The beginning of term can be a major pain when it comes to making sure you are completely organised. My first year of university ended up with me struggling to find all my class and lecture notes, and it was pretty stressful when planning assignments. So half way through the year I had a HUGE clean up of all my notes and filed everything away chronologically to help with my up and coming exam revision.
Over the Summer I have done my best to keep up with every single tip, trick and piece of advice I could find on study organisation and keeping everything in tip-top condition!
And here is my own advice on what I found extremely helpful and also what I've learnt from others ...
This may seem very obvious but when you're running extremely late because you were binge watching Orange is the New Black the night before it is very easy to just pick up the first pad of paper you see and head for the door.
This can lead to major organisation devastation!
You will end up never seeing those notes again, getting them mixed up with something else or just forgetting where they were.
2. TITLE ALL CLASS NOTES WITH THEIR SYLLABUS NAME AND DATE IT WITH THE DAY YOU WROTE THEM.
This is extremely helpful for when you come back to your notes to revise for exams or when writing assignments. This is because you will know exactly what you were writing about, what day you wrote them in case you need to get in touch with a lecturer to question any of your notes and simply because it just looks really cool and organised!
3. GET A MAIN RING BINDER FOR ALL COURSE INFORMATION
In this Ring Binder you can put all your class syllabi so you can go to it at any point to know what you need to do for your next classes. Put any email addresses for lecturers, lecturer office times, important telephone numbers or names of people you may need to get in touch with during term time for your course i.e. - student services.
This binder can also feature print outs of any helpful tips on your course - for example, I have my second year reading list printed for my classes, English skills resources such as information on referencing and creating critical structured arguments.
4. GET A STORAGE TRAY OR FILE BOX FOR ANY UNFINISHED WORK
This allows you to find work and notes fast so you can easily keep working on them. It's easier to do this than to keep filing everything away, only file work and notes away once you have finished using them (this helps you wheedle out the notes that you don't really need as well!)
5. BUY PLENTY OF PLASTIC WALLETS
2. TITLE ALL CLASS NOTES WITH THEIR SYLLABUS NAME AND DATE IT WITH THE DAY YOU WROTE THEM.
This is extremely helpful for when you come back to your notes to revise for exams or when writing assignments. This is because you will know exactly what you were writing about, what day you wrote them in case you need to get in touch with a lecturer to question any of your notes and simply because it just looks really cool and organised!
3. GET A MAIN RING BINDER FOR ALL COURSE INFORMATION
In this Ring Binder you can put all your class syllabi so you can go to it at any point to know what you need to do for your next classes. Put any email addresses for lecturers, lecturer office times, important telephone numbers or names of people you may need to get in touch with during term time for your course i.e. - student services.
This binder can also feature print outs of any helpful tips on your course - for example, I have my second year reading list printed for my classes, English skills resources such as information on referencing and creating critical structured arguments.
4. GET A STORAGE TRAY OR FILE BOX FOR ANY UNFINISHED WORK
This allows you to find work and notes fast so you can easily keep working on them. It's easier to do this than to keep filing everything away, only file work and notes away once you have finished using them (this helps you wheedle out the notes that you don't really need as well!)
5. BUY PLENTY OF PLASTIC WALLETS
These are a lifesaver when it comes to filing random bits of paper away as it keeps them from getting creased and ruined. They also allow you to file similar notes away together to save on storage.
6. TYPE UP HAND-WRITTEN CLASS NOTES
Typing up your class notes not only makes it look more neat, you can use this as a revision strategy as well. Whilst typing up your notes try to adapt some of the language used and put it into your own words with your own examples, that way you will remember it more easily!
7. BACK UP NOTES ON A LAPTOP/PC
6. TYPE UP HAND-WRITTEN CLASS NOTES
Typing up your class notes not only makes it look more neat, you can use this as a revision strategy as well. Whilst typing up your notes try to adapt some of the language used and put it into your own words with your own examples, that way you will remember it more easily!
7. BACK UP NOTES ON A LAPTOP/PC
Never forget to back all your notes/assignments up on your laptop/PC. Keep them all in separate files according to whichever class they are for as this allows you to have extra copies of your work in case anything is lost; it also helps if you need to take a lot of your notes to class as you can instead just take a pen drive USB or your laptop.
8. USE RING BINDERS OR BOX STORAGE FOR HANDOUTS
For any other pieces of paper you will most likely be given in class file these away in separate ring binders or box storage. REMEMBER to date ALL copies of handouts you get and write the relevant syllabus title on so you can always pair these hand outs up with your notes in your note pads or exercise books.
8. USE RING BINDERS OR BOX STORAGE FOR HANDOUTS
For any other pieces of paper you will most likely be given in class file these away in separate ring binders or box storage. REMEMBER to date ALL copies of handouts you get and write the relevant syllabus title on so you can always pair these hand outs up with your notes in your note pads or exercise books.
I really hope these 8 tips help you out and if you have any pieces of advice for me to help me get through second year be sure to let me know!
Ella xoxox
Ella xoxox
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