Staying organized during the semester can be difficult, but there are some ways to manage your time wisely so you can attend to other responsibilities and have some downtime.
Plan Your Week Out!
The first step to staying organized is maintaining a weekly schedule. Your schedule can be in the form of a notebook, an online to-do list, a desk calendar, a whiteboard, or anything else you want. When picking your planner, choose something aesthetically pleasing because that will make striking off items all the more satisfying.
Once you have picked your planner, look over all your class syllabi to see your upcoming assignments. Break your tasks up by what you believe you can complete each day. I like to base my schedule on what classes I have that day. For example, every day, except for Wednesday, I have two classes, and once they finish, I do the assigned homework for that day.
This schedule works for me, but everyone has different classes and obligations. Also, the types of assignments you have each week determine how much time you have to allocate to each class. For instance, if I have an upcoming research paper, I set aside multiple days to complete it as opposed to a reading assignment. It’s important to set realistic goals for yourself so that you don’t feel burnt out or bad about yourself if you can’t complete everything you set out to do.
For my off day, which is Wednesday, I either assign myself no work or light work as a reward for getting my assignments done on time. Make sure to set breaks in your schedule so that you allow yourself time to rest and destress.
Plan fun things to do during your week!
The best way to be motivated is to give yourself something to look forward to. Sometimes, simply just knowing I get to sleep in on a Wednesday or that the weekend is approaching, is not enough for me to get my homework done. However, if I know I have an event to go to in a couple of hours, I’ll make sure my assignments are submitted right before it’s time to leave. I recommend going to campus events, attending club meetings, watching a show with your friends, or doing anything that sounds fun to you, and you can use it as your daily motivation. Most likely, if you force yourself to stay in all day and do your work for several hours straight, you won’t spend the whole time truly studying. It’s better to have a set amount of hours where you know you have to work, and then a certain time when you close your laptop and go do something fun.
Take notes on ONLY the things you need!
When it comes to reading long chapters and scholarly articles for class, take notes that summarize the main points instead of focusing on small details. Sometimes in textbooks, they’ll have focus questions at either the beginning or the end of the chapter, so instead of reading the entire chapter, I just read the portions that answer those main questions. Also, if your book provides a chapter summary or an article that has an abstract, make sure to read that first. Going into your readings with an idea of what you’re looking for will save you time and make for more effective notes.
If you feel like you are falling behind on your schedule at times during the semester, that is perfectly normal. There are periods when we are busier than others, and our schedules have to adjust to that. If that’s the case, you can still have your downtime, but just allocate more time to your schoolwork or other responsibilities.