Tips to stay organized for uni?

[Silvermoonstone]

Classes will be starting and I do not want a repeat of my last semester; especially since I will be taking some technical classes that involve plenty of homework, number crunching, problem solving, self-study (oh gosh, the HARDEST thing) etc.

Organization has always been my biggest drawback, and I don't want to end up scrambling on last minute assignments like before. I have a new phone to remind me of deadlines, and a notebook to list homework down. But I'm afraid it might not be enough. Everything around me just feels so cluttered, and I keep jumping from one task to the next.

I try to start my work as soon as I can, but it's just so hard to stay focused. Other times, I feel like I have to get everything finished NOW. So I pile everything up in one day, run out of time, and have to push it the next day. Then I get burned out and discouraged. I need some sort of system that can break my work down to little pieces, and some kind of method to keep me on one track, instead of jumping all over the place. But so far, the only thing I can think of is to schedule every single hour of my weeks to a task, which in reality, is humanly impossible...

I barely made it last semester, and I really can't keep going like this. My mother had a sit down talk with me, telling me I really should consider changing my major. When I had not been taking non-technical classes, my grades were great; I got As and Bs. But when I take my math and science classes, they dip to lower grades, and I need those for my major. It's so frustrating because I did so well in those classes back at high school.

[Targaryen]

Uni? I take it that you are not in the states lol. I just picked up this awesome notebook that was made for someone with ADD at staples called the arc. You can look them up on staples website.

Google calendars is really good it is what I use, I really like the multiple reminders you can set and how it can be synced across multiple devices.

Have you looked to see if accommodations are available for you?

[Silvermoonstone]

Ooh, that's a nice notebook. I'll certainly look into that.

I do have accommodations, but they're not really that great. They hire a note taker, but I've already had two bad experiences where my notetakers just stopped sending notes. It really messed me up one semester...>.>;

I get double time for exams and tests, but they won't do that for homework (which is what I feel like I really need badly). Other than being allowed to study in a private room on campus, that's it. Better than nothing though, right?

Perhaps my biggest hurdle is just sitting down and actually working, and not stop in the middle to do something. Like right now. I'm supposed to be doing homework, not checking these forums. Gah.

[Targaryen]

I can relate all too well. I wish I had found the arc notebook earlier, I need to make a post about it for the other members. There is also the lightscribe pen that records while you write, I have never used it but it sounds like it would help me.

[Tisha]

Targaryen,

Could you tell me how the Arc notebook is for ADD? I went to the staples website, and don't see anything specific for that?

thanks
Tisha

[keliza]

I developed a ridiculously extensive system of organization when I was in undergrad to manage my workload. I won't bore you with the details of everything (though if you want to know more, you are more than welcome to PM me and I'll bore you to tears!). However, I thought I would share some of the things I figured out through trial and error that were most pertinent to the issues you mentioned.

1. Do you remember those big zip-up binders from the 90s, they were like trapper-keepers but they zipped all the way around? They look like this:

http://www.1stdayschoolsupplies.com/...ad%2029058.jpg

These did not die with scrunchies and good sitcoms, they are alive and well and they are AWESOME. Probably the single best organizational tool out there next to a calendar, IMO. Why? Because it is brilliantly simple. You can throw things in there and just zip it up, it holds everything. Throw all of your writing utensils, sticky notes, highlighters, etc. in the pouch. Clip all of your paper for notes into the binder rings, with dividers for each class. Just open it up, pull out a pen, take notes, then move your notes behind the appropriate divider at the end of lecture/after you're done studying. Voila, it's that easy.

2. Figure out the best way for you to manage your loose papers. My best friend is very, very organized, to the point that it freaks me out. I can't be that organized, my brain just doesn't work that way. She has color-coded folders and notebooks and highlighter colors for each class... seriously. She might dedicate blue to, say, Physics. She gets a blue spiral-bound notebook, a blue folder, and blue highlighters and uses them only for Physics for the whole semester. For her, that works. For me, that's freaky and borderline OCD. But if it works for you, do something like that!

If you're more like me and that's enough structure to make your head spin, try just getting two different pocket folders. Splurge on the fun ones that you won't want to lose. Somehow I've found that I can keep track of colorful, interesting folders better than plain solid colored ones. I don't care if I lose a red folder, but I'll be damned if I lose my Lisa Frank rainbow kittens folder. (I promise I'm a real grown-up.)

On top of one folder, write "Handouts" and on top of the other, write "Homework." I put all of my syllabi, grading rubrics, equation sheets, and any other sort of printed hand-out from class into the "handouts" folder, for reference throughout the semester. No real order or organization, but I knew they were all in one place there. I use my homework folder for, well, you guessed it. I wrote "TO DO" and "COMPLETED" on each inside pocket. In the left pocket, I put things that hadn't been done yet. Once I finished them, I put my completed homework in the right pocket under "COMPLETED." It made sense to me spatially, to move from left to right, and to have one folder for all of my homework instead of having different folders for different classes. Just one homework folder is more than enough for me to keep track of.

3. Figure out a system of incentives and rewards for managing your time productively. I found that having things written down on a list that I could cross off with a big red pen was oddly satisfying, so I broke everything down into chunks and wrote it out like that. For example, I might have something that looked like this:

TO READ:

Personality Psychology:
Chapter 1, pg. 1-10
Chapter 1, pg. 11-20
Chapter 1, pg. 21-28

I broke it down in ten page increments instead of just listing "Chapter 1" because I knew there was no way I would sit and read 28 pages all at once, I just couldn't do it, I'd burn out. It would frustrate me to sit down, read ten pages, and have nothing to "show" for it. When I broke it up like this, I could reach my 10-page goals and get the satisfaction of crossing it off the list, seeing my progress visually. Then I would let myself get up and do something else for 30 minutes, then come back and do another 10 pages. It takes much longer to study this way, but it gets the job done.

I'm sure your eyes are falling out of your head if you read through all of that, haha, but if you are interested in more or have any questions feel free to ask!

[Targaryen]

Originally Posted by Tisha

Targaryen,

Could you tell me how the Arc notebook is for ADD? I went to the staples website, and don't see anything specific for that?

thanks
Tisha

Tisha,

Check www.staples.com/arc they have some videos and have all they accessories on that page for the notebook. You can do a google search for the arc notebook and find YouTube videos and blogs that are very helpful and show different ways that people use them.

For me I think the arc notebook is helpful with my ADD bc it allows me to keep stuff organized in a way that I like (I can be a bit OCD) but still allows a lot of customization with the diffident accessories that can be moved around very quickly. Being disorganized is a huge pitfall for me with my ADD so finding something like this that I like and will use is a huge win for me.

Looking at the website will explain more or going to your local staples.

[ConcertaParent]

Has anybody found the ARC notebook to be helpful for an ADHD child? Staples is a Canadian company, but they don't even have the ARC available in their Canadian site.

Originally Posted by Targaryen

they have some videos and have all they accessories on that page for the notebook.

[AshT]

Get a whiteyboard! They are cheap and helpful as hell! Not just for organising, but for mind mapping and problem solving.

[AshT]

Originally Posted by keliza

I developed a ridiculously extensive system of organization when I was in undergrad to manage my workload. I won't bore you with the details of everything (though if you want to know more, you are more than welcome to PM me and I'll bore you to tears!). However, I thought I would share some of the things I figured out through trial and error that were most pertinent to the issues you mentioned.

1. Do you remember those big zip-up binders from the 90s, they were like trapper-keepers but they zipped all the way around? They look like this:

http://www.1stdayschoolsupplies.com/...ad%2029058.jpg

These did not die with scrunchies and good sitcoms, they are alive and well and they are AWESOME. Probably the single best organizational tool out there next to a calendar, IMO. Why? Because it is brilliantly simple. You can throw things in there and just zip it up, it holds everything. Throw all of your writing utensils, sticky notes, highlighters, etc. in the pouch. Clip all of your paper for notes into the binder rings, with dividers for each class. Just open it up, pull out a pen, take notes, then move your notes behind the appropriate divider at the end of lecture/after you're done studying. Voila, it's that easy.

2. Figure out the best way for you to manage your loose papers. My best friend is very, very organized, to the point that it freaks me out. I can't be that organized, my brain just doesn't work that way. She has color-coded folders and notebooks and highlighter colors for each class... seriously. She might dedicate blue to, say, Physics. She gets a blue spiral-bound notebook, a blue folder, and blue highlighters and uses them only for Physics for the whole semester. For her, that works. For me, that's freaky and borderline OCD. But if it works for you, do something like that!

If you're more like me and that's enough structure to make your head spin, try just getting two different pocket folders. Splurge on the fun ones that you won't want to lose. Somehow I've found that I can keep track of colorful, interesting folders better than plain solid colored ones. I don't care if I lose a red folder, but I'll be damned if I lose my Lisa Frank rainbow kittens folder. (I promise I'm a real grown-up.)

On top of one folder, write "Handouts" and on top of the other, write "Homework." I put all of my syllabi, grading rubrics, equation sheets, and any other sort of printed hand-out from class into the "handouts" folder, for reference throughout the semester. No real order or organization, but I knew they were all in one place there. I use my homework folder for, well, you guessed it. I wrote "TO DO" and "COMPLETED" on each inside pocket. In the left pocket, I put things that hadn't been done yet. Once I finished them, I put my completed homework in the right pocket under "COMPLETED." It made sense to me spatially, to move from left to right, and to have one folder for all of my homework instead of having different folders for different classes. Just one homework folder is more than enough for me to keep track of.

3. Figure out a system of incentives and rewards for managing your time productively. I found that having things written down on a list that I could cross off with a big red pen was oddly satisfying, so I broke everything down into chunks and wrote it out like that. For example, I might have something that looked like this:

TO READ:

Personality Psychology:
Chapter 1, pg. 1-10
Chapter 1, pg. 11-20
Chapter 1, pg. 21-28

I broke it down in ten page increments instead of just listing "Chapter 1" because I knew there was no way I would sit and read 28 pages all at once, I just couldn't do it, I'd burn out. It would frustrate me to sit down, read ten pages, and have nothing to "show" for it. When I broke it up like this, I could reach my 10-page goals and get the satisfaction of crossing it off the list, seeing my progress visually. Then I would let myself get up and do something else for 30 minutes, then come back and do another 10 pages. It takes much longer to study this way, but it gets the job done.

I'm sure your eyes are falling out of your head if you read through all of that, haha, but if you are interested in more or have any questions feel free to ask!

Hey, what are these 'trapper keeper' folders you are talking about?

[keliza]

Originally Posted by AshT

Hey, what are these 'trapper keeper' folders you are talking about?

Trapper keepers are a kind of notebook that was really popular in the 80s and early 90s. I will let this fantastic commercial explain for me:



You can still find trapper keepers today, and they are awesome, but I prefer the zip binders because you can throw things into them and zip them up all the way around and nothing falls out. I'm the kind of person who will grab a pen, sticky notes, highlighter, and a snack for later and throw them all into my zip binder and close it, then when I get to the library all I have to do is unzip and everything's there!

[Silvermoonstone]

Thanks for the tips guys. ^^ Brick-sized textbooks don't look so intimidating now, hah. I long had made an organizational binder full of pocket folders and dividers, and I've been using that method for years. But perhaps it'd be better to divide the workload inside it even more.

Originally Posted by keliza

3. Figure out a system of incentives and rewards for managing your time productively. I found that having things written down on a list that I could cross off with a big red pen was oddly satisfying, so I broke everything down into chunks and wrote it out like that. For example, I might have something that looked like this:

TO READ:

Personality Psychology:
Chapter 1, pg. 1-10
Chapter 1, pg. 11-20
Chapter 1, pg. 21-28

I broke it down in ten page increments instead of just listing "Chapter 1" because I knew there was no way I would sit and read 28 pages all at once, I just couldn't do it, I'd burn out. It would frustrate me to sit down, read ten pages, and have nothing to "show" for it. When I broke it up like this, I could reach my 10-page goals and get the satisfaction of crossing it off the list, seeing my progress visually. Then I would let myself get up and do something else for 30 minutes, then come back and do another 10 pages. It takes much longer to study this way, but it gets the job done.

So I'm not the only one who does that!