Difference in the Details: Organizing Your Life
Introducing a new series, the Difference in the Details. With the help of one of my sisters, I am starting this new series here on the blog where I am going to share your guide to success in many different areas. Whether it be your guide to finishing off your outfits, making your bedroom cozy, or cinching your internship I hope this series is your guide to accomplishing your goals, whatever they may be.
One topic I'm always asked about is my organizational habits. If there's one thing I know, it's how to organize my life. I love my agendas, notebooks, to-do lists, colored pens, and white boards. With so many things to do in the day, I have to keep track of it all somehow!
Agenda -- Step number one to organizing your life is by getting an agenda. If anything it's a way you can see all of your important events, tests, and meetings all in one place. I like writing things down and being able to see dates and events all in one spot. I take my agenda everywhere with me. To work, to class, to interviews, and when studying -- it's always there with me. For a college student, it's important to invest in an organized agenda that works for you. PRO TIP: No to agendas are the same. Do the research to see which set up works best for you.
Spare Notebook -- On top of having an agenda, I also have a spare notebook I always bring with me. It's about the same size of my agenda, but just has lined paper in it. I like to keep an extra notebook to make shopping lists, to do lists, blog post lists, and just to jot down ideas. Sometimes, I even do math on the pages to plan for some upcoming projects. I also keep page tab sticky notes with me along with paper clips so I can mark important lists.
Colored Pens -- If you want to organize your schedule, work with colored pens. I love keeping everything sleek with one black ball point pen, but on the monthly calendar of my agenda I use colored pens to distinguish classwork. Each separate class, along with blog work, my part time job, and my personal life all get different colors. I know instantly that pink is public speaking and dark blue is waitressing. It helps me keep everything in order just at a glance. This method can also help you save space in those little daily boxes. You can write the word "chapter 10 test" in light green and know that you have a test in your British Literature class rather than saying "British Literature test on chapter 10". Using colored pens saves a ton of room in your agenda.
White Board Calendars -- If you want to really plan ahead, you can adopt the white board calendar method. This method I came up with last semester when I wanted to see a spread of my upcoming 60 days. This is great for planning brand collaborations and scheduling important dates. I can plan for when I go home for the weekend and I can see that random Tuesday I have off work next month. Purchase two U-Brands white board calendars and make the current month the first one, and the next month the second one. I like planning far in the future -- I don't really do well operating without a schedule or at least an idea of what I'm doing!
Standing Work Schedules -- A standing work schedule keeps me really organized too. Sometimes this is little tricky to finesse this, but if you can, it can only help you! If you work a part time job, talk to your scheduler or your manager about working the same shifts each week. Ask to work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time so if you want to schedule something also on Monday's you'll already know the time you aren't available so you can maximize the time you are available. I do this with my job at school and my jobs at home. If you're a good employee, are trustworthy, and have gained the respect of your boss, odds are they'll work with you on a set schedule.
File Folders -- We all have those rogue papers that we need to keep and all end up in a folder together with absolutely no organization. If you are one of these people, you need to invest in a file folder. Get a multi-pocketed file folder for all of your personal, school, and medial documents. It's important to keep these things organized in case you or anybody else has to find that information. Keep the file secure but also digitize it. Who knows, maybe it gets water damaged or lost in a fire. It's important to have a back up scan of it on your computer.
