Getting organized for a new school year can be a pain, but staying organized the whole year can be an even bigger pain. You buy a new planner, hang a calendar on your wall and buy all new notebooks and pens that make you feel like you have your life together, and you do for the first month, but as the school year progresses and you get busier, your planner goes missing and you can barely remember to turn the page of your calendar each month.
This was me my first year of college. I couldn’t remember when anything was due and felt disorganized 24/7, I hated it. I knew I needed to make a change if I was going to survive this whole college thing. So, I came up with 5 simple steps to help me stay organized throughout the school year and hopefully now they’ll help you too. I even left links to all the supplies you’ll need!
- Fill in your planner for the whole semester
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The number one problem people have with their planners is they forget to fill them in throughout the year. Every time I bought a planner I did this. It’s a waste of money and in the end, it didn’t even help me remember anything. I knew I needed a more efficient system so I started filling in my assignments for the whole semester the first week of classes. On every syllabus you get, they have all the assignments and when they’re due on them. It might take a little bit of time, but you’ll be so grateful you did it later. All of your assignments will be in one place so you won’t have to spend time digging out a syllabus to see what’s due that day.
Find planners here
- Get a dry erase board calendar
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I use my planner just for homework assignments because I don’t want to overcrowd it. So, I have a separate calendar that I use for my personal schedule. You can use this calendar however you want. I use mine to write in when I have meetings, plans when friends, appointments, even people’s birthdays. This will help you keep track of what you have going on for the day and also when you can squeeze in studying. It’ll also ensure you don’t miss anything important you might have coming up. I also put all my coupons and appointment cards up on my whiteboard. I’m terrible about using coupons so when I switched to sticking them on my whiteboard I was able to see them every day so I knew when they expired.
Find dry erase boards here
- Join a club or get a job
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Having a job or being in a club can really help you stay organized. It’ll help you a ton with time management. If you have a lot of free time. you’ll most likely waste it, but if you know you have to get to work or a meeting then you’ll make sure all of your assignments are done on time. You can check out your school website for job listings and clubs
- Get a plain dry erase board
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I also have a plain whiteboard in my room that I use to write reminders on like if I need to call someone or email someone back. It’s a great way to jot something down really quickly so you don’t forget.
- Have a to-do list
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Having a to-do list can seriously help you out when it comes to grocery shopping, or if you have multiple things you need to get done. I keep mine on my desk and throughout the week I write down what I need to pick up at the store. It’s a lifesaver for me because I know if I don’t write anything down I’ll forget half of it when I go shopping. It’s also handy when you have a lot of tasks to get done.
Find to-do lists here
Hopefully, these tips work for you and help you stay organized this entire school year!