With it being your first time in college, you’re probably wondering what’s the ‘best way’ to stay organized. There are many different ways to be organized, but it’s all about what makes YOU feel the most organized and happy. I hope that you do try some of these tips, and if they don’t work move on to the next tip!
Color Code your Courses!
My first tip on how to stay organized in college is to color code your courses! One way to color code your courses would be assigning a certain color to a specific class and getting notebooks and folders in that specific color to keep your courses separate. You can also match the color of a notebook or folder for a specific course to the color you use in your planner. So, if you have a math course, you can have that be a purple notebook and folder, and you can write in purple pen in your planner. This way when you look in your planner you see you have 2 assignments for math and you know because it’s in purple ink, math is your purple notebook and folder. You can also color code your classes to canvas too! Going with our example that math is purple, you can make your math course on canvas purple too. Now you know that if anything is in purple it’s for that specific course. This way you won’t get your notes, assignments, and due dates mixed ups with other classes, since each class will be a different color!
Plan Ahead!
Now that you color coded your planner, and all your courses, you can start planning ahead with each course! Since you are able to see which assignments you have for what course you can start to create a schedule to make sure those assignments get done in time. What I do when I have a lot of assignments, I actually start with the smallest and easiest task first, this way it is out of the way. For example, when I sit down and start to do homework, I typically do a discussion post, or reflection first, since these are normally how I feel about something so it doesn’t take a whole lot of brain power. Then I go onto more complicated assignments, like starting to write an essay. You also what to keep in mind the due dates for each assignment. So, if you have two assignments and one is due on Tuesday, and the other is due on Friday, you should probably start the one due on Tuesday because you have less time to complete it, than the one that’s due on Friday.
Keep a Clean Workspace
You want to keep your workspace nice and clean so that way when you get back from having a busy day of classes, you have somewhere where you want to work. Personally, I can’t focus if my desk is a disaster, I always start my study session by tidying it up so that I can actually focus on my tasks. A way that you can tidy up your desk is getting writing supplies organizers. I personally have two pen organizers on my desk because I like to be able to have all my pens available to me, and they’re nicely in their homes so they’re not all over my desk. A way to keep papers organized on your desk if getting an accordion folder. This way you have all your papers in one spot, and you can separate them by different classes, since they have different pockets and tabs.
I hope that these organization tips help you get organized in your first year of college! If you need any help thinking about other ways to get organized, you can talk to your Success Coach about getting organized!
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