Organization is a central aspect of time building time management skills, yet many college students still reject the very idea. My mother was ridiculously organized. Everything was filed away, the cups had to be put away in a certain order, and my bedroom was never clean enough. Arranging my belongings to her criteria was taxing, and at some point I gave up on trying to appease her and did my own thing. "Everything has it's place" was her motto, but my idea of where the cups "belonged" always clashed with her own. If my experience was anything like yours I understand why you're repelled. When I moved to Coe, I was free to explore how I wanted to organize and learned the true beauty of creative freedom. I've compiled a short list to help you learn to organize, because it is an active skill, and the methods you use will change depending on their purposes.
The Magic of Google Calendar
If you are not currently using Google Calendar, stop what you are doing and open it. Using your Coe email you can sync with any other calendar associated with a gmail account. For example, I keep important Coe events and my class schedule in my Coe calendar, and sync it with my personal email to prevent scheduling conflicts. Any club or organization emails can create their own calendar with set dates and share with members - everyone's up to date. You can set not only the date, but time and location as well. On top of all of this, you can color code the events. When syncing, the calendars will automatically change color to prevent confusion. Reminders will buzz your phone and any smart devices to remind you of your commitments, and you can can set goals for yourself to create better habits.
Use a Personal Planner
Throughout high school, we would be given "assignment notebooks" to record our homework. The lines were always too big to fit all the homework I received in certain classes, so I had to expand into other sections. Eventually, I was bored having to carry the bulky thing around and used random notebooks to record the homework instead. I see now, as a 19-year-old, that they were trying to instill in us organization skills. Most students didn't use the notebooks, but this was two years ago so take my memory with a grain of salt. Since coming to college, I've learned of the beauty that is personal planners. They come in all sizes, and typically follow one school year. The one I own was only $9, but the one I had last year was $25. The ones where you can change the paper (college-rules, graph, dots) go for around $40.
Keep it Simple
Stationary and technology go hand in hand, but many students have found it easier to use only one. For some, a physical calendar is all they need to check dates, and a regular notebook can be used to record assignments. Others prefer to design their own planner using Excel or their computer's personal calendar. As long as you're using something to document dates, times, and locations you should be fine. Although, remember that what works for some may have the opposite effect on you, so explore all your options and decide for yourself how you want to stay (or become) organized.
Helpful Hints:
If you want more help using Google Calendar click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment