How To Be Organised

I’m almost positive that I’m not the only person who has brilliant ideas on how to stay organised that go out the window before day 1 is even over. Whilst I was organised enough during first year to get all my assignments in on time and with pretty decent grades my second year is going to be unbelievably busy. Not only will be my studies have stepped up a level but I’ve also got other responsibilities this year, as a Student Ambassador, Peer Mentor, Student Blogger, and Charity Representative of the Geography Society. In between all this I also want to hit the gym as I  really regret not using the fantastic facilities the university has to offer last year. So how am I ever going to fit it all in along with down time without burning myself out? I’ve come up with a few ways of how I plan to be more organised and absolutely smash second year!

• Plan plan plan. Ive bought myself a daily planner where I can fill in my lecture slots and I can then fill in other important work around my lectures. I will be able to set out hours whilst I’m on campus to sit in the library and do wider research and reaching or copy up lecture notes, I can then swap these hours to revision or essay writing dependant on the time of year! It also means i’ll be able to visualise when Im doing what which for me is so important to stay on track. You don’t have to buy a planner you could easily make on a spreadsheet! I’ve made one here as an example!

• Treat your studies like a 9-5 job. If you plan ahead you can try and fit everything in during ‘work hours’. My aim is to get all my studying done on campus during the day, this way if I need to seek advice from a tutor or grab more resources from the library I’m in the best place. I’ll also be using the gym on campus too so it will save me walking to and from uni unnecessary amounts. It will leave me hopefully with my evenings and weekends free for working and just relaxing so I don’t burn myself out.
• I recently watched a video by Jordan Peterson on Youtube and he discussed putting a value on your time. ‘How much is your time worth?’ he asked. I think this is a great way of trying to not waste time in bed or procrastinating whilst revising. Just think how many hours a week you waste by not being organised. If you’re organised then you can use the wasted hours for relaxing and giving yourself a treat for all your hard work.
• Lists are my friend and I hope they’ll be yours too. When I can visualise how much I have to do it gives me a kick up the bum to actually do it. Lists also give you such a feeling of achievement when you get to tick things off. It really makes me feel like I’ve made progress and pushes me to get more things done.
• Always plan downtime. Whether  it’s a coffee with friends or just an hour watching an episode of your favourite programme on Netflix you must make sure you plan time for relaxing. It’s so important to make sure your mental health and wellbeing are the highest priority on any list especially at university. So by making sure you always have treats, downtime and something to look forward to you’ll get through your work in no time!

So those are my tips for staying organised and grounded and they are what i’ll be trying to follow as I go into my second year of study! Let me know if you have any other tips for staying organised!