How to Start a New Semester Right: Organization Tips

Each new semester presents us with a wirlwhind of worries. We have to take on a schedule full of new classes and with those classes comes a new set of teaching styles, assignments, test dates, syllabi… and the list just goes on and on. It can seem daunting and stressful, but not unmanageable. Here are a few of our tips to make sure you start the semester on the right foot:

The Folder Trick

Computer folders are a go-to. Loose documents flying all over the place & littering your desktop make for late assignments, unnecessary clutter, and eventual breakdowns. If you don’t already have a folder system in place, the best way to start is by making a “School Work” folder. In that folder, make ANOTHER folder (Even more to come.. folderception will come to be your best friend). Title this folder “Spring 2015.” Next, make a folder for each of your classes i.e. “Intro to Ethics.” Now, throw any future assignments into their respective folders, and watch how much easier it is to pull up last week’s essay for edits, or find Thursday’s homework to print for tomorrow.

The Desk Calendar

We have these nifty little wooden things in our rooms that take up a hefty slice of our space. Let’s call them desks. They’re plenty good for housing make-up, textbooks, picture frames & cute lamps you bought at good will (Seriously, go get a lamp at goodwill. They’re like $3 and adorable). Your desk just so happens to be the perfect size for one of these:

http://www.staples.com/Brownline-2015-Monthly-Desk-Pad-22-inch-x-17/product_215098?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:215098&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=215098&KPID=215098&kpid=215098&gclid=COLar72asMMCFUQV7AoddnUAIw

And with such a tool, you can map out most of your semester! Upcoming events, dates, concerts, tests, quizzes, will no longer take you by surprise. The only surprise will be how well adjusted you are to the changing semester in only the first few weeks.

‘Reminders’ App

If you’re an iPhone user and you struggle with where to put assignments, open up your Reminders App. It’s one of those apps that you can’t delete off of your phone because Apple is proud of it, and now you can be too! With iCloud, you can transfer homework assignment reminders from your phone to your laptop and read them from both. This is incredibly helpful not only because of the easy access and freedom from handheld homework planners, but also because who doesn’t love the satisfying finger tap checkmark moment, when an assignment disappears before your eyes. It also works as an alert system, and you can click the side of an assignment to add a due date and time so it will remind you to get it done with a friendly beep.