Hello, lovelies! Today, I’m going to talk about organization. There are thousands of posts about staying organized in college, so I don’t want to be too repetitive. That’s why I decided to put a different spin on it and write about what I do every semester, month, week, and day to keep track of all my assignments and exams. As with all my posts, this is the system that has worked for me for the past four years, so you may have to adjust it to make it work for you. Either way, I hope it helps!
//How I Plan My Semester//
- I Fill In My Calendar For The Whole Semester. I keep a calendar on my bulletin board, and the first thing I do every semester is fill it in with every exam, essay, and big project I have that semester. I don’t include all the homework and readings because that would make it too cluttered. I just include all the big assignments so that I can visualize what to expect and prioritize each week.
- I Make An Assignment List Using My Syllabi At The Beginning Of The Semester – I’ve done this every semester since I started college, and it has been a godsend. Instead of assignments for multiple classes being spread among multiple syllabi, I have everything I need to do in order by date for the entire semester in one document. It takes me at least two hours to create, but I make sure to finish it the first week of the semester before homework starts piling up.
- I Divide All The Assignments By Week – I divide the entire semester by week. There are generally 15-17 weeks per semester and there are on average 2-3 big assignments or exams each week. That feels a lot more manageable than looking at all the things I have to do in the span of a month or even in the span of two weeks. That’s why I use the “week-it’s-due” system similar to the “day-before-it’s-due” system so that I can finish everything in a timely manner without feeling too overwhelmed. It also just makes everything easier to track. I even structure my class notes by heading them “Week 8 – February 26, 2020” because it makes it simpler to find which class discussions correspond with each test. Sure, I could probably figure that out on my own by looking at syllabus dates, but it just makes it easier for me to keep everything together.
Related – How To Set Yourself Up For A Successful Semester
//How I Plan My Months//
- Set Monthly Goals/Review Yearly Goals – I set goals each month using my Powersheets Goal Planner (which has genuinely changed my life. I can’t recommend it enough) and share most of them on this blog to keep me accountable. At the beginning of each month, I look back at my yearly goals and write out some action steps I want to do to make progress on them. I also look at my calendar to see what school-related goals I want to accomplish.
- Look At My Calendar With Test Dates – Since everything is already written down, I have an idea of which weeks are busier than others. I know which weeks I have time to get ahead on things, and which weeks I need to schedule a blog post in advance.
- Add Any Event Dates That Have Come Up To My Calendar – This usually includes school events I want to go to or plans made in advance with friends. My mom tells me if we’re doing anything on any given weekend so that I can schedule work around that (I’m self-employed, so I’m able to move my schedule around things when I’m warned in advance). Other than that, most of my social interactions are “scheduled” weekly.
- Content Planning – I’ve never consistently posted on the same day of the week for more than two months, but I do make a content “calendar.” Since I do this as a hobby, I don’t feel pressured to post on a consistent day, but I make sure to actually post a blog post once a month. I keep a list of 5-7 blog posts to publish each month and cross them off as I go. Sometimes, I publish them in order and sometimes I don’t. It depends on my mood. I keep the list in my planner and have recently started putting it on a sticky note on my desktop.
- Write Out Monthly TBR – I love to read and read significantly more than most college students. The biggest reason why is that I prioritize it, so I usually keep a running list of books I want to read in the next few months. Every month I choose the next 6-10 books I would like to get to so that I know what to pick up after finishing a book. This list is usually based off of what is due to the library.
Related – How I Read 100 Books In A Year (As A Busy College Student)
- Mentally Plan Out Study Plans And Project Plans For The Month – I write out specific study plans on which chapters and notes to read through about 1-2 weeks before the exam, and usually start projects a few days before they’re due. I mainly mentally prepare for what’s to come that month and write things out later on.
//How I Plan My Weeks//
- Place All Dates In My Weekly Planner – I use a notebook as my planner. When I buy a regular planner, I never end up filling it out, but I’ve already completed one notebook and am almost finished with my current one.
- Make Assignment/Study Plan For Tests – I usually do this a week in advance. I’ll divide certain parts of an assignment or project to complete over the course of multiple days. For exams, I assign a chapter for each day so that studying doesn’t get too overwhelming. (I don’t always follow this. There have definitely been exams where I cram everything the day before). As for essays, I do research and outline it in advance, but I don’t write it till a night or two before because I write it quicker that way.
- Set My Priorities For The Week – Like I said, I have 2-3 big assignments or tests per week on average, so those end up being my priorities. On slower weeks, I prioritize things like getting ahead on blog posts, working out, or spending time with friends. It all depends on how hefty my workload is that week.
- Make A Tentative Weekly To-Do List – I make my to-do lists for each day the night before. I mainly just outline big projects or my study plan at the beginning of the week, then adjust as needed.
- Write-In Any Plans I Have With People – I usually make plans with people a day (or an hour) before, but when I already have something planned with a friend, I put it in my planner to know how much work I’ll really get done that day/finish work earlier than usual.
//How I Plan My Days//
- I Make A To-Do List The Night Before – I base this on my assignment list and write out all the homework and readings I need to do.
- Separate School Assignments From Personal To-Dos – As you saw in the image above, I put my main assignments on the left side and personal goals/events/tests on the right. I try not to make my list more than seven items.
- Decide When I’m Going To The Gym – I try to go to the gym every weekday. I have a pretty good routine going, so I know which times are best for me to go each day. Now that I’m taking group fitness classes, I have to schedule my work around a set time instead of after finishing a certain assignment, which has been working fine.
- Decide When I’m Going To Eat, Shower, Take Breaks – I don’t write this down. I just mentally plan out when I’m going to do these things and practice self-care.
- Cross Things Off My List As I Complete Them – This is pretty self-explanatory.
- Move Incomplete To-Do Items To The Next Day – I don’t cross everything off my to-do list most days. I finish all the timely ones, but I don’t beat myself up if something can be postponed. It can get done tomorrow. As long as I finish it by the end of the week, I’m good.
//Other Things I Do To Stay Organized//
- Have A Consistent Schedule – It’s a lot easier to plan out my days and find time to do large assignments when I know what to expect in a typical week.
- Keep All My Class Notes In One Notebook – I started doing this in Sophomore year of college, and I never went back. At the beginning of the year, I buy a five-subject notebook with folders in each section and use that for the rest of the year. You read that right. The whole year. I’ve never filled an entire notebook with class notes, so I didn’t see the point of wasting paper and spending more money on another notebook. I use binder clips to section off my Fall semester classes, then continue taking notes for Spring classes. I never forget the materials I need for class because everything I need is in one notebook or on my laptop.
- I Use The Same Header In All My Notes – Since I keep all my notes each year in one notebook, it could potentially become difficult to find the notes I need. They can get lost in the chaos. I’ve been using a system to combat this. I head all my notes with the week # and date of the class on the left, then write down the course on the right. The majority of the pages in my notebook have headers like this, which makes it easier for me to locate notes on specific topics.
- There’s A Place For Everything In My Room – One of the reasons that my dorm room is so much more organized than my bedroom at my parent’s house is that everything I own has a place. (The bigger reason is that I have too much stuff at my parent’s house and don’t keep a million things in my dorm, but let’s not get into that here). I keep my dorm room clean because I end up having allergy problems when dust accumulates, but I wouldn’t say it’s aesthetically organized with labels and specific containers for things. It’s more that I have designated piles and drawers for everything I own. I keep my school books in a small pile on my desk and novels I plan to read on my dresser. The top drawer of my dresser is for toiletries, hair ties (remember when hair ties were called hairbands), my first aid kit, medicine, nail clippers, etc. All the stuff is literally dumped in there and is a “mess,” but I know where to find those specific things. You don’t need labeled containers for all the things in your dorm room to be organized. You just need to make sure everything has a designated place. It makes it easier to put things away.
Related – Everything I Packed For College | Minimal College Packing List
- I Don’t Use Organization & Planning As A Procrastination Tool – I definitely used to do this in high school. I’d watch planner videos and use Pinterest to go down the rabbit hole of self-improvement and spend a lot of time getting things organized so that I wouldn’t have to start working. I picked a system and stuck with it. I still watch planner videos and look at things on Pinterest because I find it fun, but I don’t let myself use it as a form of procrastination and mess with the system I already have.
Well, those are all my organization tips. I tried putting a different spin on it compared to other posts, and I like how it turned out. This organization system has kept my life together these past few years, so I hope these tips help.
Related – 11 Useful Time Management Tips For College Students
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How do you stay organized in college?