Written by Liz Skinner, Director of Business Affairs
Keeping yourself organized and on track when you are beyond stressed is a talent, but it’s definitely something that you can teach yourself.
Being an organized person isn’t a trait you have or don’t; it’s truly an acquired skill that you hold onto for the rest of your life. There are many ways of being organized that can work for you such as writing it down, putting it in your phone or an app, or using a planner are all different forms of knowing what you must do for the day. Checking items that I have done off a list and keep moving forward is the most satisfying technique to me. With that being said what I have learned for me is to make lists and check them off as I go. Trying different ways of organization will help you better recognize what works best for yourself daily.
The first way I keep myself organized is by using a physical planner book. It may seem as though it is over the top and why would you need one if you know your classes and everything is on canvas? Well not only might you have daily classes but internships, meetings, and work too. Each day these events can pile up very quickly and make it challenging to remember what you must do each day. I write my schedule out on a monthly handwritten calendar that tells me what time I have everything to do. Then when I flip the page there is a larger daily section where I can write my homework and other tasks I must do on that specific day. This really helps me with staying in line and not overbooking myself.
The second way I keep myself organized is by writing out everything and anything that comes to mind that I must do. By mimicking this you can get into the grove of checking off a list of personal work that might not be as important, but you would like to get done. On this list I will add things from cleaning the bathroom to not forgetting to email that professor back. Simple things that can get lost in the day to day when you get busy. But when these things come to mind it is helpful to write them down, so you don’t forget about it later.
There are endless possibilities of learning how to stay organized, you can color coat your classes, set daily routines, putting things away after you use them and many more ways that can help you to check those tasks off one at a time.
Happy organizing!
Happy Valley Comm 