Getting Ready For Battle

Planner: Calendar

When I was in high school, I used to love the weeks leading up to school. Although I often dreaded going back for another year and I certainly dreaded the summer homework, I absolutely love school shopping. It is almost like, I would imagine, a fashionista buying a dress for the party of the season: finding something flashy, but at the same time something in which she feels comfortable enough so she won't regret her choice at the end of the evening. Anyway, I would do the same thing with school supplies. Something cool and enticing, so I would want to use it, but also something that served a definite function.

In seventh grade I started color coding my classes and my homework and I am convinced that this was essential to my high GPA throughout my middle school and high school career. The strict organization permeated every aspect of my school life and even if my room was a mess, my binders were always pristine and my homework was always highlighted in the appropriate color in my planner.

In college, this system degraded. I tried a number of organizational systems that did not work very well. Detailed syllabi replaced my planner, for the most part. The subjects of my classes varied widely from semester to semester and it was difficult to maintain the rigid color scheme. I no longer had a system that allowed me to organize my homework and keep my school books separate from the mess that sometimes engulfed my room. Both junior and senior year I tried to revamp my system to limited success. I became more organized and improved my work and efficiency and my class and thesis notes were fabulous. However, I still could not replicate my high school organizational successes.

This year, I am going to try again. I bought myself a new planner (see one page above) and a new set of pens (instead of highlighters) to color code it. I have assigned colors to my classes and various other work for the remainder of the summer, although I know these will change again as the Fall begins. The new university at which I will be taking classes has a more traditional system than my alma mater, so perhaps the rigidness of the organizational system will fit it well.

Planner: Week

Good luck on the school year, everyone (in school or otherwise), and may you enjoy your preparation as much as I am!