning. If I know what to expect the next day, it helps my day run smoothly and helps me stay organized.
6. Make sure to include meetings, date nights, girl’s days, etc. in your planner:
It is so easy to forget when you have other things to do in your life besides homework and chores. Always pencil in any other plans you have into your planner as well. It prevents you from forgetting these plans, while also helping you to properly manage your work time around them!
7. Write down your short and long-term goals regularly:
I do this every few weeks and it really helps me to stay on track and organized. Take a few minutes every few weeks to evaluate your current life and write down a few short and long-term goals to complete. It helps to write down what you want to achieve and also helps remind you to stay on track and complete them.
8. Have separate folders and notebooks for each class:
I have specific labeled folders and notebooks for each of my classes. It make it easy to grab the proper supplies you need for each days classes and prevents papers and materials from being mixed up. If you want to get even fancier, buy notebooks and folders that match so you can easily identify them when in your backpack!
HCXO, Lexie
* All images courtesy of Giphy and Pinterest