How to Stay Organized in College

It is possible that you had grand ideas about how to organize college. Your best intentions may have been to organize college, but your organization plans seemed to fall apart. How can you keep organized for the long haul ahead?

Although there are many things to do between the first and last day of classes, it is much easier to stay organized at college than you might imagine. You can make staying organized part of your daily routine with a little planning and the right skills. You may also pay for dissertation to free your time and make it more organized.

You can try different time management systems

Don’t get too hard on yourself if you tried to make a fancy new calendaring app work this semester but it didn’t work out. This is not a sign that you are bad at managing time. You can keep trying until you find the right time management system. If that means you have to use a traditional paper calendar, then so be it. A calendar is essential for staying organized in college’s chaos.

Make sure your dorm room is clean

You had to clean your bedroom when you lived at home. You can make your dorm as messy or clean as you like now that you are in college. Wrong! It’s not as absurd as it sounds. A messy dorm can be a mess in college. A clean living space can make it easier to focus mentally and prevent you from getting lost again.

It doesn’t take much time to keep your space clean. This will allow you to have clean clothes in the morning, know where your FAFSA forms are, and always have your phone charged. You might feel like keeping your dorm space clean is a waste of time. Spend one-week recording how much time it takes to keep it clean, and another week recording how much time you spend searching for things or recovering from what you lost (like the FAFSA form). You might surprise yourself.

Keep on top of your responsibilities

You can choose to do one of these four things when faced with any situation that may relate to your college life responsibilities:

• Do it
• It is best to schedule it
• It is best to toss it
• It should be filed

For example, arguing with mom about when you’ll fly home over the next month will take 10 times as long as if you just give her dates whenever she brings it up. If you’re not sure, pick a date by which you can be certain and add it to your calendar. You won’t need to tell your mom, she’ll let you go, you’ll get something done on your list, and you won’t spend so much time thinking about how to make Thanksgiving happen.

Spend time each week reorganizing

Because you have a great mind, college is the right place for you. Put it to good use outside of school! Your mind is like a well-tuned athlete. Each week you are learning, expanding, and strengthening. What worked for you a month ago may not work anymore. Take a moment to look at what you have done and what you need to do in the coming weeks. Although it might seem like a waste, these precious minutes could save you a lot of time and help you organize your future.

Make a plan to stay ahead

Everybody knows the student who says, “Oh, no, I can’t do that then. I’ll be up all day cramming for a midterm.” Really? That is planning to be chaotic! You need to plan for everything. You should plan for a major event. You should plan ahead if you know that you have major papers due. You’ll be able to stay on top of your tasks and organized by having it on your calendar.

Take care of your mental, emotional, and physical health

It can be difficult to be in college, and not only academically. It will soon catch up to you if you don’t eat well, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and treat yourself with kindness. It’s difficult to stay organized and keep your mind sharp if you lack mental, physical, and emotional energy. Give yourself some TLC, and remember that your health is crucial to achieving your college goals.