1. Keep a Planner
You are only human, so remembering all your responsibilities will be a difficult thing to do. Keep a planner and sticky notes around you to jot down what you need to do, school wise, extracurricular activity wise, work wise, life wise, etc. Looking through your planner will be a helpful reminder to what you have to do and when it is due. The simple act of writing it down will help you remember it as well.
2. Add Events to your Phone’s Calendar
Most smartphones have a built in calendar app where you can add events and receive notifications when the date is approaching. This a great tool to have so you can get reminders of when you have events to attend, meetings, or assignments/tests due.
3. Check Blackboard
Whether it’s your school’s version of Blackboard or Blackboard itself, it is important to sign in to it to see any updates your professors have uploaded to the site. Most classes have readings uploaded on their page, papers to submit via Safe Assign or Blackboard quizzes you need to take, so signing into Blackboard is important for accomplishing tasks like these.
4. Check Email
Professors often send out announcements to the class about numerous things (best of all when class is cancelled). Sign in to your email address through your phone so you can receive notifications of when you get an email. Your school will also send mass emails with announcements about what’s going on, events, fairs, crime alerts, etc. Make sure that even if you don’t have a way to receive notifications about emails, you regularly check them to make sure you are up to date about what is happening on campus.
5. Take Notes
This one may be obvious, but it is a good idea to take notes in class even if the professor uploads the slides on Blackboard. It will help you engage in the class and write down any miscellaneous information that is not in the Powerpoint. These notes don’t have to be from the board, you can just write down how your professor explains something so you can have a simplified definition in your notes.