Every semester it seems like we have to change up our ways. New semester, new teachers, different game plan. As this new semester just rolls out, it’s the perfect opportunity to spend a little extra time prioritizing organization.
Here are a few quick tips!
Bullet Journal/Planner
I love bullet journaling. It’s a simple way to organize everything in your life in a completely customizable format. You’re not stuck in the day to day blocks like planners. Instead, you can add in a hydration block and count how much water you consume each day. Or a meal plan, or a mood trackers, or a workout section, while still adding in all the work you have to do during the week for school and work.
But if you’re like me and you’re crazy busy during the school year and don’t have time to maintain the perfect, time consuming bullet journal, planners are a much simpler format. Most planners are blocked off by week and have space to write in for every day. It might have a section in each week titled notes, but it varies based on the planner you buy. It isn’t as cluttered as bullet journals can get and it’s not as individualized, but it is just as useful as a bujo.
Write Out a Game Plan
I did this last semester and it helped a lot. Every week I would write in all the homework I knew I was going to get and left space for the classes that I didn’t know. After that I took a sticky note or two and divided up the week’s worth of homework into manageable sized bites. As you go along in the semester, you’ll be able to tell how long an assignment will take you do, and making your game plan each week will definitely come easier.
This is perfect for a student who works during the school year. I also made sure to schedule assignments two days if I thought I might not finish it. This way it gave me enough time to get it done and if I got it done early, the next day would be a lighter workload.
Use Your Free Time Wisely
This is similar to a game plan, but a little different. If you have an hour between classes, you might feel like scrolling through social media to pass the hour. This semester, tell yourself that you’re going to pull out homework and work on it instead. Now, not only do you have one hour less of homework to do this evening, but you gave yourself an hour later to relax or scroll through Instagram like you wanted. Trust me, having nights off is better than having an hour in the middle of the day off.
Pack Your Bag the Night Before
Especially if you’re a commuter, this is a great thing to do! Not only does it save you time in the morning, but it comes in handy when you spent five extra minutes in bed and you’re running late. It gives you peace of mind that everything is there and all you have to do is pick it up and go. Mostly importantly, if you choose to, you can stay the five extra minutes in bed and not feel rushed because of it.
Get Up Early, Especially On Your Later Days
It might be tempting to sleep all morning if you only have afternoon classes, but the morning is the perfect time to get your homework done, your workout in, and your shower complete. Use the time in the morning, so you don’t have to stay up until the crack of dawn doing homework. And once in a while you can still choose to sleep instead of getting up.
Schedule Your Classes Back to Back
You might not be able to do it this semester or every semester, but scheduling your classes back to back makes a shorter school day and less down time between classes. Less down time means less time you’re filling with wasted time because you don’t have enough time to eat or workout or do homework. If might seem awful to go to class back to back, but trust me it’s a time saver, and time is everything in college.
College can be rough, especially when you don’t feel like you have enough time. Mastering organization skills and time management are priceless. And think, every minute extra you save is a minute you can be doing something you love rather than doing homework.