How To Use Your Tools to the Max
From first college classes to capstone projects your last year, organization in life is important to keeping sane in the four most intensive years of your life. From juggling classes, assignments, jobs, internships, and a social life, organization is key. It is a learning process for what works best for you, but once you find that sweet spot, you are on your way to personal success. Here are some ideas and tips for staying organized as a college student.
The Power of Planners
I have used a planner since middle school. It is the one thing that holds me together in the stressful times of the school year. I am a very visual person so being able to write everything I need to do keeps my brain from overpowering. Also, as most of your professors will remind you, writing things down improves memory. College assignments will take longer and projects get more tedious. Being able to plan out how to break down assignments into more manageable parts in my planner keeps myself from procrastination. Color coding and making it aesthetically pleasing to my eye motivates me more to get the job done. This year I splurged and got myself a nice planner from The Dailee. Most academic planners are either on sale or in your local stores’ school supply section.
Digital Organization Tools
Going into college, I bought an Ipad because I have always wanted one. After my first semester, I finally learned how to be productive with my Ipad for school. I had no idea how to take efficient notes and note-taking skills are essential in college. I was testing out different strategies like physical notebooks, printing out slides and writing on them, a word document, etc. I finally landed on notability. I have used it before going into college, but it genuinely kept me so organized. I was able to sort my notes into folders, use different templates for planning sheets, label and draw over study guides, etc. One of the biggest pros of notability is that it can scan your document and the program automatically creates flashcards or quizzes from the notes you have made, and they actually work! This is not sponsored by notability (although that would be a dream) but it truly is an app I would recommend to any and all college students who find taking digital notes productive.
Most colleges use canvas for course programming. I learned about halfway into my first semester that there are FREE extensions you can get on your computer to personalize your canvas pages to be aesthetically pleasing.
Calendars & Scheduling
Scheduling was one of the things I struggled with the most because I found that when I had down time between classes, I just wanted to shut off my brain. I had to listen to my body and try not to overwork myself between classes or else I would start to burn out. I used my Apple Calendar and my planner to create a master schedule for how to plan out my assignments and week.
I also enrolled in an online class my first semester and I soon learned I despise online classes. They work better for different people but because I am a visual learner, I need to be in class to be motivated. I tried everything to figure out how to squeeze this class into my busy schedule. I soon learned that I had to treat the class as if I was going in-person. I had blocked off time every day to sit down and complete my course requirements. This is a good way to create some self-discipline and make sure you take care of your tasks in your free time.
Study & Workspace Organization
I am the type of person who needs to have a clean workspace before I even think about studying. If there are dirty dishes on my desk, I clean them before I study. If there are books and or makeup on my desk, I put everything away before I study. For me, it gets overwhelming looking at other things that I need to do while I am trying to work through assignments. Also, keeping your files and documents named and saved in folders is less cluttering to the eye which can help with stress.
Building Productive Routines
Getting in the habit of a ‘reset’ day is so important for planning and staying on track. I usually go through a ‘Sunday night reset’ or ‘Monday morning reset’ where I look at all my course overviews for the week, plan appointments or meetings with professors, and pre-process what this week is going to look like. Personally this helps with my anxiety towards busy days or exams so that I can think ahead.
Routines will be something you naturally fall into, for example me and my friend would always walk down to class together second semester on mondays and wednesdays. I personally crave a routine when I am at college. That is something that I definitely am missing this summer. Routines also help your body adapt and lower stress levels. This also is easier to plan out your social life when you know your routine and what your body needs each week.
When it comes to school, I am a very type A student. Planners, note taking apps, calendars, folders you name it! I encourage you to try different organizational strategies because maybe you will find something that will stick. Having to find an important paper or assignment on your computer while not knowing where you saved it is the WORST feeling. Organization reduces stress and improves success, remember that!
Let me know your hack to staying organized in college! Feel free to subscribe to our email list to never miss a beat. Thank you for being here!
♡ Hattie
The Glossed Over Blog 
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