At the beginning of the semester, things can be overwhelming. You’re trying to get yourself settled in to a new setting, you’re surrounded by new people (whether they’re roommates, neighbors, classmates, etc.), all while attempting to keep up and/or stay ahead with your new classes. I know that for me, the beginning of the semester brings a lot of excitement because I’m glad to be back at MU, but it also brings a lot of anxiety. For the whole first week of classes, I constantly check my class schedule and my work schedule to make sure that I’m going to the right classroom, I didn’t see the wrong time for when class starts, or to be sure that I’m not going to be late to my shift. Here are some of the ways that I keep myself calm and organized while starting off the semester – and they become habits that I continue for the rest of it!
(Just a warning – I’m totally obsessed with calendars. Don’t judge me please.)
1. Write everything in a planner.
This may seem obvious to a lot of us that carry planners around, but having every little thing written in mine gives me a lot of comfort. For the first week of classes, I don’t only write the name and time of the class; I also write down the room number and the professor, so that if I suddenly doubt myself, I can whip out my planner to make sure I’m in the right place.
2. Keep a Desk Calendar.
(I even color code my classes!)
My giant desk calendar is one of my favorite things that I own. It’s huge, and it allows me to plan out my whole month. A lot of us do this in our planners, but I find that it’s hard for me to fit everything in the little boxes on the ‘month’ page, so I stick to weeks with my planner. On the desk calendar, I can look at my whole month easily, and none of the days look tight or crowded like in my planner.
3. Write assignments and reminders on a weekly whiteboard.
I know, I know – totally obsessed with calendars. But this whiteboard is super helpful for me because I don’t just keep a schedule on it like everything else. I write my homework assignments for the week on there and I keep it standing along the back of my desk, so when I sit down to do homework I can just check the board to know what I have to do.
4. Make a daily to-do list.
Making a to-do list isn’t something that I do every single day, as I don’t necessarily need one every day. However, I have some mornings where I realize that I have so many assignments to work on or so many errands to run that I can’t keep them all in my head, so I jot them all down in a list that allows me to glance at it when I have the time to get stuff done. These are also super satisfying because you can just check things off once you’ve done it!
5. Never forget the beauty of post-it notes.
Lastly, keep in mind that you can never have too many post-its. Whether you use them more with your readings for classes or for reminders, they’re always handy. I tend to keep them stuck up along the top of my desk or around my room, with necessary reminders on them (for me, it’s usually ‘don’t forget your glasses!’ or ‘bring a water bottle to class!’). However, they can also be used for little things, like a meeting later, or a reminder to call a friend. Whatever you need them for, sticky notes are your friend!
At this point, you probably think that I’m an organization freak, but this is what helps me to keep my life organized. You may have a different technique for that, or you may want to pick up one of my ideas. Either way, finding what works for you is the most important part. Have a great semester, and stay organized!
HCXO,
Lola
All images courtesy of Lola and Google