6 Tips for Staying Organized in 2023
A top new year’s resolution for any student has to be to stay organized. You have a huge number of responsibilities — being organized will ensure you never forget an appointment, deadline, shift for work, family member’s birthday, or anything else important. Plus, when you know you’re on track for things like required readings and papers, you’ll be less stressed, reduce the risk of burnout, and have more time for fun activities. However, just deciding you’ll stay organized in 2023 is no good: you need to have a strategy in place to improve your productivity and time management.
1. Create a To-Do List
Keep a to-do list of all the tasks you need to complete. Organize the items on your to-do list in a way that makes sense to you, such as by ordering items by priority or colour-coding them. Make sure you split large projects into smaller tasks to make them less overwhelming.
2. Add Key Dates to Your Calendar
Use a calendar to make a note of your appointments, office hours with professors, due dates for assignments, and all your other commitments. A calendar app, rather than a physical calendar, is likely to be your best option, as you can carry it wherever you go and add new events as they arise.
3. Time-Block Your Schedule
You may think you have enough time for everything you want to do. The best way to check if your schedule is realistic, though, is to time-block. Another advantage of this method is you can consider what you’ll be in the mood to do at different times of the day and days of the week. For instance, if you know you focus better in the afternoons than in the mornings, you could schedule working on papers later in the day. If you have a large number of classes on a particular day, you may like to go easy on homework on that day.
4. Take Digital Notes
It’s difficult to stay organized when you have a large pile of notebooks. The solution is to digitize everything. This will also allow you to add extra information (such as in the form of comments and highlights in different colours), which makes it easier to prepare for exams and search for information.
Whereas the most obvious solution is to take notes with your laptop, if you prefer to write notes by hand, you can always use an app to digitize them. You can also digitize any handouts you receive in class to keep them with your notes — this will also avoid you accumulating binders full of papers.
5. Keep Your Desk Tidy
Beyond making it difficult to find what you’re looking for, clutter impacts your concentration and causes stress. Simply keeping everything where it should be on your desk will help you focus better when you sit down to study. Make sure you include regular decluttering in your schedule to throw out any materials you no longer need.
6. Prepare for Class the Day Before
Pack all the things you need for your classes in advance to avoid a rush in the mornings. You can also use the opportunity to look through the material your class is covering, such as by reading ahead or checking notes you already took. This should aid your understanding of difficult concepts and give you ideas of any questions you may like to ask your professors.
When you’re coming up with ideas for your to-do list for the year, make sure you include searching for student housing you deserve. For Carleton University off-campus housing, there’s no better option than The Revalie. Trade your dorm room for a modern suite with cutting-edge technology, more than 60,000 square feet of onsite amenities and retail options, and an ideal location — close to campus, hiking trails, and the river. Take a virtual tour to check out all The Revalie has to offer.