How I Stay Organized as a College Student – Tips & Habits

Over the years, I have discovered what are the things that help me have a successful start to a new semester. These are all pieces of advice that have personally worked for me, making it easier for me to stay as organized as possible. These points prevent me from falling behind in school, and also keeping a clear and uncluttered mind. Also, applying these habits into my life has positively affected other areas of my life since everything is connected, just like dominoes falling.

Creating a routine that works for me. 

The number one thing that has helped me begin a new semester feeling totally organized has been creating a routine around when I will do my schoolwork and staying consistent with it. I had to find what works best for me depending on what else I have had going on in my life and outside of school. I do this by finding the spaces of time where I will fit in time for schoolwork and studying. I usually pick specific hours of the day during the week and save those time frames specifically for school-related tasks. If I have classes in the morning, I organize myself and plan to do assignments after those classes end, in the afternoon. And, if I have classes during the afternoon, I will usually do the assignments in the morning before I head to the lecture. In general, I always prefer to work on my assignments as early as I can during the day. Working on assignments and doing schoolwork super late at night definitely does not work for me. I think that discovering what times of the day you do your best work and have the most energy to complete assignments is something interesting and a hack to make the task you complete easier for you. 

Getting a planner/agenda. 

Having a planner that I can keep with me at all times is one of my favorite things I do to stay organized for school and for keeping everything else going on in my life under control. I use my planner not only for school-related things, but for my entire life in general. In the end, I find that if things outside of school are not organized first and foremost, then everything that is school related becomes even more challenging to put in order. I have avoided using the super big planners that are out there because of practicality. I use the smaller ones that are easier to fit in a purse/bookbag since I try to take it everywhere with me. I know that nowadays you can pretty much do any of this stuff on your laptop, or in an app, but I have tried to use those before, and I always go back to using the actual planner. The beauty of having a planner is that not even the tiniest detail from something important in my life goes unnoticed. I have everything I need to know and remember in there. I end up putting everything that my life revolves around in my planner, and it gives me an immense feeling of being organized. 

Getting the necessary amount of sleep. 

To be as energized and awake as possible during class lectures, I like to aim towards getting eight to ten hours of sleep every night. This means going to sleep early, which is usually before eleven o’clock for me. Practicing healthy habits beforehand, such as reading a book or having a cup of tea (caffeine-free), helps with this! How much sleep I get determines what my morning will be like when I wake up, which then sets the tone for the rest of my day. Keeping my sleep schedule on track is very important for me and definitely makes a big difference.  

Pretty stationary. 

Who else loves to buy cute stationery and school supplies? I definitely do, and I see it as a great way to feel motivated. This would include getting the cutest possible notebooks, pens, binders, pastel highlighters, etc. They make me feel excited about using them, while at the same time being tools to stay prepared and organized. I have found most of these in Target like these highlighters or pens I recently bought, or this binder I have used in the past.  

Reviewing lectures after a class. 

In order to stay completely up to date with what is going on in a class and what is being taught, after a class ends, I like to sit down at my desk and go over the notes I took, or PowerPoint slides of that lecture. By doing this, I am reinforcing once again what was discussed. I review what was just talked about in the lecture, and it helps in not getting lost or overwhelmed with the class content, while developing a clear understanding of the topic. Leaving a class and totally forgetting about what a professor just talked about is super easy, so reviewing helps the content “stick.” I do not do anything that complicated and simply just reading over the information that was talked about, either in the textbook or the notes I took, does the trick for me.  

Setting time aside for breaks. 

I like to schedule several small breaks depending on what I might be doing to clear my mind for a few moments from schoolwork and studying. When studying for a big test, I’ll maybe schedule small breaks of 10 to 15 minutes. I schedule these breaks maybe five times throughout the time I spend studying. Sometimes I’ll schedule less or more depending on how long my study session is. I stop looking at any type of screen completely, and I’ll go outside and take a walk. Then once I return, it’s like magic. I feel re-energized and more focused than before. 

Finding my own study system. 

I have had to figure out how I will study for exams, what helps me, and what does not. I have come up with my own system of what truly works for me when studying. Something I love to do that makes studying easier is the “blurting” method. It is where you read a piece of information from a textbook, then you write down everything you remember from what you just read. Another thing that I like to do is “study” the quizzes that I take throughout a class, which can in turn help with actual exams. I do this by taking notes about the questions asked, what answers I got right, and which ones I need to focus on more. Another fun and useful way to study is to create your own practice exams and test yourself. These are examples of how you can discover your own studying system. Because after all, aren’t exams what it all comes down to in college? 

Having a firm start on all my classes. 

Most of all, at the beginning of every semester, I like to have a steady and firm start to all of my classes. This is a crucial factor for me in being successful. It may seem obvious or simple, yet once you start to fall behind in a class it is much more challenging to get back to where you left off.  

Overall, I truly believe that consistency is the main ingredient in all of this. Being consistent with finishing assignments before a due date, being prepared, being aware of future deadlines, or asking a professor whenever you do not understand something. I think having a good start to the semester comes down to clarity, and always being consistent when implementing new habits.  

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• habits
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