Staying organized is a must at any point of your life because you have to stay on top of deadlines and appointments. When you're in college, keeping track of all your assignments, projects, papers, meetings, and whatever else is thrown at you is definitely needed. As a college student, I learned the hard way my freshman year that I need a planner and I need to actually use it. I had such a hard time finding a planner that I liked. I searched for months on end trying to find the perfect planner for me, an art student, because my assignments were not the normal homework assignments and papers. I have projects for two or three studio classes, papers for education classes, meetings for my job and my classes, and there was little I was doing to keep track of them all.
Here's my tips to finding the planner that works for you.
1. Decide what you are wanting in a planner.
Do you want it to be broken down by the hour each day? How about having a spot that is only for assignments and when they're due? Maybe you just want blocks for each day of the week that you can write down assignments or what was talked about in class.
A planner should be able to be customized. For me, I wanted a planner than had blocks for each day because I wanted to jot down notes of what was talked about or done in class, but I wanted an area completely separate for my assignments so that I could see those without having to take up space about what was talked about in class.
2. Decide how you are going to use your planner.
Do you only need it for school? Maybe it's for school and your job so you can juggle the two. Do you need separate ones for school and work and whatever else you may be doing?
I use my planner for both my job and my classes. It allows me to keep track of when I have job meetings if I need to schedule a meeting with an instructor or a group. I can see when programs and events are for my job and keep track of visiting artists when I need to.
3. Don't settle on Walmart planners if they don't fit your needs.
Don't be afraid to go else where for a planner. Walmart has decent planners, but they're all standard and pretty much the same. If that works for you then great, if it doesn't you can go to Target, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Etsy, etc. There are so many options.
I found my current planner on etsy from a shop called Melvedy Designs. I was able to choose one of three layouts that worked best for me and then I could have my name printed on the front of the planner. I love her academic layout because it was literally everything I wanted in a planner.
4. Don't be afraid to spend a little money.
Custom planners are gonna be a tad pricey, but it's worth staying organized to spend closer to $30 on a planner than getting that $8 one. Sometimes you can buy the general planner and then buy inserts so you can change it when you need to!
I dealt with Walmart planners for awhile because I didn't see the point in buying a nice, slightly custom planner. Until I found my planner through etsy and everything has been so much better this semester with keeping up on assignments and projects. I try to write down all the assignments listed on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester and it cuts down on the amount of paper I need to keep track of. That $30 planner was worth every penny.
5. But I don't like paper planners...
That's fine. There are apps that make your planner digital and they work just fine. My university goes through Outlook for email and they have a calendar option that a few of my coworkers use for everything instead of carrying around a physical planner. I love outlook because I can send out invitations for programs I plan and I can get reminders when meetings are about to start.
Staying organized is dependent on how much you have to keep track of, but I highly recommend it. I no longer have to shuffle through five or six different syllabi to figure out what's due when and when exams are. I can add or change things as they pop up. It makes my life that much easier in the last two years that I'm in undergrad.
Share your favorite planners in the comments because I'm always willing to find a new planner!