How to Stay Organised

It can be hard to stay organised and on top of things, especially at university, but it is crucial!

Why is this so important?

Staying organised reduces stress, helping you get things done on time and produce better work. We all know how difficult it can be to balance a social life, grades and getting enough sleep. While achieving all three at once is (sometimes) impossible, being organised brings you a couple of steps closer.

So, what five simple things can you do to help yourself?

1. Use a planner

This is very important. It doesn’t matter if it’s a decorated bullet journal, a Google calendar or a random notepad that you were given for free – find one, use one and make it your own.

A weekly planner can be easily accessed from any device which allows you to update it and tick off any tasks that you have already completed.

Writing down what you have to do and when is crucial in helping you keeping up to date with your coursework deadlines and exam dates that are fast approaching.

Plan your tasks in advance, take note of your deadlines and follow through.

2. Start early

Yes, procrastination is attractive and seductive, and you have two weeks until your essay is due, but start early!

As soon as you get given an assignment, start it straightaway. Even if it’s just reading thoroughly through the task, you will get a better understanding of what you have to do when you get around to starting it. If you have any questions or problems you can get them dealt with quickly, without having to email the lecturer last minute in a panic because you’ve left it too late.

3. Colour-code

Some people find it too distracting, time-consuming and ineffective. Other people cannot live without it. Some people are in between. Decide where you sit on the spectrum and choose a style that works for you.

Using highlighters to pick out important information makes it more likely that you’ll remember it. It also does help if you have a consistent colour system, which you obviously have to make it relevant to your field of study.

4. Make it a habit

It takes twenty-one days of doing something consistently for it to become a habit. That’s only three weeks of living a new, organised life style.

You don’t have to completely overhaul your life, just take simple steps and soon enough you will be more organised. Once it becomes a habit you won’t remember a time when you did any different.

5. Apps are our best friends

Now that we are a quarter of the way through the year the promise you made to yourself to stay organised is starting to break. If only you had a personal assistant to help you juggle life’s nuances. Well with certain apps we do, sort of. Google Now helps you manage your day and keeps you connected to what is happening whilst you’re on the go.

Let’s get organised!

Mine Sherefali is a contributor for Inspiring Interns. 

Inspiring Interns is a graduate recruitment agency which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships and giving out graduate careers advice. To hire graduates or browse graduate jobs, visit their website.