Have you ever felt like a million different things are bouncing around in your head and you don’t know which one to prioritize? Or, have you felt distracted by items surrounding your space? If you haven’t, I’d like to know your secrets. But if you have, I completely understand! In college, especially, it can become pretty overwhelming to keep, not just your desk organized (with all those notebooks and pens), but also your assignments, due dates, and extracurriculars.
As I entered college and quickly realized how self-sufficient you had to be when it came to classes and homework, I knew I needed a much more efficient and organized approach to my mental and physical space. I’d already been using a planner since high school, but I was honestly starting to feel overwhelmed with all the information I had to remember for each class, alongside structuring my schedule while managing extracurriculars… To add to this stress, I was still figuring out where to put everything in my dorm! While I’m definitely not perfect still, there are some methods I’ve decided to incorporate to feel lighter on a mental and physical level.
Digital and Physical Decluttering
For me, I kind of wanted to feel as if I was “starting fresh”. I decided to spend some time taking note of all the drawers, shelves, and cabinets in my dorm, as well as the different spaces. Then, I mentally assigned what they would either store or contain: for example, I designated the bottom shelf of a three-shelf to stand as the one that would have all my “bathroom” and vanity items. After doing this, I pretty much reorganized a majority of the things I had dumped into the room during move-in day into their respective areas based on what category they fell under.
I hope this doesn’t sound too complicated. It does take a bit of time, especially if you have a lot of things laying around, but it’s mainly just about having clear spaces/areas for your belongings rather than leaving them cluttered haphazardly!
Digitally, I wanted to try deleting all my unnecessary photos, apps, and notes on my phone. I’m still working on this because I have so much, but taking a few minutes daily to do this has helped clear my phone out significantly! I also created separate folders for different files on my computer (For example, I have a folder called “School Things” for any class documents, a “Work/Job” one for things like resumes, etc.), which has shown to be a much better system for me than just putting everything in “Documents”.
Utilizing Storage Boxes, Drawers, and Cabinets
Going back to the previous topic of dorm/room organization, I can’t emphasize enough how much buying storage boxes and using my available drawers helped me clean up my space!
Their main benefit, at least to me, is that they can keep a cluster of items in a more enclosed, secure area. Plus, you can also use a color-coding system if you want since there’s such a large variety of boxes and containers. I personally bought the storage boxes I have now from Target for around $10! Other great options include Staples and The Container Store (though pricier). For drawers, my roommate actually gifted me a really cute one also from Target ($22)! Of course, using these storage units isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, I found them to be very valuable when cleaning up my dorm.
Take Advantage Of a Planner
Planners have pretty much been my saviors, both in the academic and personal parts of my life. Without them, I’d feel like all my thoughts were crammed in my head and I’d probably forget a lot of things honestly.
Planners are great in how they help you write down and keep track of assignments, deadlines, and important dates (exams, meetings, work, etc.). They often include weekly and monthly spreads that also give you a clear vision of what the week or month looks like. I personally have been using a Day Designer planner but there are many other good brands out there!
Usually, I try to roughly plan out my week on Sunday by going on my Canvas class page, seeing the assignments for the week, and writing them into my planner, along with any accompanying deadlines. After outlining my academic stuff, I then outline more “personal” stuff (ex. piano practice, article writing).
Use The Power of Categorizing
This honestly applies more if you’re someone who enjoys making lists! An example would be making a list of goals; in the past, I would have my goals put in one big list without distinction. There’s nothing wrong with this method, but I personally found that splitting my goals into categories such as “Career/Academic”, “Passions/Interests”, and other groups helped me feel more aligned and focused compared to when I crammed them all into a single long list.
Other lists where I’ve found categorizing to be useful include packing lists, extracurricular tracking lists (ex. clubs, volunteering, paid work), and project tracking lists (such as designating a project as either art, writing, or music related). I don’t normally categorize every single list I make, because let’s be honest, some things don’t really need to be so structured.
When it comes to the power of categorizing, I try to use it carefully so I don’t overcomplicate things! Still, organizing the lists that I feel would be better organized has been an immense help in making me feel less overwhelmed and scattered!
Create Routines
Finally, making small routines for morning and evening has helped me ease any mental strain at the beginning and end of my day… Again, I try not to add too many things into my morning and evening routines (though this works for some people); my evening routine mainly consists of reviewing my planner, setting up my bed, setting my alarm, and brushing my teeth. Similarly, my current morning routine involves making my bed, checking my planner, and getting dressed for the day. Though these actions are small, knowing the general sequence of my morning and evening routines has helped make the beginning and end of my day almost automatic. Basically, these routines can become habits: lightening your mental load so you can focus on other things!
So, those are five methods that have helped organize my mind and space! As with any “tip” article, it’s important to remember that different things work for different people. I can’t guarantee that all these methods will work for your preferences, but I sincerely hope one of them is valuable!
Happy organizing!