Organization in college?

Question

during the beginning of the semester i always manage to stay organize but towards the middle, it seems the more work i get the less organized i am. what tips should i follow to stay better organized in school?

Answer 1

Repeat after me:

college is a full time job. In order to do well on my job, I need to work on classes, homework, studying, projects and papers from 9 to 5, monday to friday.

Repeat this until you have memorized it and then FOLLOW IT!

it worked for me!

Answer 2

I'm a very organized person, so hopefully I can help!!

A lot of my professors print off handouts and notes, so I always keep a cheap hole puncher that attaches in my binder...I punch holes in them and I put them in my binder.

I have a different section in my binder for each class divided with binder tabs.  I normally keep my printed notes and handouts in the front, and the notebook paper behind them.

I also keep a sheet of paper in the front of my binder that I change weekly...I write down assignments and due dates for my classes for the week and I draw a little box next to it.  When I finish the assignment, I put a check in the box...that way I know what all I have to finish.  If something rolls over to the next week, put it on the new sheet.

Try to keep your notebook organized.  If it gets too full, buy some cheap folders and label each one for each class you take.  After you finish a test, take out the notes that were covered and save them in your folder.  You should staple or paperclip them so you have them organized...unit 1, unit 2, etc.  

Post it notes are also helpful...I use the small rectangle ones.  If there is something important or if you can't seem to keep up with a set of notes, stick one on the top of the paper and write what it is marking.  That way, you can open your binder and see..."ok, the green post it note says that this is the start of my material for test 1..."

Good luck!! Hope this helps you.

Answer 3

You've taken the first step.  You have recognized that life becomes more chaotic during the semester, and you will need to prepare for it.  I would do this in two ways.  First of all, get yourself an organizer with a calendar, assignment log, etc.  You should be able to find one at your school's bookstore which is intended for students.  Secondly, get things like binders for each class you are taking and any activities in which you are involved.  Get in the habit of using these things, even if at the beginning of the semester it all seems easy enough to keep straight in your head!

Secondly, you need to establish some scheduling habits.  Just as you might take your vitamins at a certain time each day, you can check your organizer at specific times.  For example, you might plan that you will look at your schedule for the day with your coffee in the morning and as soon as you get home in the afternoon.  You need to plan time for regular studying, and then when your professors give you a syllabus with exams and assignments, put in specific times to work on them.  You can always shift them later on, but you will know that if you decide to go away for a weekend you had set aside for working on a paper, you will have to move that work to the previous weekend.  If you can't do that, then you can't go away for the weekend.