1. Planner/Agenda
If you don’t have some kind of planner or agenda do yourself a favor RIGHT NOW and purchase one. In your planner you can write down your homework each day, jot down any important dates, and pencil in appointments you need to attend. A planner is the easiest way to stay organized! Lilly Pulitzer and Kate Spade make adorable ones!
2. Monthly Calendar
If there’s any long term plans (think big essays, days you’ll be out of town, special occasions, or days you’re working) jot them down on a monthly calendar. This way, you can plan accordingly. If you see you have ten things going on next week, you’ll be forced to get that presentation prepped and ready to go this week.
3. 10 Second Rule
I read this over the summer and it was amazing. If you see a task (think a sweatshirt laying on the floor or a cup in the wrong kitchen drawer) and it can be easily completed within ten seconds, do it ASAP. It’ll help you declutter and everything will be back in its rightful place. This will save you time searching for items and will help you organize your surroundings so you can be more productive.
4. Color Coordinating
Guilty. I do this every year. I color coordinate my binder to match my folder to match my notebook for each class. Why? When I’m running out the door at 8 am, it is so much easier to grab all my stuff for class when it all looks the same!
5. Gift Card Wrapping
Ever spend time playing the game “How much is left on this gift card?”. Not anymore. Each time you use a gift card, wrap the receipt around the card. This way, you’ll always have your balance handy and you’ll never be “that girl” in line again.
6. Prep The Night Before
If you can prep things the night before, do it! If you can pack your lunch, lay out your clothes and books for the next day, you should. It will save you time in the morning looking for a clean pair of jeans and you won’t be scrambling looking for your resume before the involvement fair.
7. Stop Procrastinating
This is the most self explanatory tip of all. Just don’t do it. The earlier you get things done, the more organized you’ll be. You won’t be frantic at 3 am looking for ink for your printer because you waited until the last minute to finish a paper. If you had it done at 3 pm, finding that ink box would be ten times easier.