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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at C Mich chapter.

 

Holiday break is short enough to be a tease, and long enough to leave most students in a funk and make it a lot harder to get back into a productive school routine. The best way to get motivated back into school mode is to start getting organized. Here are five ways to stay organized and ready for a great semester.

  1. Use a planner – This cannot be stressed enough, using a planner is key to making sure you don’t forget deadlines, meetings, events, etc. Once you get started using a planner it will eventually become second nature to immediately write down dates you need to know. Go through your class syllabi and write down the dates for everything ahead of time.
  2. Use three-ring binders  – As convenient as shoving all of your assignments into the tiny folder of your five-subject notebook may be, a three-ring binder will keep you much more organized and keep your notes and papers in better shape. Hole punch important handouts and buy notebook fillers so you never have those fringes on the side of your paper again. Get creative with your binders; find a cool binder template online and label it with a fun font so you know which binder is which. Another plus to three-ring binders is you can save yourself some money and use them the next semester!
  3. Put reminders in your phone – Most phones have a reminder app (if not use the alarm) that you can use to remind yourself of something that HAS to get done at a certain time that you may easily forget about. Even if it’s something like “remember to call mom,” the reminder app is your best friend and has got your back.
  4. Make a to-do list – Every week when Monday rolls around, instead of panicking, make a to-do list for the week and put it somewhere where you’ll see it everyday, like right by your light switch or bedroom door. Use the list to write down assignments that are due or errands that you have to run. Even if you aren’t a “list person,” give it a chance and you won’t regret it.
  5. Plan your study schedule – Figure out the amount of time you have in between classes to study and plan what assignments you’ll do according to how much time you have. Waiting till you’re out of class to figure out what assignments to work on may leave you feeling overwhelmed. It’s always better to understand how much work you have to do during the week, when it’s due, and plan when you’re going to work on each assignment.

 

Use these tips to get yourself organized and hopefully the motivation to study will come naturally…if not, there’s always coffee.

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Beth is a Senior at Central Michigan University. She is majoring in Apparel Merchandising and Design with a minor in Advertising. Beth is an active member of the sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. Her hopes are to be Chicago/LA/NYC bound in the next 2 years, working in the styling or product development area of the fashion industry. An interesting fact about Beth is that she is extremely obsessed with Beyoncé.
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Annie is a junior at Central Michigan University from Plymouth, Mi.  She is majoring in Integrative Public Relations with a minor in Leadership.  Annie is an active member in her sorority Phi Sigma Sigma holding numerous positions within the chapter.  She has a love for travel, food and pets and looks forward to an internship abroad Summer 2013.  Annie loves writing for Her Campus and cannot wait to see this chapter grow to be such a great success! :)