Organization!

With the start of the semester just around the corner, I've already started thinking about the best ways to stay organized. Like most of my classmates, there are a lot of tasks on our plates. Balancing work, classes, extra-curricular activities and free time, let alone, deadlines, appointments and group projects can be very daunting and stressful at times. The most important thing we can do is stay organized!

Here are some helpful tips to stay organized and hopefully stress free!

-Keep a planner: Having an agenda or planner is one of the best ways to keep all your tasks, assignments and appointments organized. Not only is this great for listing due dates of homework and papers but you can easily remind yourself of upcoming special dates, such as your friends' birthdays too.

-Make daily to-do lists: List tasks you must complete for the day, such as homework you need to finish or e-mails you have to send later or even reminding yourself to do a load of laundry. As you complete each task, check it off. Even if you can't accomplish all that is listed, you can add these tasks to the next day's list.

-Utilize your tech: Nowadays technology can make our lives easier, utilize your cell phones, computers and laptops. For example many cell phones have calendar programs or features which allow for reminders of tasks or appointments. Most people always have their cell phones with them, so it's a great tool to take advantage of. Also, utilizing a site like google offers personalized homepages which features a to-do list application users can maintain.

-Organize your documents: Keep all your school work organized, this goes for notebooks and folders which you might take to class, as well as documents saved on your computer. For example, what if you are trying to find a press release from a PR class you took the previous year, but can't find it after searching through hundreds of documents on your computer? Well, organize your files by semester on your computer. Having a folder for each semester, then in that folder have a folder for each class. When saving documents use the appropriate class folder and incorporate the subject matter of the assignment in the document name.

Of course these are only a few suggestions in keeping yourself more organized, but they are definitely a good start!