This article was written by Student Social Media Contributor Kiana Benoit, a Graphic Communications Technology Management student. Here are her tips and tricks for staying organized:
Keep a physical planner
Even pre-covid, a physical daily planner has been one of my must-haves for school. The ability to quickly jot something down or check my schedule for the day has always made organization and time management easier, and that is even more important now in the age of online studying.
Many studies have shown that you remember more when you write something down by hand, rather than typing it out. Besides that, I find having a physical copy easier to quickly flip through than opening an application or document on my computer.
Set reminders on your calendar app
While I’m a big fan of planners, there’s no denying that online calendars are definitely handy in this online era. The most useful feature, in my opinion, is the ability to schedule reminders on your computer and phone. Basically, every calendar application has the ability to do this, and you can customize the frequency of the reminders to ensure you are giving yourself enough time to study and submit assignments on time. As a bonus, many calendar apps give you the option to share your events with others, making it much easier to coordinate group projects.
Get assignments done (or started) as early as possible
It sounds obvious, but the best way not to forget about an assignment is to get it finished as soon as possible. I’ve definitely been guilty of my fair share of procrastination; however, I find it’s even more easy to leave things to the last minute with classes being online.
If finishing an assignment isn’t possible, which is the case with many larger projects, I recommend getting a document set up and creating an outline or game plan for that assignment. In my experience, you are much less likely to forget about an assignment if you’ve spent some time planning it out in your mind.
Get school supplies that match your style
Maybe this tip won’t apply for everyone – but it’s crazy how much more likely I am to actually use my planner if I find it aesthetically pleasing! There’s something about supplies that work well and look good that really motivates me to use them more. I find if I have a good quality notebook that I am more likely to make the effort to write my notes out clearly and legibly, which makes studying easier later.