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In the past I have done a Guide To Staying Organized In College post, that is true, but this post is more centered around the paper parts of that, if that makes sense. This whole post focuses on a ton of tips for planning and note taking in college.
Note Taking
1. Choose a method that works for you.
When taking notes it’s important to decide which method works best for you as the class progresses. Personally I’ve found that taking notes in a notebook helps me way more than typing notes on a laptop. Do a test run with different methods, don’t just pick one from Pinterest and go with it regardless of whether it works well for you or not.
While I type much quicker than I write, I retain information much better when I write. Plus, whenever I bring my computer to class I find myself clicking over to Facebook and Pinterest when I get bored. No bueno.
Then again, not that I’m suggesting you don’t pay attention in your class but if you’re in a class where you’re not learning much and find that you can succeed while paying minimal attention, there’s no harm in occasionally “taking notes” on your laptop during class A.K.A writing blog posts and doing homework for something else. Just don’t get caught. Also don’t tell anyone I told you to do this. Unless it works out well for you, in which case, let me know.
2. Use colors.
For me, color coding is one of the most helpful ways to stay organized. Typically I color code based on priority and type or I just use different colors because I’m a sucker for when things look pretty.
I like to use different colors for different things in my notes. This helps me later ohn when I’m studying and need to search for a specific person or thing. These G2 Pilot Pens are perfect because they have smooth gel ink, don’t smudge and come in four point sizes and 15 vibrant colors. Plus, look how CUTE! I’m obsessed with this fashion collection from Target. There are other collections too if you, you know, hate when things are adorable and fun.
As you can see above I used blue for definitions, red for textbook references, and teal for examples. It all depends on the class. For most classes I’ll use one color for people, another color for years and dates and another color for theories and concepts. Also, that above is a total B.S. mock-up of notes that I made for the blog. My actual notes are even messier because sadly I have the handwriting of an impatient young boy, not of a preppy and organized teen.
3. Label the dates and lessons.
This will help you when you need to look up lessons or check if you’re missing notes for a specific day. I like to put this label on the top of the notebook page. As you can see in my sample notebook page above, I have the lesson title, number and date on the top of the page in red.
4. Star what the professor emphasizes during lecture.
If your professor goes over a certain topic multiple times or expresses how important something is, star it! By test day you likely won’t remember that the professor placed an emphasis in the first place. When a professor mentions something that will be on an exam I usually star the crap out of it and write “STUDY!!” because I like to know exactly what I need to study so I can spend as little time as possible studying.
5. Write out important textbook notes.
I get highlight-happy when I read my textbooks but I seldom actually retain all of the info I highlight. Rewriting this information into your notebook is a great way to have it neatly written out–plus, writing helps you remember. I like doing this in a different section in my notebook so I know they’re textbook notes, not lecture ones.
I’ll be honest–most classes don’t require that you do this. For many classes reading and highlight is sufficient so I like to wait until the day before a test to rewrite all of my textbook notes so I’m studying while transcribing. It’s a great way to study without really studying if you get my drift.
{Related: How To Get Straight A’s In College}
6. Use a sticky note to keep your place.
I hate having to flip through pages and pages of notes to see where I left off. Placing a small sticky note bookmark style will help you save time so you won’t have to flip through your book.
7. Doodle somewhere else.
I don’t doodle as much as I used to back in the day because daydreaming is less messy and more fun, but if you feel the need to doodle, set aside a scrap piece of paper or a page in the back of your notebook. Doodles in the margin can be distracting, make your notes messy and get you off track if you’re trying to study later on. Plus, if you do an amazing doodle it’ll be trapped among biology notes.
Agenda/Planner
Honestly, I’m really bad with actually using agendas. I have one for school and one for my blog and I efficiently use neither. Even though I’m not great with keeping up with my planner, when I do have bouts of being productive and using my planner effectively, here’s what I do.
1. Color code and create a “key.”
I like to create a “key” and attach it in the front of my notebook as a point of reference. I mostly use this as the semester begins because after a few days I get the hang of it!
In my agenda I use a different color for each class. I also use the calendar spread in my agenda only for my important class due dates in the corresponding colors.
2. Bring it to every class.
This will motivate you to actually use it. I used to leave my planner at home and just type my assignments into my phone or forget about them until the night before they were do when I had a sudden anxious vision about homework. Get a cute planner that you’ll want to bring to class.
3. Highlight the things that must be done immediately.
Oftentimes my planner has “Paper due next week” or “Test on Friday” which are not immediate concerns. This usually leads to me sort of ignoring any urgency in my planner. To remind myself of things that need to be done ASAP, I like to highlight them!
4. Check it every Sunday night.
This is crucial. Make sure that for the week you know what you’ve got coming up and you see which assignments you have yet to do. I like to create a huge to do list on Sunday night that specifies which dates things are due or must be completed by. Having a nice overview will help you better map out your week and your plans.
5. At the end of each day, move any test dates or due dates onto your calendar.
They’re not going to be as useful to you if they sit in your planner. Having them visually in front of you on a calendar will help you know what’s coming up further in advance.
Calendar
1. Create a color coding system.
Ooh look, more tips about color coding! Being sponsored by G2 Pilot Pens had me so hyped because I had an excuse to buy more colorful pens and talk about them. Unfortunately, glitter pens were not an option but as an ADULT I’ll settle for pretty colors and stripes, NBD.
Having a huge color-coded calendar is ESSENTIAL for me. I need to have my entire month laid out in front of my eyes or I’ll forget so many things. Usually I use a dry erase calendar, but I loved this big, pretty paper one and I have a better variety of colorful pens than I do of dry erase markers.
For my calendar I like to use the following system:
Due Date/Assignments = RED
Meeting/Event/Birthday = BLUE
Blog Things/Work = PURPLE
Reminders = Teal
The reminders are things that don’t necessarily need to be done on a specific day, but they’re things I should begin to think about or consider.
Create your own system! I recommend narrowing it down to five colors–any more than that and it might get excessive. As beautiful as fifty different colors would look, there won’t be any purpose or system in place. To figure out what your categories and colors should be, keep note of which events/clubs/jobs take over most of your life. Then again, if you’re all about the aesthetics and not function, go ham with colors and Instagram that ish.
2. Utilize Reminders
I like to write all of these things in my calendar and then put reminders in my phone about these events. I like to have my calendar in my headquarters (dorm) and on the go on my phone.
3. In the beginning of the year, go through each month and mark off big events.
Add every important birthday, day off from class or important date you can come up with. This is one of my favorite things to do when I get a new calendar! As I do this I also set up corresponding reminders as mentioned above. An example of this would be writing “Kiera’s Birthday!” on April 14 and then setting a reminder on April 1 that says “Buy Bday Gifts for Kiera!” This will help you be a better friend and never forget an important day again!
These colorful G2 Pilot Pens that I use can be found at Target. Yes, another reason to head to Target for back to school shopping! I also have a deal to share with you today, Save $0.75 on any ONE 4-pack (or larger) of G2 Gel Ink pens with this coupon.
What are your favorite note-taking and planning tips for college?
