2 Methods To Be (Ridiculously) Organized in University

I wrote this guide to staying organize over a year ago, and this morning as I was organizing my schedule for the term it occurred to me this could be uniquely helpful to students who are navigating a full online course load right now do to covid - with unscheduled online classes it can be easy to let time slip away.

I have been using these two methods to help me stay focused for the past four years, and with them I have been able to balance countless co-op searches and a dozen different extracurriculars along with my regular academic schedule.

Method 1: Compiling a list of deadlines and exams for all of your courses in one place.

All of the templates used are available in this google document.

Why use Method 1:

• What stresses me out more than deadlines is losing track of all of them. It's very helpful to have one place to check for upcoming dates than 5 different syllabuses.
• It also helps me identify when there are overlapping assignment due dates early on so I can get ahead of the busier periods.
• I take it a step further by including the weights of each assignment so I can keep that in mind while prioritizing.
• I also figure out a goal mark for each course and then back track to figure out what I need and what is a realistic mark in each assignment to achieve that. It helps keep me accountable to myself- with a column to see how I am doing against it.

Step 1. For each course look at your syllabus and fill in this chart (or your own variation of it).

Step 2. Put them all together.

A) The easiest way to put all of the evaluations into one chart is to have dozens of empty rows in your chart and to dedicate the first dozen to the first month of the semester (i.e. September).

B) Then copy and paste all of Course 1's assignments due in September, then do that for each course in each month (i.e. Course 1's assignments in September, Course 2's assignments in September).

C) Then go back and sort within each month's assignments by specific dates (i.e. Rearrange the order of the rows from September 1-September 30).

Step 3. Keep it Updated

If your professor puts out an announcement that a due date has changed- update your chart! Finished an assignment and got your mark, put it in!

If you want to kick it up a notch- when you get a mark below your goal assignment mark, adjust the goal of your next assignment in that course to keep you on route to your goal course mark.

I also like to grey out assignments passed by making those rows a darker colour, and highlight a big upcoming assignment by making that row a bright colour.

Method 2: Use a calendar.

Why use Method 2:

• By no means is using a calendar an original idea- but Method 2 is all about using your time intentionally. Using my google calendar to map out my time has been an absolute game changer.
• Allocating time for school work in advanced has dramatically reduced my number of panicked all nighters and cramming sessions.
• It's also been helpful beyond just school, its easy to think there is always more time to pick up Friend X's birthday card, or do laundry but looking at your week ahead makes you realize where and when you need to maximize your time.
• I've found colour coding how I spend blocks of my time is just generally helpful. My colour for social activities is pink, and my colour for extracurriculars is purple if I see there is too much of those colours and I also didn't get all my work done in time I can eas
• Realistically you will never stick to your schedule 100%, but what I have found the most helpful about it is that if I skip over a certain work period or going to the gym when I go back to my calendar at the end of the day I know I have to move that task over to another day.

Step 1: Put in your classes, and regularly scheduled appointments.

Having classes in your google calendar will give you a reminder for it X minutes before it. For my first class of the day I have it set to remind me 30 minutes before, and for classes after I'm already on campus I give myself 10 minutes to walk over.

More importantly it makes it easier to schedule appointments, and meetings and reduces the mental burden of trying to remember everything.

Step 2: Find gaps in your schedule to place things you want to do regularly.

An hour and a half break between classes can easily go to waste, but if you allocate that time in your calendar to reading, going to the gym, or using a language learning app like DuoLingo you can maximize that small chunk of time to create a new habit.

Step 3: Put your assignments and important dates into your schedule.

This step is best done at the beginning of the term, I like to go through my chart from Method 1 and put major assignments into my calendar.

Step 4: Consider how much time each assignment or midterm needs and go into your calendar and allocate it.

For me this step is the most important to keeping things in order. It is easy to think that there is always more time- but when I consciously break my time down its clear there isn't.

Of course you'll never be able to stick to the times exactly, but I find when I am conscious that I skipped time I should have been working on an assignment I am sure to make it up later.

Bonus: Put your To Do List in your Calendar

It's easy to make a to do list, but it's often difficult to execute everything on it. I find if I have small tasks, even if they are only 5-15 minutes long it is really helpful for me to put them into my calendar so they do not fall on my radar.

I hope that you had some takeaways from this, please let me know if it works for you - or what modifications you made to make this work for you!

#University #Student #TimeManagement #Organized #HowTo