ORGANISATION TIPS FOR FRESHERS: THE BARE MINIMUM SO YOU CAN STRESS LESS p1/4
WHAT TO HAVE:
1. A SAFE PLACE â keep all irreplaceable/important documents like your birth certificate, a level certificates, UCAS letters in here. Ideally a concertina folder, or a folder with different sections. Mine is organised by bank stuff, ID, student finance, qualifications, tenancy, and my part time job. Keep this folder in your room and ideally keep a list of what is inside taped to the front.
2. NOTEBOOK â for lecture notes, shopping lists, any notes. At lectures, write the week number, date, module title, etc at the top. If anything requires action (e.g. you have to email someone, read something for next week) circle it, highlight it, underline it, make it clear. When you go home you can make a list of what needs to be done and when. Keep this with you at uni, and when you get home always leave it in the same place in your bag/on your desk.Â
3. BINDER â with plastic wallets, dividers if you want. I keep two sections: âto doâ and âto returnâ. When a teacher hands me homework or a bit of paper I immediately put it in âto doâ. When I get home I check âto doâ and make a list, decide when to do it. When Iâve done it I immediately put it in âto returnâ. Keep this with you at uni and when you get home always leave it in the same place
4. SEMESTER PLANNER â week numbers going down, mon/tues/wed/thurs/fri/sat/sun going across. Write down deadlines, birthdays, holidays so you can see everything in one place. You might notice two deadlines in the same week. Keep on your wall.
5. WEEKLY PLANNER â print off one for each week, hours of the day going down, days of the week going across. Fill in your classes, society events, etc. Write your goal for that week (e.g. a deadline, or to begin an essay). Keep this in your notebook/binder so if you need to organise a tutorial or to meet a friend, you can quickly check when you are free.
6. FORGET PLACE â this is where I put things I can forget about. Put in stuff you look at occasionally like recipes, or old photos, or internship info you donât want to think about right now. When I write down a list of all my assessments, I stuff it in the forget place and stop worrying. Keep this stuff in a plastic wallet/folder in your room.
