Make School Spark Joy ✨ Tidying Up with Olivia Karp ✨

Organization is an underrated but incredibly important skill to have. While many people value traits like ambition, hard work or extraversion, organization is crucial to success in school and career.

And I treat university like a job.

I only truly started to see how important organizational skills were when I entered my first year of university and realized how much work there is, along with all of my extracurricular and personal activities. After trial and error, I now understand that if I am not on top of my university work, only more will come and eventually it will be overwhelming.

Over the course of semesters of trial and error, I’ve stayed organized using a variety of different tactics. Using sticky notes and note-taking software for my notes; planning due dates with calendars and scheduling my days; things as simple as these helped me stay successful.

Why is it important to stay organized in school? How can students stay organized in school? What are some ways to organize? If you are looking for answers to these questions, then this blog will help you out!

1. Use a planner. Once you know the courses for your semester, take a look at the syllabus of each course and write down the due dates for assignments and tests. Google Calendar or an Agenda so you have everything out in front of you and it is easy to access. By using a calendar you will be able to keep track of how much school work you have each week.

2. Do school work in advance. A way to keep track of your work is to plan it out. Use sticky notes or write down a list of what needs to get done, and have fun when organizing your tasks by colour coding or fun lettering! The reason why sticky notes are helpful is because you can have it by your desk and it can be a set reminder for what needs to be done. Some points I would pay attention to is that when using sticky notes you can get big or small ones so you can write anything on the m for organizing. Another point is that it is good to stick to a list of things you would like to get done and checking them off as you go can be helpful for time management.

3. Keep your workspace clean. Having a clean workspace helps you feel less stressed and organized, putting you in the right mindset to be productive. It will also ensure you a good place to study and stay focused.

4. Have a set routine for what you do day to day. You can start small by having routines when you wake up or before bed! A way to do this is by using a calendar or notepad. Noting down the times and activities you will be doing throughout the day can help you stay on track with your busy schedules. If you don’t like the traditional way with pen and paper, I would suggest looking into Notion which is an online organization platform. You can plan out your schedule and many other things on the platform. Trello is also great because you can assign tasks to yourself and check them off as well when finished.

Now that you know my secrets on how to stay organized in school, I hope this blog has helped you get over the hump of feeling disorganized at school. It’s now your turn to take action and apply these tips to be like me! It’s never too late to change, so let’s all stay organized together in 2021!