1) Nix the spiral-bound notebook and go with loose leaf paper. Holy cow, this is a big one for me! It has been so incredibly helpful thus far. I either keep the paper in a binder or a folder, depending on the class. For chemistry the textbook is unbound so I had to buy a binder anyway. What I did then was separate the chapters we'll be covering and only included those in the binder. That leaves all kinds of room for my notes. Calculus (pictured above) has it's own binder, but a separate book. The notebook gets graded along with the final at the end of the semester so I keep a 3-hole plastic folder in the middle for worksheets, tests, and quizzes (not shown because I haven't had any homework yet). This way, when it's time to hand in for grading, everything is already all together. I haven't been to my other class yet as today will be my first day, but I have loose paper in a pocket folder ready to go along with the text book. This saves so much space in my bag!
2) Use tabs for each lab session in a chemistry lab manual. That keeps me from flipping through multiple pages and each tab is numbered so I'm never unsure of which lab we're doing. The numbers correspond with the info from my syllabus-which is just the week-and have also been written in my planner to keep me on track. This is easy to do with regular sticky notes or the special tab kind like I used from Post-It.
3) Use daily to-do lists on a sticky note or white board. Eventually I will be busy with school work and will need sticky notes for each class, but right now I only need one. I sit down at my desk and write a short list of all the things I need to accomplish at that time-whether I have a few minutes or a few hours. I cross things off as I go and that keeps my planner and my brain uncluttered.
4) Use a project folder. I actually started this last semester and it made a HUGE impact! I had to write several papers for various classes so I would gather all of my references, articles, etc. and put them in a folder together, one folder for each paper. I would also include the grading rubric when provided. That way, when it came time to do the writing, all of my information was right in front of me and not scattered. I also use a lined, large sticky note to make a to-do list for the paper. For example, I would include things like: type outline, create reference page, get 3 sources from text, etc. I can't tell you how much more organized this system made me. I also found that I was able to stay on task and turn it in on time. *I didn't think it was necessary for a pic, but if I have a project coming up I'll add one:).
5) Take notes before every going to class! I know, easier said than done for some people, but I love taking notes and I'm good at it;). So, I sat down with my chemistry book (pictured above) and started taking notes for the first chapter we're covering. I only used one side of the paper so I could use a variety of pen types and colors and not be distracted with bleed-though. Before I knew it, I was done with the whole chapter. When I got to class, I understood everything the professor was talking about because I actually read it and absorbed some info. I still take notes in class, but I add them to the notes I already took. That way, when it come times to study for the exam, I'll have more than enough info.
6) Use color-coding in a planner. I actually got this from a board on Pinterest and it's been very helpful thus far. The pic above is just a small sample of a week-only partly complete. The smiley face stickers are my way of tracking my water intake throughout the day as I'm also trying to stay healthy and hydrated while in school.
I hope that helps someone out there! I will continue to share any tidbits that have been useful for me and, as previously stated, I will update with my results:) Happy studying!
Queen E
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