By Emily Tao
It can be easy to get overwhelmed with work you may forget about when all or most of your classes are online, not to mention all of your RSOs. That’s why I created these tips to help you stay organized, not only for this semester, but through all of college and into the real world. These will ensure you have your life together.
Get a planner.
Being able to physically see what I have to do is something that helps me stay organized. Writing what I have to do also helps me remember better the tasks I have to do for that week. Planners are a good way to keep track of your busy schedule, and it also helps hold you accountable for the things you have to do.
Set schedules.
Something that helps me during the school year is setting schedules each day that typically revolve around school. I also manage my schedule around different clubs and organizations I’m involved in. Almost every day, I have a few Zoom calls to attend to, so planning my day around these calls gives me a chance to organize myself and plan ahead of time.
Develop a routine.
Having a consistent routine eases the stress of last-minute and uncalled-for plans. Small routines, such as starting every day by checking my emails to make sure I’m not missing anything to eating “breakfast” at 1 p.m. every day, keeps me in check for the day.
Get ready the night before.
One thing I like to do, especially if I know I have to wake up early, is to start getting my things ready for the next day. On busier days, I tend to set the outfit I am going to wear the next day laid out so my mornings don’t get too hectic. Also at night, I like to mentally think about the things I have to do the next day so I can prepare myself; this helps ease the stress of the next day so I’m not too overwhelmed when I wake up in the morning.
Label!
Differentiating your different folders helps to keep things organized. I can’t tell you the number of times I have just thrown my papers into a random folder and ended up completely losing them. Even my pantry in my apartment is labeled and organized to make the lives of me and my roommates much easier. On my laptop especially, I lose track of all my files and documents, and keeping folders has made my life so much simpler. I can simply look up a folder and find what I need.
Break down bigger tasks into smaller ones.
When attempting to take on big projects, it can be very overwhelming. When just starting out, there are always many large components to tackle. A simple way for me to stay organized when this problem arises is to actually break down the bigger tasks into a few smaller ones to make each one more manageable.
The Spread 