Stay Organized This Semester

Can you believe we are already almost half way through the first month of 2016?! Holy guacamole right?! Many of us have already gotten back into the swing of things and are back to class. I still have a few weeks left of winter break but will soon be back to classes and a full time schedule myself. With that being said, I'm preparing myself for a new semester which means getting organized. I'll be the first to admit that I've never been the most organized person. BUT I'm also not terrible. I always start out the semester strong where organization is concerned and by the end of the semester I'm looking for my last scrap of paper to make room for notes for 3 different classes (slight exaggeration…but only slight). Can anyone relate??? My goal is to keep my organization in check throughout the whole semester this year. Despite my inability to keep completely organized for more than a couple months at a time, I do have some tips for staying organized that have really worked for me and might work for you too! Keep reading for 5 simple tips to staying organized and on top of your workload this year!

1. Have an agenda and USE it! 

I LOVE agendas. Especially because there are so many fun and pretty ones out there! In high school, my planners were given to us by the school and were not nearly as pretty as the Lilly Pulitzer agenda that I swear by now. I recently got my third (!!!) Lilly Pulitzer agenda. They are a little pricier for an agenda but I definitely get my use out of it and it's really good quality! Kate Spade also has some really pretty ones. You definitely can find some really cute ones at Target though that are much more inexpensive. Either way I strongly recommend that everyone have an agenda to write down due dates, event dates, assignments, etc. This really helps keep your many tasks organized. I like to use the calendar pages for writing down major dates of exams, events, etc. and the individual day by day section for writing down homework assignments or tasks that I need to get done. This really helps me stay on top of things and keeps me from forgetting things that I have to do.

                

2. Write down all the due dates from your syllabus!!! 

When you receive your syllabus on the first day of class, write down all the dates from it! Use your agenda and fill in all the exam dates, assignment due dates, etc. It really helps to have all of these things laid out at the beginning of the semester so you can plan around those things and plan out your time accordingly. This way you won't miss a due date or forget about any upcoming exams, even if your professor doesn't mention it in class!

3. Have a place for notes for every class. 

I personally prefer to take notes the old fashioned way with a pen and paper. If you do this too, have a notebook for every class or a five subject notebook with a section for each class. It helps so much to have all your notes for one class in one place rather than looking through a single notebook for all your notes for everything. Also, have a notebook for any extracurricular things you may need to write down notes for! If you take notes on your laptop, which I also do from time to time, use Microsoft Word's notebook layout. This way you can create different tabs and it keeps things much more orderly and easy to find! (use the highlighter too!)

4. Make checklists.

On extra busy days, make yourself a quick daily checklist. Or make a weekly checklist for an extra busy week. This really helps me if I'm feeling a little stressed about getting a lot done in a short amount of time. Use a sticky note or a piece of notebook paper and make yourself a quick list that you can keep on your desk or a place that you'll see it throughout the day. I also use the notes section on my phone to do this a lot. Plus it feels really good when you get to cross something off the list! 

5. Keep your desk/work area neat!

This is so important. Keeping your desk neat will keep your life much more organized. Sometimes I'll be working on assignments or studying and I'll have to take a moment to just de-clutter and reorganize my desk space. When my desk is messy or cluttered, I feel much less organized and often, more stressed about getting things done. I try to keep it clean and neat but by the end of the day I always make sure I make it extra organized before bed so that I can start the next day with a neat workspace. 

So here's to getting (and hopefully staying) organized this semester! Have any tips of your own? Leave a comment below! Thanks for reading! 
Xo Emma