Organization

The time to get organized is NOW! Yes, I realize that it is still early in the year, but we are halfway through the 1st quarter and trust me, it is better to start off organized and just maintain it rather than to let things get completely out of control and then work on cleaning everything up in order to find that *one* item that you needed.

For some students, being organized comes easier than it does to others and the reality is that one system of staying organized doesn't always work for everyone else so you really need to think about what does or does not work for you. Sometimes the best way to figure out an organization strategy that will work for you is to stop and reflect back on what has NOT worked for you in the past. For example, if you are a person who always tries to keep things in binders, but then ends up with the little pocket areas in the front and the back of the binder stuffed to the breaking point then this system of organization really isn't working very well for you so it is probably time to try something different.

Stress is usually the outcome of not being organized. You forgot a homework assignment, can't find a paper that you need, or didn't realize that you were supposed to study for a test. By being organized you can help eliminate (or at least cut back a great deal on) stress. Let's be honest... you don't always like writing down all of your assignments in your planner, but there are so many other things going on in your day and such a wide variety of activities and events competing for your attention that it is hard to remember exactly which questions you were supposed to answer for homework for a particular class. Having one place where you write down the information that you are going to need to know and the deadlines are essential for good organization skills.

And, staying organized isn't just an important task when you are doing school work - this is also vital for your entire college application process and it will be important to you for the rest of your life.

As far as the college application process is concerned - most of you should be moving through the "getting organized" phase. Figure out and write down in one place all of the schools where you plan on applying. List out the other key pieces of information that you need to keep track of for that school - deadlines, recommendation letter needs, essays required, etc. Having one page with all of this information is not meant to stress you out - it is meant to be a way to help you look easily at all of the things you need to do and by when and then you will be able to break it down into more manageable pieces in order to meet your goals/ deadlines.

As always, feel free to come by and talk if you need some help with organization strategies and remember that the academic assistants in the Teaching & Learning Center (in Room 209) are outstanding resources for organization help.