It's that time of the semester – projects are piling up, social events are stacking, midterms are killing you – and it's almost impossible to stay on top of everything you have going on in your life right now. At times like these, being organized will not only help you manage your time better, it will also help your stress levels stay under control. And as college students who basically represent the human forms of little balls of stress, anything that de-stresses is helpful.
1. Whenever an event comes up, put it on a calendar right away.
Believe me, I tried to be a weekly planner/ bullet journal person too, but it just did not work for me. I would either forget to bring my planner around or simply just give up three days into my planning. What I personally find helpful is to put events on the calendar on my phone as soon as I hear about them. Plus, you're mostly likely going to have your phone wherever you go. You can also sync the calendar to your laptop and organize on two or more devices. My main advice is to not disregard the event with the mentality of "I'll do it later" because chances are, you're probably going to forget. Just schedule it right away.
2. Color Code!
This one is related to bullet number one – use different colors to represent different aspects of your life on your calendar! I have separate colors for school (green), work (blue), personal (purple), and special events (red). This way, when you're taking a glance at your calendar, you can tell right away how your week is going to look and how your time is going to be divided up! Whenever I see a pop of red on my calendar, I get extra excited and motivated by that little reward!
3. Prepare for Mistakes
While it's effective to be planning our your day or your week by the hour with things to do, remember that unforeseen circumstances happen all the time. Make sure you are allocating enough time for mistakes or other unexpected things. Does your class end at 3? Maybe don't schedule an important interview for 3:15 because what if your professors go longer than they're supposed to or you run into traffic or the usual route you take is blocked and you have to find an alternative. While being managed is smart, being prepared is even smarter!
4. Don’t overestimate yourself
Make sure you are being realistic about your abilities. If you have a project that needs at least an hour to be completed, don't designate only 30 minutes for it. You'll only find yourself even more swamped than when you started because you're overestimating yourself. So really evaluate yourself on whether or not your time slots are practical!
5. Hold Yourself Accountable
What's the point of doing all this planning and calendaring if you're not going to follow through? Hold yourself accountable for all the plans that you've made for yourself!
These five tips will not only help you stay organized but also help you hone in the soft skills that you probably already have. And remember, hard skills land you jobs, but soft skills land you promotions!
