Monday, April 14, 2014

Keeping it Together




Being organized was never something that I really felt was important in high school, but as soon as I got to college I realized that I was going to need to get myself together. Literally.

Since then, I've become and organization fiend. If something is not in its place, I scramble to fix it because I have a plethora of worst-case-scenarios running through my head.
"What if someone visits and needs items A and B and I don't know where they are?"
"What if I'm taking care of the family dog and I can't find his leash? "
"What if I'm getting ready for a final project and I can't find any of my deliverables?"

You get the gist of it. It definitely can get worse than that, but those seem to be my most common thoughts.

So I make sure to keep my life together. Everything has a place and everything is in that place. That's the tough part. Saying what belongs where is easy; actually making sure it gets put there every single day is a struggle.

To keep it together, I primarily use 4 things:

  1. Chromebook
    My laptop. This Chromebook is barely 11", so it's super easy to carry around everywhere; it even fits in a few of my purses, which is super convenient for me when I don't want to lug around an extra bag just fr my computer. It also stores everything in the Cloud, via Google Drive, so even if I leave it behind or--heaven forbid--lose it, I won't lose any of the work I've done. It operates using Chrome OS, so I have access to all web apps in the Chrome Store, which definitely helps me keep everything on the computer nice and organized. There are planners, task timers, note-takers, and so much more that you can use to stay organized.

  2. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
    I guess at this point, this particular tablet is "out-of-date," but it's basically the love of my life. I can access everything I do on my computer and everything I do on my phone thanks to the cloud, plus a whole bunch of other stuff. I love to read, and since ebooks are much cheaper than hard copies (although, there is nothing like a real book) I keep a ton on here so I am never without a good book. It's also a lot easier to carry around my one, tiny tablet, than to store 3 or 4 books in a bag. I primarily use this for reading news and blogs. My favorite app for doing so is Feedly, which keeps it all together and nice and organized for me. Sometimes I even use this to take notes in a class or meeting.

  3. Planner
    Basically every second of my life is in here. If it's not in here, I'll probably forget. In fact, lately I've been forgetting to transcribe items from my digital calendar to this planner and, shocker, I've forgotten about them. So I definitely need to get back on that, because missing things causes so much stress and I am not about that life.

  4. Mini Binder
    Every thing is in here. I plan my days in here, take notes in here, write down ideas in here, draw quick sketches in here. My life is in this binder. I have it separated for different subjects--classes, my internship, this blog, personal things--so I can easily find what I'm looking for. This binder goes with me everywhere. If you don't have something like this, I definitely suggest you get one. It's adorable and it helps me keep my life together, so I'd say it's basically essential.

So, there you have it. That's how I'm keeping it together. There are a few flaws that I'm currently working out, but overall, it's a system that works for me and keeps my life as stress-free as possible (which, in the last month of your senior year of college, is not very stress-free, fyi)

Does anyone have any organization tips that they are particularly fond of? I'm always trying to perfect my system, so don't hesitate to let me know! 

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