Get Organized!

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It’s the first full week of classes, and soon the work is going to start piling up. The last thing you need the night before your first exam is to be scrambling to find your notes or study guide. At the Honors College, we know that getting in the groove early will set you up for success–so we’ve compiled some of our best organization tips to help you blaze into the new semester with confidence and preparedness. With these skills in your back pocket, that 4.0 is totally attainable. Best of luck!

1. Find a nice, quiet workspace. A desk or table is preferable; a comfy chair might lead to a nap! Make sure the space is decluttered, i.e. devoid of materials except those you need to study–laptop, pencils, notebook, etc.  Nix noise distractions when you can, but if you must have music, try a Pandora station with ambient or classical music.
2. If you’re writing a paper, eliminate online distractions. Facebook and BuzzFeed can be pretty tempting, especially when you’re facing down a blank Word document. Apps like SelfControl block sites of your choosing for different increments of time, or block every site except the ones you specifically choose. We can’t get through a major written assignment without this app!
3. Use calendars and to-do lists. There’s no harm in planning your week in advance and it is all too easy to let things slip through the cracks when relying on your memory for important dates. A calendar is especially helpful for long-term assignments. You can set mini-due dates ahead of time for major papers or exams. A to-do list might seem tedious, but the psychology behind it is airtight. When you write something down, you clear your head for more information to come in instead of worrying about all the things you need to do. And crossing things off the list feels so good!!!
4. Keep a schedule–and prioritize. Class and study time come first. Many College of Charleston students also keep a part-time job or internship; make sure to schedule shifts around your classes and keep it to a manageable number of hours. It also doesn’t hurt to schedule in your personal time. With so many commitments, it’s easy to skip out on your workout or coffee date, but a balanced schedule is really important as the semester gets rolling. Also, it’s more fun to look at a calendar that’s not completely filled with deadlines! We like to color-code our calendars to make it more visually appealing and easier to categorize.
5. Know your campus resources. The College has so many offices at your disposal as a student. From the Career Center to the Center for Student Learning in the library, there are a number of services that can help you study. In fact, you can even get two hours of tutoring a week—for free!  Try writing down the hours for each office so you can reference them in a pinch. Cisternonline is another great resource, especially for upperclassmen ready for internships, part-time work, or even full-time job opportunities after graduation.
6. When in class, take detailed notes and review them as soon as you can afterwards. We find it helpful when taking handwritten notes to take a few minutes to type them up after class; it helps cement the material in your brain while it’s still fresh and gives you a chance to neaten and reorganize the information. This will help you remember much better than you might cramming the night before the exam!
7. Keep track of your finances. This isn’t necessarily a school organizational tip, but any college student is smart to budget. It builds good financial habits for the future and ensures you won’t have to eat Top Ramen this weekend. Keep receipts so you know what you’re spending, and check in every week or two to make sure you’re staying on budget. If you’re employed, have a routine whenever you receive a paycheck to make sure your funds are allocated as they should be. A number of websites, like Mint, make finances easy for a budgeting novice.
8. Pack up the night before. We know this seems like something you should nail in elementary school, but with classes on alternating days, it’s all too easy to leave something important at home. When you’re done studying for the night, review the next day and put all the materials you’ll need into your bag or backpack to make sure you don’t lose 5 points on a “late” assignment you left at home!