This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mville chapter.
Remembering things is hard. Very hard. Forgetting those important things is even worse, and can be very stressful. In our busy lives as college students, it takes more than just memory alone to remember everything we need to do. Relying solely on your memory is dangerous. I’ve learned this the hard way. Whether it’s just things you need to remember to do today, or further down the line, it’s important to keep track of everything. Here are 5 habits of remembering I took on, in order to make sure I don’t forget what needs to be done! I hope they serve you well.
- Writing reminders on post it notes and putting them on your desk. The post-it notes don’t have to be on your desk, but they should be in a place you look at every day. Since I’m always at my desk, I place mine here so I’m sure I’ll see them and read what I need to do. Post-It notes are great for quick little reminders. Even better is once you do the task they have on them, you can easily take them off your desk, crumple them up, and throw them in the garbage, which is a very satisfying series of actions.
- Set the list of things you need to do as your background on your phone. As an iPhone user, what I do is I write in the notes section of my phone a list of reminders, take a screen shot of that list, and then set it as my background. This really helps me remember everything because like many of us, I look at my phone constantly. Because the list is my lock screen background, I will then constantly be seeing it. Once you have completed that list, feel free to update it, and repeat this process.
- Keep an assignment pad where you write down everything you need to do. For all my homework assignments, I make sure to write them down in my handy dandy assignment pad. This keeps everything in one spot, so whenever I need to check what work I have, I can just look here. Aside from homework, you can write plenty of other important reminders in here as well.
- Keep a giant size calendar in your room. I say giant just so you can be sure to see it! The bigger it is, the harder it is to miss an important date. Make a habit out of checking this calendar constantly to make sure you don’t miss any important dates you have planned, whether they be when you have to go visit home, when an interview is scheduled, etc. As always, make sure to keep this calendar in a place that you will be sure to see it! I don’t have a calendar in my room yet, but I plan on getting one real soon!
- Use a dry erase board to write down everything that needs remembering. I did this freshman year and put it on my fridge because I am always going to/looking there. Dry erase boards are great because you can easily erase them when you’ve completed the tasks you had written. There are regular dry erase boards, and even some dry erase boards I’ve seen that have the days of the week on them, so you can fill in your tasks for a certain day in a more organized manner.