College is pretty hectic, there’s no doubt about that. There are events, meetings and assignments left and right and on top of that you’re expected to be an adult and remember to actually eat food and sleep. Yikes. Although schedules may be full to the brim and procrastination may be at its peak, it is possible to keep it together.
There’s no one key to stay organized in college, but these tips are sure to help you get it together and stay organized throughout even the busiest of semesters.
1. Get a large wall calendar.
My wall calendar is dry erase and was DIY‘d by my mom out of a framed dry erase board and some electrical tape. This thing is a LIFESAVER, let me tell you. I keep all event dates, blog posts, due dates, meetings, etc on there. It’s perfect because it’s in plain sight, easy to update and it can be changed at any moment with an eraser and my dry erase markers.
2. Actually use your planner.
I’m one of those people who has a planner half because it’s helpful and half because it’s pretty and everyone has one. Here’s a little “Duh” for you: the planner is useless unless you use it. If you get an assignment in class, mark it down and make a point to check the planner every time you get back from class in order to update your calendar.
3. Use the Reminders app on your phone.
I use this app religiously and constantly. I thought everyone else did but every time I mention using the Reminders app, I generally get a really confused look. Guys, this app is already stuck on your phone and it’s incredibly helpful! I set reminders for due dates all of the time to avoid having to do last-minute papers. I set reminders weeks in advance if the professor tells us to hand something in on a specific day or to bring a specific book to class. I even use Reminders to remind myself to buy birthday gifts a few weeks before birthdays. It’s an incredibly helpful app that you’ve got on your phone whether you use it or not so…use it!
4. Have a place for everything.
Do you ever have that pile of papers that you’re not sure what to do with? Invest in a file folio and sort them by class! Stack of textbooks that’s always sitting around somewhere? Get some bookends and prop them on your window sill. Papers shoved in notebooks and textbooks? Buy some folders. If you have a specific place for things, you’re more likely to put them away. This is a great way to avoid misplaced textbooks and notes. Bonus, this will help you keep your dorm clean!
5. Clean out your backpack regularly.
Depending on your schedule and just how messy you are, this can vary. Whenever I clean out my backpack I find myself discovering gum wrappers, forgotten papers and the occasional accessory I got annoyed with wearing so I tossed it in my backpack. Fun stuff. Cleaning out your backpack regularly helps you stay on top of a potential mess and prevents important papers from being utterly lost in the void that is your bag.
6. Actually name your computer files.
This will save you so much time when you’re trying to find your files. I know it’s much easier to save your files as a bunch of gibberish, but if you name them accordingly it’ll be easier to look back on your work and sort it. Bonus if you create folders and sort things by class. I mean, isn’t “GEOGRAPHY – CH 1 – NOTES” a lot nicer than “DSOKDGIFOL”? I think so. This is the ultimate way to stay organized in college if I do say so myself.
7. Color code your calendar, planner, reminders, etc.
For physical things like a planner or wall calendar, use different colored markers or highlighters. For calendar apps and Reminder apps, you can choose the colors of things. You might want to make due dates red, club meetings green, fun events purple and tentative events gray. Visually, this will help you easily tell the event categories apart.
8. Make to-do lists.
This can be done physically (on paper) or on a trusty app. Whenever I make to-do lists, I like to rank things by urgency. For example, the top of my list would have “Study for Psych exam tomorrow!” because it’s urgent and “Do EW&PT post by Tuesday!” because it’s also pretty urgent. The bottom of the list might have things that don’t have to be completed, but should be, such as: “Do laundry” or “Make study cards for next week’s Bio quiz.” This helps you rank your priorities, which is a key to being organized.
How do you stay organized during a busy semester?
