This is my system of note-taking and staying productive while handling my course load, extra-curriculars, and social activity.
These are samples from my everyday life and I hope they help someone else, as simple as they are. I know they've really helped me in my day-to-day life, as I've noticed my time management skills have strengthened and I'm handling my assignments better.
NOTE-TAKING
Sarah Fetter
I have tried a lot of different methods, using lots of colors and color-coding. My favorite thing was keeping things neat and pretty and bright, but that doesn't always help as classes become more in-depth and demanding of your time.
Coming to college forced me to keep my notes concise. I still keep things neat and pretty, but I stick to black and a pop of color. This has helped TREMENDOUSLY. I hope this helps some of you too!
~I make broad, summarizing statements for topics at the very left of the page.
~Arrows help me see relationships between subjects and their details. Sticky notes are used for diagrams, side notes, in-depth definitions, and relationships across topics.
~I only write vocabulary words in my colored pen. The highlighter is used sparingly (!!!!) mostly for vocab and key phrases.
~Writing the learning objective from each chapter helps me see what I will be learning in that chapter.
PRODUCTIVITY
Sarah Fetter
This is my weekly view on Google Calendar. Things are grayed out because this is an old week's schedule. My classes are color-coded and time-scheduled. I have the location of my classes as description.
Seeing my schedule like this helps me gauge when my free time is. I also have a part-time job in the evenings, so it's nice to see when I will have appointments, extra seminars, or work and when I can schedule study time in between.
I assign my homework for the day as TASKS so they show up at the top of my page (the blue bars). That way I can mark each as complete as I go.
***I look at the SYLLABUS as soon as I get it so I can pre-enter all due dates and tests. I assign them as DUE and COLOR-CODE them to my classes.
Oftentimes in college, you will need to read a section of text by a certain day. I don't like procrastinating too much. I DIVIDE THE READING into equal parts over a set amount of days so I can ensure I'll be prepared for class when it's due and will be discussed.
(example: I had to read King Lear Act 1 for the beginning of the week. If that act is 50 pages due in 6 days, I will divide that into 10 pages per day so I'm not overloading on the reading and forgetting key notes. By the 6th day, I am prepared!)
This TIME MANAGEMENT helps!!! I have NEVER been more PRODUCTIVE before using this software!! I really do add everything for class and work and have plenty of time to prepare and revise essays, do homework, study, and i still have a SOCIAL LIFE!!
