The Bedside Bowl & Bag

Next to my bed (on a bedside table whenever possible) I have a bowl, a very important bowl because this is where I put the small things that I need for the day ahead. My phone and iPod are always on charge so they aren't in the bowl, but the other items include;

1. Keys

2. Swipe card for my accommodation
3. University ID card
4. Hair pins & hairbands - which I wear on my wrist every day
5. Any reminders of things to remember to do that day

    There are two main benefits to this bowl existing, the first is that every morning I know exactly where everything I need is for the day ahead, I never have to rummage in my bag, or worry about leaving my keys behind. The second is that I can quickly grab these items in the event of a fire alarm sounding. If its a drill, I'll need my keys and swipe card to get back into my flat. Oh and a third benefit is that if you oversleep you can just grab and go.

    I also keep a bag prepared for each day, there are certain things I ALWAYS keep in there (every season, every weather type, every day).

1. Plasters - including a few blister plasters
2. Brolly!! (really important if you live in the UK)
3. Pen
4. Some form of paper - receipt, note pad, sticky notes, basically anything you can write on
5. headphones - they just stay in a small pocket
6. Hair pins/hair band
7. Spare bag (one of those tiny fold up shopping bag ones) - incase the bag breaks, for shopping etc


Once we're into April (until ~ Sept 1st) I also carry suncream with me (I burn horrifically, so if you're normal skinned I'd say around May/June). Between about March and October I carry sunglasses. From about November until April I also carry gloves.

When it comes to term time, thats where "The To and From folder" lives.

The Timetable

Hopefully your University is incredibly organised and provides you with a very comprehensible, easy to understand timetable. Mine, I despair to admit, does not*. This prompted me to make my own, which I'm really rather happy with. A picture of one of the weeks in my timetable will be posted here.

Timetable 

1. Create a table in Word, 10 Columns, 6 Rows (8 if you include Sat/Sun)

2. Split the columns into timings. I went for hourly from 9am until 6pm 

3. Split the rows into days - just the day (not the date)

4. Add a "Week:" option down the bottom. 

5. Add in, electronically, all of the lectures that happen at specific times every single week. Anything that happens every 2 weeks, or irregularly shouldn't be added at this stage. 

6. Print it. Print enough copies to have one per week for the first term at least. 

Now, the boring part; 

Add in - 

1. Practicals (unless they're every single week on the same day at the same time

2. Deadlines

3. Tutorials 

4. Sports activities/hobbies

5. Personal events - booked holidays, trips home, parties you've agreed to 

6. Exams/tests 

Now the "fun" part; 

Add a colour scheme, with different indications for each time of event listed above. For mine I have - 

- Full, block line = lecture 

- Dash line = practical 

- Just the corners = tutorial 

- Lines going across the box = exam/test

- Lines going across the box with grey and a dashed border - deadline 

- Cross through it - cancelled 

I should also mention that each module has a different colour 

PHOL - green, CHEM - red, PHAR - orange, BIOC - blue, personal - pink

Do this for every week, if you know where the lecture is going to be then write it in, if you're like me and your university has a tendency to change locations then just leave it blank. 

*Well they do, but its not very good, rather confusing and includes lots of irrelevant stuff. 

Notes

Probably the most important thing when it comes to staying organised at University - how to take notes, how to label notes, how to use them etc.

My top tips for notes;

1. ALWAYS write the course code and the date at the top of the page, of every page, every single one. This is so useful in terms of organisation, you don't need much more than that. For me I write;
Course code, topic/section, lecturer, lecture number, date for example
PHAR1001: Local Anaesthetics, Smart, L4    17.10.13
or CHEM1603: Part B, McMillan, L7     23.10.13
One of the easiest things to do with a piece of paper is to misplace it, lose it, or put it in a random place and then find it again. You look at the content and you have no idea where you lost it from, what lecture it came from, when it was (was it this year? last year?), you have no idea where it belongs but if you label your notes then you will always be able to know whats missing or where it goes.

2. PAGE NUMBER - on every page in a lecture I write the number in the top right hand corner. Just a simple 1 or 2, by that I mean 2 would be the second sheet of paper rather than the 2nd side of 1 piece of A4.

3. If the lecturer is going too fast and you miss something, skip it. Don't bother trying to write it down and thus miss the next part of the lecture, just put an arrow in the margin indicating that you need to finish this section of notes, leave enough space and then move on to the next part.

4. Have an indication of important information. For me, I draw a star by anything the lecturer says is important, e.g. when a lecturer says "this would make really good exam material" bam, a star gets drawn next to it. Its easy to look through your notes and know whats really important if you indicate it when you first write about it.

5. If you can - keep an eye on what number slide the lecturer is on, to go with number 3 its useful to know the slide number. Most power points are put up on some sort of platform for you to access if you missed the lecture (if they're put up before its useful to read through them or print them out).

6. Mix up the page a bit. You don't have to write in an essay format, mix up the page, use columns, circle information, put info in a box, draw diagrams, use arrows, add colour, draw a border around sections, split the page up into strange shapes, make it interesting for yourself. Use bullet points or arrows to show the flow of an argument. Split long sentences into key words, the last thing you want is for your notes to look like a textbook because how many of us love reading textbooks with no colour, pictures or anything remotely interesting?

Those are my top tips for now, hopefully something slightly different to what you've been taught already (theres no point repeating something you probably already know).

Refill pads Vs Notebooks

This is a major topic I think in terms of keeping notes organised - do you use a notebook or a refill pad & folder?

For me, I use a refill pad and folder, I'll go through the pros and cons of each

Notebook 

Pros 
- all pages are stuck in a book - no single lost pages
- notebooks can have dividers - you can have different sections
- most notebooks allow you to rip the paper out afterwards - once you're finished with the notebook you can put the notes in the appropriate place
- you barely have to worry about the pages ripping in a folder (via the holes)

Cons
- you don't know how big the sections need to be, so for me I would start in the middle of the book for one module, but the first module might run over - then what? two books!?
- if you have a separate notebook for each module you could end up taking 2-3 notebooks to Uni at a time
- you still have to file it in a folder afterwards
- theres nowhere to place handouts/extra sheets without the chance of them falling out
- you always think "I need to stick that in" but very rarely do


Refill pad/folder 

Pros
- organised from the start with dividers
- place to put handouts and timetables
- option to place things in the folder without hole punching or glue (wallets)
- carry work to be submitted in them
- easy to keep a refill pad at the back, which is easily replaced when its run out

Cons
- paper can rip quite easily and therefore fall out if the holes rip (due to the ring binder)
- can become quite bulky if you keep all the notes in it
- best not to keep all of your notes in, and if you take them out then you no longer have them with you for every lecture to refer to (though see The Scanner)


So the one I use is the Refill pad/folder - I used to have notebooks for A level, but it just became inconvenient as I studied 4 subjects and sometimes had to bring in 4 large notebooks. Although if you don't stay organised with a folder then it can be a foe rather than a friend.


Refill pads 

My favourite brand of refill pads are the Oxford brand, but they're quite expensive, so I go for Pukka pads instead. The paper feels nice, its thick enough so that pen doesn't seep through onto the other side, the holes hold quite well in a folder and it just gives a nice feel to your notes.

The Un-filed

So todays topic is filing the un-filed, I have two main areas of un-filed paperwork - one is the in drawer for notes to be written up properly, read through, scanned and then put into my module folders, the other is two magazine style holders with un-filed paperwork - so anything that needs to be filed but I'm either too lazy, tired or busy to file straight away e.g. letters, bank statements, flyers etc. I also have a magazine style holder for filed paperwork - so I have plastic folders in there.







I'll go through these folders - you should definitely consider getting these;
1. Exam certificates - inc. A levels, drivers licence etc
2. Student finance and student banking
3. Preparing for university inc. Accommodation (so accommodation contracts, pre-uni reading etc)
4. Work - work contracts, P45/6, payslips etc
5. CV - just my CV, ready to put in my bag for handing out to potential employers
I also have my Passport, passport sized photos of me, NI card etc in this holder.

Even if you don't have these folders, in this filing system you need to have a place for your important information.

Every couple of weeks I go through the un-filed paperwork and decide where it should go, the bin is always an option (although bank info should be ripped up into tiny tiny pieces first) and as our commenter says, make sure that addresses and names )basically personal information) is crossed out or ripped out.

The Stationery

I'm sure many people will agree that stationery shopping is one of the best things. Ever.

So I have a list of stationery/handy small items that I use at University and why/what I use them for so you can decide whether you need it in your life (obviously I'm going to skip pens, pencils, rubber, sharpener, ruler and calculator).

1. Hole punch - useful for filing
2. Stapler - good for stapling notes, essays, labs together etc.
3. Sellotape - I think I've used this once so far, I do have it but I can't give you a good reason why
4. Glue (Pritt stick) - this is really useful for me, sticking graphs in books, sticking plain paper onto lined paper because I like detailed diagrams to be drawn on plain paper, sticking diagrams to revision cards.
5. Revision cards - useful for quick notes to yourself, bookmarks for books and of course REVISION
6. Highlighters - I am more of a colouring pencil kind of person, but its good for highlighting important phrases, you must never highlight a whole text, it defeats the point of a highlighter. Really you shouldn't highlight more than 2-3 words in a sentence or 2-3 lines in a paragraph, just focus on the key ideas.
7. Labels - useful for labelling things shockingly, good for folders, work, plastic wallets, stuff thats yours
9. Sharpie - seriously get one, good for labelling milk in the fridge if you're weird, labelling folders, plastic wallets, writing on some* surfaces (yes it may say permanent, but there is little that can't be removed with a bit of acetone) (which in case you weren't aware is a key chemical in nail varnish remover).
10. Pins - for the pin board you will inevitably have, I keep my rubber, sharpener and memory stick on my pin board using stick out pins.
11. Blue tac/white tac - check the rules of where you're living, but you can usually get away with white tac, you can sometimes use it on pin boards as well, which frees up the pins.
12. Command hooks - used in my room to hang bunting and jewellery on the walls, so less drawer space is needed, can be used in the kitchen for certain utensils, I also used them to hang up my fairy lights.


*if you're daring enough to write on something with a sharpie make sure its not a desk, the acetone in nail varnish remover isn't highly concentrated and is flammable, so you shouldn't rely on it too much to remove your drunken antics. However if you're writing on laminated paper or whiteboards, even some tiles then nail varnish remover should get it off for you, with a little scrubbing. Also obviously I'm not responsible for any idiotic things you do in your spare time.

The Scanner

My printer (Brother) is a photocopier and scanner as well and I can tell you that the scanning part is SO USEFUL.

Let me tell you why. 

1. Storing notes - if you write notes on paper (like I do) you can scan them in once you've written them up and before they go in the module folders. This way you have an electronic copy of them. Now if you use some sort of cloud storage device - Skydrive, iCloud, Google drive (the one I use), Dropbox etc, you can have your notes accessible anywhere. So if you have a tablet, you can access them on there, if you leave you need to see your notes whilst you're home for the holidays you can see them on your computer rather than having to take them all with you. (Assuming you work or revise over christmas of course). 

2. Labs - quite often you will have to write a practical report and then submit it, it may take a while to get back and in some cases (mine for example) I haven't been given them back, but I'd really like a copy, so what I do is just scan them, then I have a copy for myself and can submit the original for marking. 

3. Revision materials - in my course we have to learn a lot of processes, which involve diagrams and different steps. In my notes I quite often draw out really detailed diagrams and when it comes to revision it can take time to do it again. However if you scan in your notes or photocopy them, you can have another copy of the diagrams which can be cut up and mounted on card - for flashcards, snap games, matching the description to the picture etc. That way you spent a lot less time rewriting things onto card and can spend more time actually going through the material. 

The Big Guns

Obviously I'm not going to tell you to take guns to University (I mean in the UK you shouldn't have a gun anyway....), no when I speak of "The Big Guns" I mean the big folders, - the Module folders.

Module Folders

 I have 5 currently because I have 5 modules this term, although next term I will have to get another 1 or 2. These are organised much like the Key folders;
In each folder;

- dividers
- plastic wallets in each divider for revision or anything you don't want to hole punch
- introduction lecture at the very front with key dates, deadlines and instructions
- practicals are kept at the back in independent plastic wallets -> this is not an area I currently feel comfortable about, I'm still looking at a better way to organise these!

Each module splits (luckily for me) their course into sections, and each section covers a different topic. This is really great because each topic gets its own section in the module folder. All the notes from each lecture are stapled together so you know what happened in each one. I'll be writing more about organising your notes later.

Where you keep these folders

  They need to be easily accessibly so I have mine on a shelf above my desk where I can reach up (when I'm still sitting at the desk) and grab one incase I need to look through my notes.

Some snaps of my folders;

The Pots

On my desk I have two pots - these are very important to me. I love colour, absolutely love it, I can't have notes without having some sort of colour on them. I never used to be like that, I would do everything in black pen and my teachers would despair because my work looked horrible, untidy and scratchy (mainly because I'd put no effort in), but eventually I gave in. Simply just to get them off my back, I added colour, and eventually I started to like it.

I have two metallic mesh pots that I bought from Wilkinsons and then I have some pins stuck to my pin board which keep some of my other pieces of stationary tidy.


Number 1:
Colouring pencils - keep these facing up and obviously keep them sharpened!
Colouring pens - face these downwards so the ink is sat at the tip of the pen, it is much better in terms of getting the most out of your pens

Number 2:
Boring stuff
- black pens
- blue pens
- red pens
- HB pencils
- scissors
- ruler

On the wall:
- memory stick - so I always know where it is
- rubber
- sharpener

 As far as brands go, I have Crayola colouring pencils (which are very good) but you can use any, if its just for notes then any colouring pencil will do, my colouring pens are Sainsbury's home brand, so that will do for pencils as well. My pens and HB pencils are from Staples, I was given them as a "off to uni" present. I'm pretty sure my rubber and sharpened are from Sainsbury's as well, but again just get any.

Now I know this seems like such a simple, almost patronising or stupid post, but its important to consider where on your desk, or which drawer you're going to keep the important stationary in. It needs to be accessible to the point where you don't have to make much effort to get it. You need to know where the important things are! Nothing wastes time more than having to search for something.

The Key folders

  In my life I have some very important folders, aptly named "The to and from folder", "The wallet holder folder" and "The everything else folder". This all started in Year 12 at school when I used a folder and a refill pad to take to school for notes, I named this folder "The everything else folder" because it contained everything I thought I might need for school. Now I've moved on to university, I revamped my folder and gave it some friends.
  So, let me take you through whats in the folders;

1. The to and from folder

This is the folder I take to University with me, I keep it in my bag and have sections for different notes. - Inside cover; name and email address for contact in case the folder gets lost

- contents page for your modules
- dividers for each module
- in each division - plastic wallet and a timetable for that module (if theres one available)
- at the back; resources! - coloured card, white plain paper, graph paper (important if you do science or maths), and a refill pad

After each day, the notes I've accumulated get taken out of the folder and put in to my in/out draw on my desk. That way if the folder goes missing the maximum amount of notes you've lost is one days worth. Also this keeps the folder light for carrying it to and from Uni.








2. The wallet holder folder 

This folder literally just contains plastic wallets to clip into other folders, I have nice ones at the front and scratchy feeling ones at the back. I also have A5 sized wallets because these are good for revision cards.






3. The everything else folder 

This contains everything else. Everything you could need;
- dividers
- coloured paper (A4)
- coloured card (A4)
- white card (A4)
- white plain paper (A4)
- graph paper (A4)
- labels
Some of these have holes in and are placed straight into the folder, others are kept in wallets.






Thats it for the organisation folders!

An Introduction

Hi,


    Welcome to my blog. I am a student mildly addicted to stationary, organisation and colourful notes. I love organising things, keeping them neat and making sure that everything has its place. I know that for some people, especially students (and those in A/ level/GCSE years at school) can have trouble with keeping their work organised so I'd like to help. I aim to post a segment every week and build up a base of ideas that you can use to help keep your notes understandable, revision fun and interesting (yes it is possible!) and make sure that you know where everything is when it comes to exams and quizzes.

  So, a little about me - I am currently studying BSc (Hons) Pharmacology, what this means for you is that I am studying a science degree so information about practicals and staying on top of lap reports will also be posted. I am studying my degree at University College London, what that means for you is that they require a high standard of work, there are revision quizzes throughout the year, they have a mentoring program run with the second years to help freshers (like myself) into study so I have the experience needed, as well as the support, to give you a good guide to staying on top of work. I am living in halls, this means that this year I was able to design my room how I wanted it, I have limited space so I have to keep things neat and tidy, as well as having ample space for notes. Finally, I have changed my note keeping style since doing my A levels so I have an idea of what works for me and what doesn't, I can present the notebook vs refill pad argument to you having been on both sides of it.

   So my first post on organisation will be up this week, I'll be writing this as I continue my first year of studies, and hopefully you'll pick up some useful tips. Please feel free to submit your own tips for staying organised, and let me know if something I've suggested hasn't worked out very well for you.

  Until next time,
 
     Kate :)