So, if you stay well organized you will be developing good habits and systems. There are few tips that can help you to become organized, productive and effective.
1. Develop a daily routine: firstly you should write down a weekly schedule, it should contain all the activities like homework time, playtime, assignments to be submitted, and revision time and so on. Though it is not 100% possible to finish every day as per schedule, but you can try and focus on it. Try to keep a white/ blackboard in your room for things you want to see as a reminder once you are awake.
2. Organizing your computer: You may be receiving many emails about the course, or events such as webinars, programs in college. One way to keep every assignment nicely on your laptop is to create a separate folder for individual topics. This will help you to browse the required folder quickly instead of searching for all the emails. This will save time and you can get more time to work on essential tasks.
3. Setting rules for yourself: this means you can set a rule to complete your assignments and project works before the given date or complete the revision in advance for the test which is going to happen next week.
4. Maintain a diary: nobody will have a perfect memory, and if you try to remember everything it may be stressful. So, you can start writing down in a diary or notebook about all the events, meeting, new ideas, and things you need to do. When you write down everything you will not forget anything. So you are less tensed.
5. Working on one task: it is always better if you work on a single task, multitasking seems to be a good idea but at times you may fail or you will not be able to deliver the best.
6. Use a planner: it’s nice if you can keep the planner on your desk so that you can see it every day and plan it accordingly. If the phone is allowed in your college you can even enter all the information in the Google calendar or in any other similar app.
7. Declutter your desk: every weekend, check all the papers, brochures, books etc that you got. Check what is required and throw away all the things which you don’t need. So, when you declutter once in a week, you’re more likely to stay organized.
8. Use sticky notes: using sticky notes on the wall or on the door is a good idea to remember things to do.
9. Maintain separate notebooks: always take notes separately for each subject. Don’t write in papers, you may lose it. Don’t write notes, of all subjects in one note book. Later it will be difficult for you to refer.
10. Do five minutes of planning daily: every day before you start your homework, write down all the upcoming deadlines and think about how to schedule and make a quick plan. By doing this you will know what priority is and how to start and complete within the given time frame without missing anything out.
11. Learn to say NO: if you want to be an organized and productive student then you need not say ‘Yes’ to everything. Plan your schedule for playing, going out, studying, extracurricular activities and know your priorities. You can say ‘No’ to protect your schedule. And never feel guilty about saying NO. Remember it’s not about being a studious student; it’s about being effective student.
12. Make your task simpler: If your task is difficult then you should break the task into small and make it simple.
13. Create a nice environment at your home: if you want to be an organized student then create a space in your home which is right for you. Before starting to study for your test, eliminate all the things that will distract you such as phone, books, magazines etc.
14. Keep a stopwatch: using a timer will add up the sense of urgency. Start working for 30-40 min, and then take a short break of 10 min.
15. Reviewing the concepts: everyday review the concepts that you learned the earlier day, this should be a quick glance for about 20min. If you do this the information you learnt will be fresh in your mind. If you have any doubts you can get clarify by your teacher the next day.
16. Prepare a list of questions that you want to ask your teacher: As you read your notes and textbook you may come across many doubts. Highlight these and get it cleared.
So, there you have it. These are some of the best ways to stay organized throughout your college life.