Organization methods for students

Time management is a problem that many students, including myself, struggle with every day. From homework to tests to projects students have a lot items to organize and trying to remember all of them is just not humanly possible. So, as someone who has gone through so many methods of trying to organize my work, I’m going to tell you about the ones I tried and why they did or didn’t work for me and my why they might or might not work for you.   

Bullet Journaling:  

The first organization method is bullet journaling. This method is loved by so many people for good reasons! The beauty in bullet journals is the fact that they are set up by the owner and there is no certain way to go about it. But, this can also be the bad part of bullet journals. On social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest people post their picture of their artistic bullet journal spreads but this is not at all how you have to do it yourself. As I said earlier, the beauty of bullet journaling is the freedom that it gives. If you want to spend your time drawing beautiful flowers around your monthly spread, DO IT! If you want to simply have some lines with tic boxes, DO IT! It is completely up to you how you choose to organize your bullet journal. Another pro of bullet journals is that they can be incredibly affordable. You can make a bullet journal out of anything from a notebook that’s been buried in a junk drawer for year to an ridiculously expensive Moleskine notebook. 

Personally, I wasn’t a fan of bullet journaling simply because I just didn’t have enough time. I tried bullet journaling but after about 3 months I found myself unmotivated to keep drawing out weekly spreads and constantly having to keep track of it. But don’t let this discourage you because I have heard of many people loving that moment of relaxation as they draw their layouts and organize their week. There are so many ways that you can set them up so I recommend that if you are interested in bullet journaling find some YouTube videos that give tips and ideas on how you can make a bullet journal work for you.  

Notion: 

My second recommendation is Notion. This is the organization method that I use for school at the moment and out of all the options on this list has helped me the most to keep things organized. Notion is an online organization system that is almost like online bullet journaling in a way. There are countless ways that you can organize your notion account to organize both schoolwork and things outside of school and I think that this versatility can be useful for many people. Another positive aspect of Notion is how it can be with you at all times. Unlike the physical items on this list, Notion isn’t something you can lose or leave at home and then be left without a way to organize your day. Notion can be used anywhere at any time as long as there is WIFI. Another plus to notion is that it is completely free. All you need is an email and then you’re able to use all the features your heart could desire. One drawback is the initial setup of Notion itself. It is really confusing. But, as soon as you get used to it and figure out what is what it becomes so easy to set up to do lists just the way you want.  

Planner:  

Planners are a classic organizational method and everything on this list is basically just a version of a planner but I will be talking about the standard paper planners. Paper planners are great and I used one from 6th grade to freshman year and it was a decent way to organize my work. Planners like that are great for people who enjoy looking at what they have to do on a week-by-week basis or even a month–by–month basis. There are also many online options for planners which opens up portability options of having a planner. Planners also have a wide range of prices. I have seen decent looking planners in dollar stores, and I have also seen planners that are so insanely expensive that it is comedic. But, this means that planners can be accessible to many people no matter what their budget is.  

Overall, there are many options when it comes to planning your work and the one you choose is all up to your personal preferences when it comes to organization.