It may still feel like summer (is this heat necessary?), but school is officially back in session. The start of a school year means many things: a fresh start, brand new school supplies, new classmates, and learning how to balance a crazy schedule all over again. We’re sure you understand the importance of starting the year off on the right foot. Yes, you can always change your habits midway through the semester or year, but why wait to get organized?
It’s much easier to finish a task once you’ve started. How do we know this? The Zeigarnik Effect. According to psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, your brain will alert your conscious when you’ve started a project and haven’t finished it yet. Aka the work will weigh on your mind until you’ve completed the assignment. And as students, you’ve got more than a few assignments that will keep you busy. We’ll share some tips to keep you organized this year so no task is left behind.
Write it Down
There’s a reason planners are popular for the savvy worker; they’re crucial for the organization. Write down all your papers, reading assignments, and group projects and carry that thing around with you from class to class. Any.do stores your list on your phone and computer so you’ll be less likely to lose track of your assignments because you always have your planner within reach. Another perk of the app is that you’re able to choose how you organize your workload, whether it’s by work, personal items or urgency level. Make sure all your assignments are marked down in your planner, so you know exactly what you have coming up each week.
Communicate Effectively
Love them or hate them, group projects are a reality of school; nothing is worse than the resulting chaos after one person is stuck with all the work due to a lack of communication between group members. Manage, delegate, edit, remove, share, and add tasks for group projects in one easy space. Avoid using more than a few platforms to communicate, and instead stick to a couple, like in-person meetings and Any.do collaboration where everyone can comment on the tasks and stay informed.
Declutter your Space
Clean out your backpack, desk, or locker and remove all the clutter you don’t actually need. Then, designate a space for everything. Once you figure out what goes where, make an effort to leave your belongings in the same spot, every single time. We hear it takes around 21 days to form a habit, so once you pick a place for your books, you’ll know where to find them quickly, especially if you’re in a rush.
Set Yourself Some Reminders
Sometimes, we all need a reminder of what’s coming up next so we don’t lose track of our to do list. Set yourself reminders throughout the day for meetings, clubs, sports, assignments, and other tasks. We don’t expect everyone else to remember every little detail about their day, so why should we be any different? And for even more in depth reminders, our Premium version allows you to set recurring reminders to fit any schedule and location-based reminders, anywhere, anytime.
Keep A Schedule
Another way to boost productivity and creativity is to keep a schedule, so you know exactly how much time you’re able to allot to each activity. Once you’ve written down all of your assignments and extracurricular activities in your planner, you’ll be able to spend your time wisely and avoid feeling like you’re burning out long before the semester is over. We love using the Any.do Moment every morning because it tells us everything we have lined up for the day before we’re even out the door.
Now, please excuse us while we set a reminder to write our reminders.
