Keeping track of everything in college can be overwhelming. From completing assignments, to studying for exams, all while balancing extracurriculars, internships, a job, and the occasional social events with friends; college life can be a hectic mess. As a student, every day is busy, filled with tasks and responsibilities that need to be fulfilled. Without an organized system to help keep you in check, you’re prone to missing deadlines and having a lot of stress on your hands. Planners are the best way to ensure your academic success while helping you find moments to have fun. Here are a few tips to help you get started!
1) Map Out Your Weekly Schedule
Write down your class/work/extracurriculars schedule from 6 am to 12 pm in one hour increments. This will immediately help you visualize and identify when you have unscheduled time and choose how to utilize it. Make sure that you block off unscheduled time when you decide how to use it, otherwise, later on you will forget and assume that you’re free to do whatever you want. So, if you want to allocate two hours after class to do homework, then label those two hours as homework.
2) Say Goodbye to To-Do Lists; Priority Lists are in
Most people tend to list out all their assignments as a to-do list, which is fine, but it makes you feel as if the tasks never end. Instead, try writing the due date next to each assignment. Then, highlight the assignments that are due within the next two days and focus on those only. Once you complete those tasks, cross them off on your planner. This way, you will feel accomplished about getting work done.
3) Note all Important Dates on Your Calendar
Your calendar is the place where you are going to record important dates. This includes deadlines for big papers, exams, quizzes, and other big commitments for your extracurricular activities. It’s also the place where you can jot down plans with friends. By seeing everything in a monthly view, then you can recognize which weeks are going to be busier than others. This way, you can get to work on those big projects or study for those difficult exams ahead of time.
Remember that a planner may not have every single one of these features so feel free to play around with what works for you, or even DIY one! Don’t forget to customize your planner! Decorate it with stickers, use markers to design the pages, paint the cover, or add a DIY bookmark. Go all out! After all, you will be the one using it throughout the year.