It’s easy to get overwhelmed by new courses, different professors and what can feel like an overload of class material, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are four tips to help you stay organized and alleviate some of the stress you may feel throughout the semester:
1. Create a Google Drive folder for each class
As the semester progresses and essays, assignments and exams pile up, your Google Drive can quickly become a confused collection of words. To circumvent this, create a Google Drive folder for each of your classes and include weekly notes, reading material and assignments in them. Ensure you label these documents appropriately to include dates and course codes so that it’s easier to search for them when you’re in a rush. If you’d like to take it a step further and organize your classes beyond this, create subfolders within each class’s Google Drive folder for the aforementioned aspects of the class. This way, if you need to get the reading material for Week 4 of your GCM720 class, you know exactly where to look.
2. Compile a list of important dates and information
Save yourself the hassle of scouring through your course overviews at the last minute and, instead, take the time at this early stage in the semester to note down key information you may need. Go through each of your classes’ course outlines and write down each assignment’s due date, professor’s emails/phone numbers and work hours, and the weekly readings.
3. Create and maintain a checklist for each month
While having a general list of key dates and information is a good guide to revert to throughout the term, creating smaller checklists each month is a helpful way to keep track of immediate deadlines and imminent tasks. This more detailed checklist can be updated on an ongoing basis and will allow you to include multiple tasks that need to be completed within certain projects so that you can monitor your progress throughout each major assignment. And the satisfaction of checking off each box after completing a task is a bonus!
4. Keep your workstation clean
An untidy workspace can often have negative effects on our stress and anxiety levels, as well as our ability to focus, eat properly and sleep, a 2019 Harvard Business Review article relays. To avoid the cluttered mind that may likely come with a cluttered desk, make an effort to clean your workstation daily, and only keep documents on hand that are necessary for projects you are currently working on.