Tag Archives: stay organized

Organizing Your Dorm Room

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We hope you’re super excited to finally have the REAL college experience. That means moving into your new dorm room! It’s important to save as much space as you can, especially if you are living with a roommate. Space will always be limited. What’s great is places like Target and Amazon sell awesome items to help you save space and stay organized. Here are four simple items to help keep your dorm room looking and functioning great. 

Storage Ottomans 

You can never have enough seating in your room for lounging, chatting with friends, or study groups. While storage ottomans give you an extra seat, they also help maximize your space. They are a great spot to store movies or extra supplies that might not fit in your cupboards. 

Under Bed Storage Bins 

You truly cannot have enough of these. With a variety of sizes, storage bins or boxes fit great under your bed and save space in your room. From plastic bins to fabric boxes, you’ll have many options on how to store your shoes, clothes, or items rarely used. If you want to make things easier for yourself, buy clear plastic bins to see which of your items are in each box. 

Foldable Storage Cubes 

Foldable storage cubes can help organize your snacks, toiletries, and school supplies. They’re easy to store and fit perfectly on shelves, inside your closet, or under your bed. 

Command Hooks 

Command hooks are useful for many reasons. They won’t just help hang frames or string lights around your room, but they can also be used as a place to hang your keys, bags, or towels. The best part is that they won’t damage your walls! 

These are just a few of the MANY ways to organize your room so look around,  plan ahead, and get some great items before you arrive on campus. 

Note: Be sure you carefully read your communications from Student Life and regularly check the Fall Campus Plan webpage to stay up-to-date with the COVID-19 safety precautions PUC will be enforcing.

Tips For Staying Organized in College

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By: Ally Romanes

It can be a struggle juggling school, work, and all the extra things we have going on in our lives. As the school year gets heavier with assignments, exams, etc., sometimes it feels you don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done. The busier your schedule gets, the more crazy life can get. Keeping your schedule and space organized can help you feel more on top of things. Here are tips for staying organized during the school year. 

Make A To-Do List

Take the week day-by-day and make a to-do list the night before. When you wake up, you’ll already know what you need to tackle that day. 

Also, schedule your goals beside each task. Write the time or day of the week you need to accomplish your goal and highlight the most important things to take care of. This will help you stay on track during the day and allow you to prioritize your time. It also feels very rewarding when you cross things off your list that you completed. 

Color Code Your Calendar

Whether you are using an actual calendar or an app, color-code everything from due dates to meetings. You’ll be able to distinguish tasks right away from their color. Assigning a color for each category on your calendar will help you stay organized on everything that is going on in your life. Color coding your calendar will also make your calendar more fun to look at. 

Time Management 

Break your goals down into steps so you don’t overwhelm yourself. For example, if you are trying to reach a certain grade on a test, your goal would be to spend more time studying, join a study group, or schedule a tutoring session. You could even ask the professor if he or she could give you practice tests to use while studying. Organize your notes and past assignments beforehand to save you time when you study. 

Write Reminders

Place reminders where you will be able to see them, whether they are on your laptop, phone, or fridge. Making a habit of writing down reminders will help you stay organized long-term. Writing down important dates, like exam dates or when an assignment is due from the syllabus will help motivate you to study and complete your next assignment. 

Get A Planner 

There are various styles of planners that can meet your needs to stay organized. Keeping track of your homework, tests and other notes from your classes will help you remember what you need to do and when things are due. I

Use An App

If you prefer to not write your to-do list on paper, some apps could be useful for you. Apps like Productive – Habit Tracker, PocketLife Calendar, and Wunderlist are free apps that can easily help you stay organized and on track of your homework and personal life. 

Organize Your Space

Keeping your room organized helps you feel more put together and you also worry less about cleaning. Having a clean and organized environment can help you stay focused on school work. If you study in your room, find a spot in your room that makes you more motivated to get things done. Doing homework or studying in bed can be distracting by making you too comfortable, so find a place in your room like your desk or futon that places you in a space of motivation.

Relax

Don’t burn yourself out. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you need to make time to relax. Self-care is important, and taking the time to unwind from a busy schedule will let your mind take the rest it needs. You don’t have to relax for a long time, just take a couple of minutes to stretch if you’ve been sitting for a long time or take a snack break. However, you choose to spend your downtime, make sure you take the break your hardworking self deserves.  

Hopefully, these tips can help you and get you through the rest of the school year as stress-free as possible. 

 

6 Tips for Staying Organized this Fall Quarter

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By Sarah Tanner

The beginning of each new school year is a busy time for everyone. The whirlwind of moving into the dorms, figuring out new schedules, and adjusting to new routines can be quite stressful at times, and it is often easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with so many changes after a relaxing summer. However, having more responsibilities does not necessarily equate with more stress! Ease into fall quarter with these quick tips for organization, and start the year with your best foot forward. 

  1. Invest in a daily planner. Nothing is worse than falling behind in assignments early in the quarter. Every Sunday, plan your upcoming week by writing out each day’s assignments. With your week planned, you can avoid being surprised by last-minute tasks, making it easier to schedule in free time for other activities. Take your planning one step further by color-coding each class, so assignments are easily distinguishable. 
  2. Clean up your workspace. A cluttered desk often creates a cluttered mind. Take some time every once in a while to clear up the week’s messiness. Throw out unneeded papers, line up your textbooks and notebooks, and round up your stray pens and pencils. Creativity always flows best in an open space, and a freshened-up work area can do wonders for your studying mentality. 
  3. Highlight, highlight, highlight. As you study, keep a highlighter on-hand and mark what you find important as you read. The bright visual cue combined with the physical act of highlighting the text will help information stick long after the exam. Highlighting also makes studying later easier, as all the significant portions of the text will stand out right away. 
  4. Stick to a routine sleep schedule. Nothing is more important to staying organized than getting a good night’s sleep! College students are notoriously bad at going to bed, much less going to bed at the same time every night. If possible, try to sleep at least eight to nine hours each night. Not only does it improve focus, but it also helps with memory and information retention, as well as simply revving your energy for the day. 
  5. Make time for fun. No one can maintain a study-only lifestyle. One of the most important aspects of staying organized is to build in time for the things you genuinely enjoy. It is much easier to complete a task if it means you can do something you love afterward. Whether it’s working out, grabbing a coffee with friends, or driving into San Francisco for the afternoon, give yourself something to look forward to!
  6. Ask for help. Everyone needs a hand sometimes. Learning to recognize when you need a little help and being willing to ask for it is one of the best ways to keep on top of the demands of busy schedules. Friends, professors, and family are always willing to lend a hand, and reaching out to them when you are feeling pressured can help prevent a downward spiral before it even begins. 

Start the new year with confidence that staying organized is easy to do. Keeping these tips in mind will not only help you transition from summer to school, but they will keep you working smarter, not harder, all quarter long.