School Tips!

My 2nd semester of year 2 in NUS just started yesterday! And this semester i incorporated some organisation stuff into my routine, and in just 2 days i can feel the difference! So i would like to share them with you (: It would apply better for Poly and Uni students!

Note Taking

First thing that I got myself was a notebook. I just got ONE notebook for all my subjects, and this works for me because I'm actually quite careless and messy, so i tend to misplace stuff if I have too much. Neater people would want to go for one notebook for each subject, but for me less is better! The one i got was from value dollar for a mere 2 bucks. I have 3 subjects this semester and i got a 3 subject notebook (literally thats what its called. printed on the cover). A5 size and already sectioned into 3 parts. Very convenient.

I take notes in this notebook during class. I'm tired of bringing my laptop to school coz it's really heavy. So i switched from typing to writing. Also, writing actually forces you to process what your teacher says during class, coz it will be almost impossible to write down everything word for word (for the simple reason that writing is slower than typing, at least for me!) So I HAVE to process what he say and filter out the unimportant/repetitive stuff, and just write down (even summarize) what is important. I find this a better learning style than typing notes, coz when typing i literally type down what the prof says word for word, and i'm so busy just trying to catch his every word that i end up not even understanding.

But of course, notes can be very messy! Coz you do need to scribble very fast, and often the notes are incomplete sentences of just the keywords, So i make it a point to type down the notes i take when i get back home, at the same time incorporate some textbook material into the notes. It's important to type them down in full sentences within 2 days of note taking! Coz that's when your memory is still fresh and you can still make sense of your notes, and even remember the stuff that you didn't manage to write down. Type and print them out into a file.

Of course you can also use paper to take notes. The benefit of a notebook is just that you will never lose your handwritten notes in case you may need to refer to it again (maybe to clarify a mistake in the typed notes) in the future.

To do list

This is another thing i never done in the past. Coz i feel like i can somewhat remember what i need to do. But actually, it makes so much difference! A to do list is different from your organiser. Your organiser is for you to take down deadlines, stuff that you need to do etc. But a to do list is to write down what you need to do FOR THE DAY. And it really helps because sometimes when you only have half an hour of free time, most of the time you'll think that half an hour is too short to do anything, and just slack it away. But if you have a to do list you can look at it and quickly calculate which one can be done in that half an hour. This makes your time so much more efficient! Also, with a to do list you are less likely to forget stuff. And more motivated to complete you to do list.

But remember, be realistic! Don't make a to do list that contains everything you need to do for the rest of the week. If you have a lot to do, you can write some stuff into the to do list for the next few days. Coz if you get into the habit of being too ambitious and write too much in a day but never completes them, you will just be used to not completing your to do list and that's not a good thing! It will give you more excuses to procrastinate.

Organiser

As mentioned above, an organiser is different from your to do list, and i will recommend separating them unless you want to use a big book for both. This is to take down important deadlines, assignments, things to do etc. Usually i write what i need to do in the organiser, and then use my to do list to plan which to do on which day.

I think that's pretty much all i gathered in 2 days! I never used to have an organiser and to do list and of course i got along fine. But as school work gets more and more heavy, i realise i tend to forget things and procrastinate too much. If you feel like you aren't coping, try to be more organised and you will feel the difference, immediately! It makes you enjoy school much more and more confident, coz you know what you need to do and that you have done them, so there's nothing to be worried about, and so less to dread! (: