College students, how do you stay organized?

[Bunches 81]

A member of another forum I frequent asked this question and I thought I'd pose it to you all as well. How do you stay organized while taking a full load of courses in college?

 

I'm in school part time right now and working full time, but plan on going to school full time in the fall. Because school is only part time for me right now, most of stress comes from balancing finances. Right now I am actually looking for a planner that would work for me to keep track of school, finances, work, everything in one place. I'm pretty forgetful which is a huge problem sometimes!

I had a fantastic planner in middle school (when I didn't really need one lol) that was perfect, but I can't find them now. I've been looking for something like this, but in a kawaii style. Impossible to find. Maybe they are considered old school now, idk. Oh well.

Sorry to go off topic! XD As far as school goes, I always begin my assignments the same day that they are assigned. If I have enough time, I complete it. If I don't, I just begin it even if all I have is 10 minutes to read over the assignment again. That way I have mentally begun it and it becomes more difficult to forget about the assignment. I also do all of the readings assigned for my classes ahead of time, take notes in class, and then that evening read over all of my notes. That way, by the time the exam comes around, I have been studying all along and am prepared. No cramming or heavy study sessions necessary. I already know the material.

The most advice I can give is do not get behind. School is always a priority over anything else because you only get one shot at it. If I need to take a day off of work, I do. Financially that is very taxing, but if I have to for school, I will. It is worth it in the long run, atleast for me where I am right now in my life.

 

How do you all manage a full load of college courses? Any study or organizational tips?

[MelancholicMemory 2,025]

I do everything the day it is assigned if I can at the beginning of the year. I tend to get behind though near the end of the semester, so I begin to act like a normal college student and just get everything done on the weekends. It is good to read everything ahead of the time and get any side requirements out of the way first. Most importantly, the library is your friend. I get so much done when I spend a day in the library. Other than that, try to be neat with your stuff so you don't lose anything.

[Mutemutt 773]

To do lists. Lots of To do lists.

 

I tend to tend to stick to a very loose schedule system for getting things done. I split up the workload of the amount of days I have to work on it -- for work that requires practice, pretty much anything that uses math, I set a number of questions/ problems to finish before the day ends. For the memorization type of studies, I set an amount of time to study for that day. Once I finish something on the to do list, I check it off; it doesn't seem like it, but that's a very important step. Separating the workload into small chunks is more manageable for me since I'm pretty susceptible to study burnout.  

 

As for physically organizing things... well, I'm not all that organized. It's never that hard to find what I'm looking for though, everything has its "stack" for the most part 

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

In all honest...I don't. I guess you can say I have a state of organized chaos when it comes to school work. I'm kinda in that "due tomorrow = do tomorrow" mindset. I guess I'm lucky that a lot of my classes revolve around intense classroom work instead of homework or else I'd be screwed.

 

I do keep reminders and notes on my phone and tablet, though. Those help.

[Descant 1,897]

I don't. It's as simple as that.

 

I am very disorganized. And honestly, I'm a pretty bad college student. There are times that I just forget to do my work. 

 

Very similar in mindset to AtomicBassCannon up there. Organized Chaos? That sounds about right. Procrastination? Right up my alley.

 

I typically use my iPhone's Calendar and Reminder apps to try and keep things together, but I think I'm going to get a whiteboard and keep a schedule up on that for next year. Maybe that will work better.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Glaceon

[Avatar tag: shipping 299]

For me, I keep the mindset that everything is due the next day. Fluid replacement research paper due in a week? EKG rhythm strips memorized in a month? In my mind its due next class period. It allows me to keep on top of everything and not let stuff fall through the cracks. It's a pain in the ass to do it this way but you gotta keep your eyes in the prize to survive college.

[Evilshy 5,090]

I don't have to do much. My university is really good about each class having an online area where the teachers update stuff, and half my classes are 100% online anyway, so I just check the site every afternoon to see if anything has changed.

 

As for personal stuff, organized chaos. My desk is a mess, but I know where everything is. If there's something important in a few days, it goes into my calender so I don't get the time wrong.

 

REALLY important stuff that I'm scared I'll forget about goes directly onto my arm in permanent marker