By:  Autumn Jager     

Staying Organized (Part 2)

Let’s face it- the last week has been ROUGH. Whether it’s just that time of the semester, the weather, or the fact that Mercury is in retrograde, this may have been one of the most difficult weeks I’ve had this semester. I’ve been forced to confront the fact that I fell a bit behind (oops) in just about every area of my life- my jobs, class, laundry, even text messages. Today, I caught up on the readings that I hadn’t finished and turned in the papers that I forgot about, and then I spent a few hours re-evaluating my system for keeping track of everything I need to do. Clearly, something wasn’t working. 3 hours later, I’m caught up and feeling a lot better. After talking to some friends about our struggle to stay motivated and organized this week, I put together this list of the methods we use to stay on top of things!

Level 1 (for those of us who basically have no conscious way of staying organized- seriously, I’m not sure how do you even do that??)

• Sticky notes
  • There are multiple options for sticky notes- you can get a variety of colors, and there are both digital and physical options. 
• Putting all of your necessary documents in one place
  • I have a file folder that I keep physical copies of all of my important documents in.
  • Creating folders on your computer is a really good way to digitally organize your documents as well. 
• Getting up at the same time every day (and going to bed around the same time too!)
  • Sounds simple, but having a set schedule makes it a lot easier to stay organized and on top of everything!

Level 2 (for those of us who usually manage to remember everything but could definitely use some extra help)

• Alarms
  • Set alarms for important things that you need to have completed by a certain time! This works especially well for things you need to do consistently.
• Google Drive (or some kind of similar platform)
  • Google Drive is a really good way to organize your assignments and other important documents. They’re also easily accessible both offline and online!
• Calendar
  • There are both physical and digital options for this one as well! Choose what works best for you.
• Planner
  • A simple weekly planner or even a notebook works well for this! 

Level 3 (for those of you who, like me, took on no less than 27 different things this semester when I probably should have stuck with 4)

• To Do List/Planner (but like, a LEGIT one)
  • There are a lot of options for this. I use an app that syncs to both my phone and computer, so I can constantly access and update my to do list. It also allows me to set and change due dates easily.
• Self Care/Time to Recharge (scheduled, of course)
  • When I get extremely busy, I start scheduling time to do things like relax, shower, and watch some Netflix, even if it’s for 30 minutes. It’s important to give yourself time to recharge!
• Ask for help (lol I write this knowing that this is literally the last thing I EVER do when it should be like the 5th thing I try)
  • Asking for help is really difficult for me, but I’m working on it. When I start to get overwhelmed, I look at my list and ask myself if I actually need to be the person doing all of the things on my list. Are there things that I can (and should) delegate to other people?

Part 1