I get it. You’re finally away from home. Away from your mom yelling at you to pick up the dirty clothes off your floor, away from her nagging you to do your homework, and away from constantly being told to do your chores. While it’s very freeing to be in control of your own time and space, it’s also a big responsibility. I’m going to give you a couple simple tips for keeping yourself on track and organized.
Put things away. Let me start by saying I live by this rule. If you take a couple shirts out of your closet to try on and leave them on the floor instead of putting them away, you’re just creating more work for yourself later. Do your future self a favor and hang the shirts back up. Everything has a place, why leave it somewhere it doesn’t belong? I promise if you keep things neat and organized as you go, you’ll never have to have that sunday cleaning.
Keep a planner. No words I could write could explain how important this one is. A planner is the place where you write everything. It could be homework, test dates, work schedules, or even little reminders. It’s really helpful to have a daily layout of what you need to get done. What I like to do is as soon as a professor mentions a test date, I immediately jot it down in my planner. It lets me see exactly how much time I have until the exam and how I can start to break up my studying.
Desk space. I know in the dorms we aren’t given a ton of surface space to put things. I get that it becomes the place where you just toss things. However, the importance of a decluttered desk is huge. Give yourself room to lay out all your books and notes. Give yourself room to think. You don’t need any more distractions than you already have. A neat and minimalistic desk will help you keep a clear mind.
I hope this was helpful and that one of these tips sticks with you. I understand that we live busy lives and that organization isn’t always a priority, but try to make it one. It’ll seriously benefit you in long run. You got this!