With the fall semester of classes upon us, college students are gearing up for back to school. There’s dorm necessities to purchase and roommates to find, along with a surplus of books and supplies to acquire. With so much going on, even the most successful college students can forget the most important thing they need to do to prepare: get organized. There are 5 simple steps to getting (and staying) organized during the school year.
1) Know your schedule
Knowing your schedule is not the same thing as knowing when you have class. Knowing your schedule means taking the time to really think about when you work, when you have class, when you are most likely to sit around with your friends, and when you have time to get homework done. If you know your schedule, it is much easier to appropriately plan for homework success. One of the most important keys to successfully completing homework on time is knowing how long the homework will take you and when the best time to do it is.
2) Know when your homework is due
The first thing an organized student does once classes begin is get a copy of the course syllabus so that they know when homework is due. Keeping them all in one folder together makes it easier to take a quick look at the start of the week to know what will need to be collectively completed throughout the week. It also means if you make a trip to the library, everything you need is right there for homework.
3) Download student planner apps
Student planners are becoming less and less frequently used as students depend more on their smartphone and tablets. One big benefit to using an app is that everything you need to know is at your fingertips. A good app will keep track of assignments and their due dates, as well as your class schedule.
The Meridian student planners, for instance, are part of a new generation of 1:1 or BYODs that students can use to organize their busy collegiate lives. A planner keeps your coursework organized, as well as other commitments. With an app, everything is at the touch of your fingers. Students no longer have to worry about forgetting appointments or missing deadlines.
4) Keep a weekly checklist
Many successful students have admitted that one of the best ways to get all homework done in a timely manner is to create a checklist at the start of the week with all homework assignments clearly listed out by due date. There are apps to use that can create the lists for you, such as student planner apps or checklist apps like Color Note. With a checklist, students can quickly and easily see what needs to be done by when, and complete everything on time.
5) Keep reasonable expectations
One of the quickest and surest ways to fail at completing projects on time is to have unreasonable expectations. College life is busy. Some students participate in sports, while others prefer extracurricular activities. While these are all important to building up experience and teamwork skills, keep in mind that they also are an interruption to an otherwise normal study schedule. Keep your expectations for completing assignments reasonable based on your on-campus commitments.
It is important to understand how to organize yourself for college success. The success you find in school leads directly to the success that can be found in the classroom.