Hi everyone,

I thought it would be a good idea to lay out some ways I keep organised during my university semester and also just in general, I think during this crazy time it’s a good way to show people how to stay on track and not worry about being forgetful. I am always overly organised, as my friends and family say, but that’s because without this I would forget to do basic things such as finishing up bits of my assignments or replying to emails, I don’t know why but that’s just the way my brain functions. Also, I see organisation to allow me to breath more and let me concentrate on relaxing instead of always thinking about what I have to do, responsibility wise. I always feel confident in the fact that I will always get everything done because of my organisation so again, it keeps me calmer and allows me to enjoy more free time instead of worrying about a million things I might have to do daily.

Here are the 4 main ways I keep organised and how it helps me be more “on time” and not forgetful!

• Keep notes everywhere: I either keep notes on anything I have to do using the sticky notes app on my windows pc or on a pinboard above my desk. It just lets me keep all my important and short term “to-dos” in one place and I don’t have the think about them all the time as they appear on my screen as soon as I turn on my pc. For example, on my pc sticky notes right now I have a note that breaks down my assignment due in July, how many hours I have left to take off work and my blog ideas. It is just simple things that I would not usually remember but are stored on my pc and always there when I do any personal admin or university work.

 

• Put small notes on your desktop calendar: in addition to using sticky notes, if I have a simple yet small one-time thing to do, I add it to my calendar on my pc. If I use sticky notes, its usually for a “to do” that’s really long, like I mentioned my assignment break down, whereas on the calendar its simple things. This is also synced with my iPhone so I can add or delete these small to-dos from either pc or phone. For example, I have a small reminder that this post is going up on the 26^th as I am writing it on the 24^th, just to make sure I don’t forget the things I need to do for its release. I have my calendar open on startup when I open my pc so as soon as I need to do something, the calendar pops up and I know exactly the small things I have to do for the day, the sticky notes pop up on startup too. Additionally, using the calendar lets me plan my short term to-dos more into the future, for example, I need to call my bills company on 2 weeks for something, I can put that 2 weeks ahead and have it pop up as a reminder closer to the date, and again I will always have it on startup as the calendar opens! If you want to know how to sync your Outlook calendar to your iPhone or how to get your calendar to open on startup on pc then I have these links here and here, this is what I used to do this.

 

• Layouts: as mentioned before for my assignments and other long notes, I do layouts to make things simpler for myself to understand. It also makes things easier to write and do as if you do something in smaller parts it’s always easier, make things more basic for yourself, why struggle!

 

• Keep a diary: I keep a small note pad with some long term to-dos, also as a back up to my sticky notes just in case I lose them. It includes things like what I need to pack for holiday or wish lists, people’s birthdays and stuff like that. I know you can use the calendar for this too but sometimes I do find it helpful to have some personal stuff like the mentioned above in a secure paper format as it’s not something I really need to have on-screen or on my calendar when I am in a lesson or at work.

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading through some of the things I do to keep organised, and I hope they help you too, let me know if they have or which ones you used. Keep safe and see you in the next post!

Love, Kasia x