Saturday, August 15, 2015

College: Organization Class 101

Okay, I bet I can guess how many times you’ve been told that you need a better organization system when you head off to college. Sadly, I was that kid too. I carried around one binder and all my classes where in that binder and it was a huge, huge mess.
Well, I am not necessarily here to tell you that you need to get a better organization system, but I am here to give you tips, tricks, and hints on how a better organization system can and will make your life a lot less messy.

Utilize your agenda

Most colleges will give you a free planner, so take advantage of it. This book should become your best friend when all else fails, so get acquainted with it. However, every single professor will give you a syllabus, or have the syllabus posted online.
If you don’t know what a syllabus is it’s the course outline of what is expected of you during this course. It will give you information such as what reading you have to do, what you will be going over, when are your tests, papers, etc. If you write things down in your planner and look at it on a daily basis, this will help you see what is on your agenda for that day or week, so you can plan accordingly.

Reminders

You and just about everyone else in the world has a smartphone, why don’t you use to well, be smart? Along with your planner, also stick important reminders in your reminders feature. Yes, the feature that not that many people tend to use. This will help you have an in your face reminder when important things such as papers and tests are due.

Study schedule

Now you are probably wondering, what a study schedule has to do with organization. Well, if anything, take this lesson from me. In order to do great in college, you need a study schedule. Yes, this is basically your backbone. You need to organize your life to fit in your study time, so you can complete your tasks on your reminders, and have some quality time with your planner. However, this doesn’t mean you need to plan for a 2 hour study session either, you can always have 30 minute sessions too, depending on how well you do with your sessions.

Bring color into your life

Color, color, color! Did you know color can keep you organized when it comes to your classes? You will end up taking anywhere from three to five classes a semester, which means it can be quite confusing when it comes to handouts, homework, reading, and overall just studying. This is why color coding your life can be helpful. I know, when you had a rough night and you wake up 5 minutes before class starts, you need to grab your things for your first class, well, if you color coded your class like I suggested, you will be able to grab and go with little to no thought.

Be backpack ready

This is a wonderful tip, especially if you are the type of person that just kind of gets up and goes. Keep your backup stocked with paper, pencils, calculators, highlighters, post-its, and anything else you use on a regular basis. This way no matter what class you are in, you will always have the supplies you need.

Write everything

Write. Down. Everything. This is absolutely vital. If someone tells you about a study session, write it down. If your professor tells you about your upcoming pop quiz, write it down. Don’t count on your memory because chances are you will forget it.

Avoid procrastination

Trust me, I know it is hard, but you have to overcome this. Yes, I will admit I am the number one procrastinator out there. Just about everything, I do and write, tend to get on the back burner for a while. However, if you stay ahead of your schedule, it will thank you. It will give you time to enjoy life when life happens. However, this is my little way of not procrastinating, but procrastinating some at the same time.

Be an active student

Having a good relationship with your professor is pretty vital to your education. You want to come to class on time, pay attention, and participate when you can. If you are having trouble throughout the class, do not hesitate to go up to your professor and ask them to clarify what you are having difficulty with. That is why they are there, to be honest. Plus, the more time you spend with your professor, the better chance, they may write up an awesome recommendation.

USB


A USB should be your knight and shining armor. Yup,  I said it, your knight and shining armor, not the boy down the hall that has, well, amazing cologne. When all else fails, a USB will save your life, not literally, well, your school life, if you want to be exact. Trust me on this one, carry one around because you won’t know when the computer system at school is acting wonky and it will not let you print out your paper.

2 comments :

  1. My son's still in High School, but he definitely needs this information! It's so easy to get disorganized, and that just leads to falling behind. Great tips!

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  2. Well, it is time to start preparing him for the real world! I will be posting a lot more about organization! Keep your eyes peeled.

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