Staying organized can be difficult, especially in college with so much going on and seemingly little time to spare. With the semester becoming packed with midterms and classes getting busier, keeping everything sorted is the only way to maximize the little time left of this school year and make the most of your experience here at Vanderbilt. This guide outlines some of the easiest and most effective ways to stay organized with school and obligations, allowing for more time to enjoy Nashville and be with friends.

Planning your bag

Removing the things from your bag that you don’t need for each specific day can keep your belongings organized and purposeful. When you open your bag, instead of seeing a jumbled mess of all of your items, you can visually see a functional plan. Also, the process of unpacking and repacking each day forces you to think through the entire day’s schedule, helping to avoid forgetting tasks. As a bonus, it will also give you the chance to eliminate trash and sort any loose papers that may be left in there. 

Using a planner and calendar

Writing by hand often helps you remember what you are writing. Seeing the entire week on one page allows for a better sense of scheduling and ease when planning ahead. Also, crossing off tasks on paper provides a gratifying feeling that helps to motivate you to complete them.

Using a calendar may seem somewhat basic as a suggestion, but fully planning out each day will ensure you do not miss anything. The YES schedule page has a button to instantly transfer all classes to the Apple or Google calendar, and from there you can add meetings, study times and outings to visualize how much free time you may have on a given day. To go to the extreme, consider including how long it takes to walk to your destination to get even more exact. 

Finding a place

Almost everyone has been told that working in the same room as where you sleep harms both productivity and sleep quality. If you follow this concept, however, it can be hard to stay organized when you do not have a consistent place to complete everything, given that many students live in dorm rooms. While it can be helpful that Vanderbilt has such an abundance of places to study, the constant search for a place to work wastes time and makes it hard to lock into what is on your planner. By choosing one place to go every time you work, a habit will form that will inspire you to be productive every time you return to that place. 

Sorting notes

If you take notes on an iPad or laptop, commit some time to creating as many folders as you can justify. The seeming maze of folders in your files will prevent the loss of important notes. Consider sorting things by midterm or by unit, depending on the structure of the class. In the unlikely case that you have so many folders you can no longer find a certain file, make sure everything is named in a way that you can easily search for it. If your notes are on paper, the same concept can still apply. In a notebook, sticking a colored tab at the start of each section will prevent the need to flip through pages to find something. Then, you can even help yourself remember what the notes actually contain based on that colored tab.

Living space

While it may be less related to schoolwork, organization in your living space will also make basic tasks much simpler and leave more energy and less frustration when it comes time to do more important tasks. Ensuring each drawer has a distinct category for items, sorting snacks by type and keeping surfaces clear when not in use will subconsciously keep your brain focused and able to perform better. Studies show that a clean space boosts motivation and creativity, so ensuring that you return to your room and see an organized area with everything where it belongs can maximize your abilities. 

Close all tabs

Following the theme of removing clutter, closing tabs on your web browser and unneeded apps will keep your mind free and allow for better organization and focus. Instead of falling for the hoarder’s logic of keeping them open in case you need them later, recognize that you can reopen them later and look at one task at a time. While some may seem better at it than others, humans are not effective multitaskers. Therefore, committing yourself to one thing at a time is the key to better organization and productivity. As an added bonus, your computer will run faster and last longer on battery, reducing the risk of it dying in the middle of your work.