{"id":67061,"date":"2021-09-24T11:18:37","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T09:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/?p=67061"},"modified":"2023-07-20T14:30:38","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T12:30:38","slug":"tips-to-stay-organized-at-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/en\/blog\/tips-to-stay-organized-at-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to Stay Organized at University"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tips<\/p>\n

At University, students encounter a combination of educational and social elements. Finding a good balance to a heavy workload and experiencing the student culture requires planning and organization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the number of things University students have to think about such as adjusting to campus life, organizing class schedules, keeping track of submission deadlines, and spending time with friends or club members on the weekend, it\u2019s good practice to develop a system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"student<\/p>\n

Best Practice Tips on How to Stay Organized at University<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Pop<\/a><\/p>\n

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Keep a study diary<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t let the word \u201cdiary\u2019\u201d deter you. Having a study diary or journal is simply a dedicated notebook for collecting important information. Use it to jot down everything and anything important such as submission deadlines, classroom numbers, or even the contact information of your professors.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main purpose of a study diary is to store the necessary information to help keep you organized. Paperless alternatives include using <\/span>note apps<\/span><\/a> or saving a Word document on your laptop. Regardless of the type of tool you use, keeping a study diary is one of the easiest ways to stay organized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Have a filing system\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In most cases, students receive tons of paperwork from welcome packs at orientation week, course outlines for each class, to individual handouts for group projects. Rather than throwing all of the paperwork into your backpack, keep your handouts organized by having a filing system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Store your coursework by category in folders or use dividers in binders to keep your lecture notes from your chemistry and history class separate. Colour-coded folders for each class make it easier to look up information when panic-writing an essay or when it comes to revising for upcoming exams. In doing so, your paperwork is organized, even categorized, and you haven\u2019t turned your backpack into a trash can.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizing your electronic data is just as important as keeping your paperwork categorized. Create separate folders on your laptop to store drafts of your essays, all the course powerpoints, and other documents like the monthly lunch menu.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Develop a routine\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Being organized isn\u2019t just about organizing your personal belongings, but also about self-discipline and being consistent. To encourage yourself to stay organized, developing a routine is a good start. By following a routine or habits that enable you to establish a productive workflow, hard decisions will become easier.<\/span><\/p>\n

When developing a routine, it\u2019s important to determine what your goals are. Knowing why you incorporated a morning run into your daily routine or reminding yourself of the impact that studying in the library has on your grades, help encourage you to maintain your routine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, develop a personalized routine that suits your requirements, supports your workflow, and motivates you to stay consistent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Write to-do lists (and stick to them!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A classic and simple, yet extremely effective technique to staying organized is to write to-do lists. This is because to-do lists include various benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, to-do lists serve as reminders. With a glance, your to-do list gives you an overview of the things you need to do and can even indicate the importance of each task.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing down tasks requires focus and perception to analyze the importance of specific tasks as well as the time required for task completion. Using sticky notes or small notepads help you condense your to-dos to the most important tasks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip: List tasks in order of priority so you can do things in a logical order. You can use the <\/span>Eisenhower Matrix<\/span><\/a> to help you categorize your tasks. Another option is to order your tasks by complexity. You can then methodically tick off the hardest or simplest tasks first.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a><\/p>\n

Lastly, crossing off an item on your to-do list brings a sense of satisfaction, which, in most cases, can boost your motivation. When planning project deadlines, you can use to-do lists to break down your project to-dos into subtasks. Tracking your progress not only keeps you organized, but can also alleviate your workload, and even eliminate stress when the end of the semester is around the corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Time management\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Time management is a key skill to develop as a student. Organizing your coursework materials takes care of half the problem – the other half being the part where you have to learn all of the material.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few simple study hacks to help make studying more efficient. Knowing what type of learner you are is a good start. Perhaps you learn best independently or work better when you\u2019re part of a study group. Either way, determining the conditions and requirements that suit your learning style best help you in the long run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, choose a location that encourages you to hit the books. Your dedicated study location could be the library, your desk at home, or maybe you enjoy studying at a caf\u00e9. Regardless of the location, make sure to get rid of any distractions before diving into deep work. This helps keep you focused and enables you to work efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n\r\n