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Staying on track is hard, especially when you don’t have the right tools. It took me years to find a system that worked for me and helps me stay organized. In that process of trial and error, I learned what works for your friends won’t necessarily work for you. It’s important to understand your own personal organizational style and what will motivate you to get shit done!
In the spirit of this, I’ve compiled a list of our top organization tools and tips for a variety of styles and preferences.
Apps & Websites:
Google Calendar
If you’re someone who likes time blocking and colour-coding, Google Calendar might be your go-to. Google Calendar lets you create multiple calendars to visually represent all of your events and tasks, and invite other people. It’s great for people who like seeing how each hour of their day is filled, and exactly how much time is left over.
Notion
Think of Notion as your own digital notebook, agenda, and journal all in one. I like to use Notion to make a long list of all of my school assignments and exams, organized by date and colour-coded by class. This helps me know exactly what I need to do next and lets me have the satisfaction of crossing off each assignment as I complete it. Notion has plenty of great templates to choose from, or you can create your own with folders, calendars, checklists, and more.
Notes
Using the Notes app for scheduling might seem overly simple, but that’s the beauty of it – there’s no fancy bells and whistles to distract you. Keep a pinned note at the top of your Notes app of your weekly schedule and update it whenever you need to. If you’re like me and you don’t like assigning an exact start and end time for all your events, having a list-style calendar that can be formatted in almost any way you’d like may be a better option.
Milanote
While Milanote isn’t designed for scheduling, it’s great for organizing your creative thoughts! If you like visualizing your projects, semesters, or weeks, Milanote gives you the freedom to do so. You can create a mood board with the provided templates or create your own by adding images, files, colours, links, and plenty more.
Reminders
This one may seem obvious, but don’t underestimate the power of the Reminders app. Especially if you’re someone who needs an extra push, getting a gentle nudge from your Reminders app when something needs to be done might just help you stay on track.
Focus Friend
Focus Friend is an app by Hank Green that helps you keep your mind on track and your eyes off your phone. In Focus Friend, you can help your new friend Bean reach his knitting goals by setting a focus timer and staying off your phone for its duration. The more time you spend focusing, the more you can unlock in the game. Bean is cute enough that you likely won’t want to disturb his quiet time and will end up spending more time working instead of scrolling.
Planners, agendas, and calendars:
The Moleskine Classic Weekly Planner
The classic Moleskine weekly planners have a clear layout and lots of flexibility; they’re perfect for anyone who likes a simple design that they can make their own. You can buy one of these as either a 12-month or 18-month planner, dated or undated, and in a wide variety of sizes, colours, and materials. The blank-lined page next to every week allows for a lot of space for lists, reminders, or motivational messages.
The Inamio Hourly Appointment Book
In this agenda, each day is laid out hour-by-hour with a notes section at the bottom for anything additional you might want to add. This layout is great for time blocking and visualizing your week. It’s great if you want a visual representation of what the upcoming week looks like.
Papier custom notebooks
If you’re someone who appreciates the finer things, Papier has plenty of notebooks, planners, journals, and more, with designs that you won’t find elsewhere. Papier also has the option to customize your purchase, allowing you to make it uniquely yours. It’s great if you’re willing to spend a little extra and wait a little longer for something you’ll truly enjoy using.
Our best advice:
Set your own deadlines
School deadlines are usually non-negotiable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t set your own earlier deadlines to help you space out your work and ensure that you get everything done at a pace that works for you. Planning when you want to work on and finish each assignment will help prevent you from getting overwhelmed during those times when every due date falls in the same week.
Lists, lists, and more lists
Lists can help you visualize what you need to get done as well as what you’ve already accomplished. Whether it’s on your Notes app, on the back of a receipt, or in your agenda, getting things out of your brain and onto paper can help you visualize the best course of action for success.
Embrace the feeling of completing a task
Congratulate yourself when you finish an assignment, task, or errand. You did something good, and you’re allowed to take a moment to be happy about it. It’s especially great when you can physically cross something off, which is why keeping physical lists and agendas can be extra satisfying.
If you don’t love it, you won’t use it
Don’t buy a planner, calendar, or app just because you’ve seen everyone else use it or because it works for someone you know. If you don’t like the look of something, or if the style isn’t right for you, you’re likely not going to be excited about using it, and it’ll just end up collecting dust on your desk. Spend time looking for the things that you love and want to use!