With the school year just starting up, it’s a smart idea to start thinking about managing all of those social events (HOCO!), assignment deadlines, and other busy commitments that you have going on. Finding the time to pencil everything in can be overwhelming and mentally exhausting. Realistically you probably do have the time but instead you spend it procrastinating. Therefore, the first step to overcome this organization battle is to set aside your Netflix and plan your busy bee life. I have a few tips and tricks that may be able to help your everyday life organizational skills!
1. Plan out everything
And I do mean EVERYTHANG! Investing in a cute daily/monthly planner is great for knowing what you need to get done and when you need to do it by. I personally find that I am more motivated to write my schedule down in my agenda because it acts as a cute accessory that I can’t leave my room without. I am not suggesting you “break the bank” when it comes to buying an agenda, because I know that some of them can be crazy expensive. The average agenda at Chapters costs around $10-$30, and that all depends on the size and design. Therefore, do yourself a favour and plan out your day even including the little hangouts like “grabbing coffee with the girls” that you don’t want to forget about!
2. Make a checklist
Having a list of things to do forces you to prioritize what’s important right now! It is a great feeling to have when you can erase one item off your whiteboard knowing that you can move onto the next task, and not have to worry about it anymore. At the top of the list, you should have the important tasks such as assignments and readings to finish. At the bottom of the list, it should be the #treatyoself tasks for when you are finished the important ones, such as watching your favourite TV show at this time or planning a coffee date with a friend. It’s important to remember to take time for yourself and do things that you enjoy and make you happy!
3. Dry erase calendars
I know this is a similar idea to the daily planner, but come on: you can never have enough reminders around your room to tell you what’s happening tomorrow or even a month from now. I highly recommend going to the Laurier Bookstore and buying yourself a four month calendar. Being able to use a colour coding method for each course you have or event you have to go to really helps in understanding your busy schedule, and gives your brain some room to store other useful information. It is never too late to plan ahead!
4. Use your resources
You know that little device you carry around with you in your pocket, every moment of every single day? Well it has plenty of apps on it to help you prioritize your time, and to remind you to do important things like, oh I don’t know, maybe go shopping for HOCO swag?. You can easily set up your calendar on your phone to remind you what buildings your classes are in, what they are, and where they are. For me, it is a life saver! Use your phone for something other than scrolling through your news feed, and start using it to make your life more organized!
5. Use your time, but use it wisely
Understand that you do have time to balance all the things you have going on in your young collegiate life. If you are one of those people who can multi-task his or her way through anything, than I support you 100% because you can go 0 to 100 real quick, and that deserves some major props. Remember to balance out your schedule academically, socially, physically, and mentally, and do not burn out throughout the semester. Sleep and fun are both basic necessities that everyone needs too, so #treatyoself once in a while.
6. Take a deep breath…
Not everything has to be about work, school, or your job all of the time, and be thankful for that. If that were the case, I am pretty sure we would all go insane. Remember to take the opportunities to relax, have fun, and give yourself a much deserved break, because I am pretty sure you’ve earned it.
Hopefully my tips and tricks can help you have a stress-free semester, Golden Hawks!