With midterms time upon us, it is important to stay on top of the various activities and assignments that fill your busy schedule. Before you find yourself lost in the semester, consider how you can effectively manage everything you are involved in. Staying organized is the key to many students’ success. As someone that people may consider “over involved” I have come up with my own system to ay on top of my busy schedule. Here are some tips you will also find useful!

Write Everything Down
  • Keeping everything written in one location, whether it is a planner or your phone calendar will keep you up to date on the busy days you have coming down the road! You don’t want to double book meetings the weekend before your big accounting midterm!
  • Writing things down will probably also help you remember them, without having to reference a syllabus every night to check your reading assignments.
  • I always feel more accomplished at the end of a task when I can cross it out in my planner. There is nothing like crumpling up my “URGENT” sticky note and throwing it away

 

Prioritize
  • No matter how organized you are, there will come a time where you feel overwhelmed. We all have a lot going on in our busy lives, so remember you are not alone. Take a deep breath. Vent to someone who is willing to listen.
  • When you are ready to sit down and get started on what looks like will be an all-nighter, write down each assignment in order of importance. Delegate an amount of time you will be spending on each task that will not only allow you to do a good job on the assignment, but also will allow you to get a good night’s sleep.
  • Although schoolwork is important, do not always prioritize it above other things you care about. Don’t forget the importance of clubs, your friends, and your own health when you schedule your busy days.

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    Take Time for the "Little Things"
    • Someone told me that by not making your bed every morning you are allowing chaos into your life and I could not agree more. The little things like making your bed start turning into big things like leaving clothes all over your room.
    • Staying organized may seem tedious, but it is essential to maintaining a healthy stress level. You will be less productive in a messy room. If you are unsure where all of your problem sets are for a class, you are likely to feel more stressed about it. Take some time every week to recoup and make sure you are organized. It may seem silly or like a waste of time, but it is the little things that will make the rest of your semester slightly less stressful.

    Staying organized can be the key to stress prevention. No matter how many activities we have on our plates, it can be difficult to give 100% to any of them if we’re too overwhelmed to concentrate. Remember, it’s important to take time for you! Just setting aside 15 minutes a day to de-compress can do wonders for your stress level. Take deep breaths!