Become the most organized person you know before exams

People often ask me how I manage to participate in LSE events, organize outings with my flat, and venture on side-quests in and outside of London while I manage all of my schoolwork and get ahead on my master’s dissertation research. The answer is much simpler than a time turner or a doppelgänger: I am the most organized person I know. If you are looking to get organized before you start studying for exams, here are the strategies that keep me on top of everything. 

1. Eleven Week Wall Calendar

You can pick up a blank 11 week wall calendar from the LSE Life center in the library. I write down all of my classes, events, and parties on the days of the week and then my household chores and assignment due dates in the “my tasks” boxes. This way I don’t wonder if it’s time to wash my duvet cover again, because the wall calendar keeps track for me. I cross events off of the calendar if I didn’t make it to them, so that when I am wondering when I went to a certain lecture, the answer is always close by. I also write down what I do for fun in a specific color so that I can tell if I’ve been having enough school-free fun lately at a glance. This calendar is the most important thing I did when I got to LSE. I would highly recommend putting one up on your wall. 

Pro tip: outside of term time, I still use these calendars, and just cut them down to the number of weeks in between terms with a pair of scissors. 10/10 would recommend.

2. Notebook

Instead of carrying around a planner, I pick up little notebooks on my travels. These become my catch-all to do list. I try to buy notebooks that have a slot for a pen, and then I stick a reuseable tab on the current page so that my to do list is never too far away. Each morning, I take a look at that wall calendar, write down where I need to be and at what time, and then also what I hope to get done today. When I get to campus and can’t remember if I have an event in between my lecture and my seminar, or if it’s tomorrow instead, the notebook remembers. It’s satisfying to cross off each lecture, seminar, and reading and watch the list get smaller and smaller throughout the day.

It’s also a place to put anything that comes to mind that I don’t want to forget when I am away from my laptop. I can also start planning out my days in advance, sometimes mapping out the whole week. This allows me to see when I have the time to get which readings done or if I need to do them ahead of my normal routine. It goes with me everywhere-like carrying around my brain’s drainage basin. It may sound like a stressful way to manage your days, but for me it has taken the stress off of always remembering what I need to get done. 

3. Google Calendar

You’re probably wondering, between the wall calendar and the notebook, what do I need another calendar for? However, the wall calendar doesn’t come to campus with me. As someone who often forgets what classroom lectures or events will be in, it’s important for me to be able to pull out my phone, and reference my Google calendar. It’s also a fail safe. If I forget to write something on the wall calendar, I might have remembered to put it in the google calendar, and vise versa. 

Together these three things mean that unless I fall ill or actively decide to skip something on the list, I don’t miss a single event or task. 

And I can easily see where I have some time to build in those side-quests and travel plans. 

4. Google Doc

Now you’re probably wondering, what could you possibly need another to do list for?

Ten years ago, when I was fourteen, I decided to go from being a scatterbrained, disorganized student barely getting by to an organized person and get top grades, because I wanted to get into my dream college. Believe it or not, I wasn’t born this way. I had to painstaking teach myself how to be organized, and it did not come naturally to me. But I am forgetful and have a disorganized brain, and I couldn’t change that. And thus, the Google doc was born.

I opened a document called: “Homework—Events — Projects” and started making color coded lists (have I mentioned that I also color code everything?). This document stayed open always, as the first tab on my computer. It was edited throughout the day as assignments were submitted, due dates changed, or I added new tasks. It also had sections for longer term projects so I could keep up with what was next towards a long-term goal. Throughout the years I started writing down funny quotes that my friends said that made my laugh and that I didn’t want to forget. I started collecting links to recipes, or things I was saving up to buy, and designing my first tattoos in that doc. 

It got me through high school, into my dream college, through my four years of undergraduate studies, and it survived my time working and building my career before I decided to go back to school. It continues to evolve, but still has quotes from my high school friends that make me smile. It doesn’t stay open on my computer at all times anymore, but it does have a saved tab so that I can open it with one click. Importantly, it has become my place for long term goals, like planning my mother’s impending trip to London, or my post-LSE aspirations. It’s like the shoebox in the back of my life’s closet. 

Pro tip: I also have a London Bucket List on the wall behind my desk. It’s not in a very visible spot so it doesn’t loom over me. But it’s a good reference to make sure I’m keeping up with my sight seeing before I leave London.

5. Actually Getting Tasks Done

My strategy has been to use every single technique that I possibly can to organize my life all at once, and so far they work together really well for me me. I suggest just trying out the ones that sound the most helpful to you. If your mind is a little more organized than mine, one or two may work just fine. 

The other key to being ready for exams is finding great places to study. I’m something of a study spot hunter. If you are interested in checking out my list of study spaces in London you can find that here. If you need some help finding LSE disability resources related to your studies, you can find my advice on that here. 

Best of luck with your exams!