It’s the third week of school, and assignments and papers are starting to stack up. Staying organized in college and planning out each week can be difficult for many students, but for some, planning isn’t just a process; it’s an artform.
Plan UP is a club on campus that helps students organize their busy schedules by taking time to prep their planners. Plan UP meets on the first Tuesday of every month and provides stickers, colorful pens, washi tape and calligraphy lessons for students that want to be on top of their schedules and have fun doing it.
Junior Sadie Craig, president of Plan UP, worked with The Beacon to give some tips on how to keep your planner organized and stay on top of your assignments during the school year.
Tip 1: Start with your syllabus. Combine all of your syllabi and make a ‘Master Syllabi’ in Word or Google Docs that you can reference throughout the semester.
Tip 2: Put all the important dates and deadlines into your calendar. Highlight them, put them on a sticker, write them in bold print or do anything to make them stand out.
Tip 3: Budget your time and plan your week accordingly. You can color code if necessary. Look at the assignments you have coming up and write down when you will study or complete the tasks. Writing down specific times will make you more likely to succeed.
Tip 4: Make yourself deadlines a few days before the actual due date. Give yourself some wiggle room to procrastinate or get caught-up in college life. Whatever the situation, you can still stay on top of your workload and get some sleep. #selfcare
Tip 5: Make a to-do lists for each day, preferably the night before. When you wake up, you’ll already have a plan for the day.
Erica Lavik is a videographer at The Beacon. She can be reached at lavik19@up.edu. Molly Lowney is a photographer at The Beacon. She can be reached at lowney21@up.edu.
