5 Tips to Stay Organized in College

High school to college is a big transition for any student, and often it feels overwhelming to make sense of your own class schedule, your own living space, and your own time. By staying organized as a student, you won’t feel like you’re just keeping your head above water, and you’ll be able to enjoy your college experience all the more. Here are five ways (and their benefits) you can be more organized:

Organize Your Classes Effectively

As a college student, organization within your classes is essential to your academic success. Maintaining structure in this area of your life will not only improve your grades, but increase your efficiency and improve your wellbeing.

To maintain organization in your classes and schedule, many students choose to use a physical planner or calendar app to keep track of their day-to-day. Others like to use to-do lists to monitor their assignments, but I recommend a mixture of these. If your lists tend to get lost, there are list-making apps accessible on your phone that might be easier for you to keep track of. 

As an alternative to a generic online calendar or notes app, there are apps intended for students to input their class schedule and receive notifications about their assignments (try MyStudyLife or myHomework). Some colleges use a college-wide app that have similar features, so keep an eye out if your school offers a comparable option.

Keep class handouts and physical papers in their separate folders, and use Google Drive (or OneDrive for Microsoft users) folders to keep your electronic assignments organized. 

Ultimately, what you need is something to keep all of your assignments and their due dates in one place. I prefer keeping a weekly color-coded to-do list, and using my calendar app to know where I’m supposed to be and when. That doesn’t work for everyone, and it may or may not work for you. It’s about developing a toolbox of organizational skills so you feel confident in your academic path. 

Keep Your Dorm/Living Space Clean

Keeping your living space clean improves productivity, relieves stress, and improves mental and physical health overall.

This was the moment your parents were preparing you for: cleaning your room. This area (after the excitement of move-in settles) might start to become overlooked by you and your roommate, and its cleanliness and your mental health will both start to suffer. Research suggests that cleaning and living in a clean environment improves productivity, relieves stress, and improves mental and physical health overall. The importance and benefits of keeping your living space organized outweigh the inconvenience of having to clean it, so here are some ways you can do so:

• Don’t let messes or chores accumulate. When your laundry basket is getting full, don’t wait until you have to do four loads to just get back on track. By staying on top of things before they get out of hand, you won’t feel so overwhelmed by doing the task in the first place.

• Create To-Do Lists. As a lover of the to-do list, this is something that works very well for me, and many others as well. Yours might look something like:
  • Laundry, Put Laundry Away
  • Vacuum Rug, Sweep Floors
  • Take Out Garbage
  • Wash Dishes
  • Make Bed
  • Disinfect Surfaces
• Schedule a day to get things done. Some students have a specific day that they want to (or have time to) clean their living space. A “Sunday Reset” can be great if you can stay on that schedule. Others might just clean as-needed, and both are fine options.

• If you have a roommate, talk about how you intend to share the workload of keeping things clean, and know that it’s okay to talk to them if things aren’t following the agreed-upon standards. It benefits the both of you. 

The cleanliness of your room is often a reflection of your mental health and emotional well-being. If you find your room a mess, ask yourself why. Reflect on your mental health, reflect on your organization, and reflect on your time management strategies, and see how you can improve your quality of living. 

Manage Your Time Wisely

Time management is how you coordinate your academics, your athletics and clubs, and your free time. It’s not only getting to class on time, but being able to meet deadlines, prioritize, and get things done efficiently. 

Start by using a calendar app or physical planner to know your schedule. If you tend to be forgetful, you can use reminders in your calendar app, and set alarms for when you need to leave places. 

It’s then important to prioritize. Do this with both your schedule and in your daily tasks, and you’ll be better off for it. To prioritize you need to:

• Create a task list: Recognize everything that needs to be done, when it’s due, its importance, how long it will take, etc. 
• Determine your technique of prioritization: You might choose to get the important things done first, or maybe you prefer to get the easiest or hardest things out of the way. It helps to keep in mind due dates and importance when prioritizing.
• Apply these to your calendar or to-do list.

Then, it’s a matter of actually getting the things done. Procrastination is a term that comes up a lot in reference to time management, and it often comes from lack of confidence, lack of motivation, or mental health disorders (such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, or OCD). Combating procrastination can feel daunting, but by defining your motivation, minimizing distractions, and setting attainable goals or even steps, getting your work done doesn’t feel like a chore.

Use Campus Resources

Your college provides resources for you academically and with your wellbeing in mind. They are a great support system for you in your organizational path. Here are a couple for you to keep in mind:

• Writing Center: Get feedback on your papers and assignments, even if you do or don’t feel confident in them. You might also use them to help you get started on a paper or topic you’re having trouble with, and they can help you draft an outline.
• Tutoring: Speaking from experience, go to a tutor if you don’t understand something even the slightest bit. High school to college classes are a big transition, and you don’t want to spend money to struggle your way through a class when you could take some time and have the material taught to you in a different way. Many colleges offer free tutoring with peers who have taken the class, and it’s a huge recourse for any student.
• Financial Aid: While it might not be in your day-to-day task list, keeping your financial aid organized is important. Be sure to reach out to your school’s financial aid office with any questions; I also recommend researching need-to-know info for you to master the financial aid process.
• Counseling Services: As there are clear links between organizational skills and mental health, it’s important that both are well taken care of. Please reach out to your school’s counseling services if this interests you.
• Career Services: Your school’s career center will have professionals in this area to help guide you to your chosen path, or help you make some decisions about what that path might be. They are also a great resource when looking for jobs or internships, and having a goal or a plan for the future is an important way to stay organized in your college career.
• Advisors: Talk to your advisor to have a plan for the future in terms of what classes you want to and need to take for graduation. By having a plan, you can begin to organize this aspect of your time in college, and take some weight off your shoulders.

Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Akin to prioritizing, creating a work-school-life balance is essential for any student. With so much going on, it’s easy to sacrifice any one thing from that title, but each is important in its own way. By prioritizing your needs, knowing your responsibilities and limits, and staying organized in all aspects of your college life, you will be able to maintain this healthy balance.