How I Organize My Notes and Classwork

I’m always trying to find new ways to organize things. Two of my favorite words to live by are “efficient” and “effective”. So sometimes I stop and ask myself “Is this the most efficient and effective way of doing this?” If it’s not, then I find a new way. I’m officially a sophomore in college now (yippee) and I’ve tried out a few of ways of organizing my class work. This semester I have been using a binder with loose-leaf paper instead of a spiral and I am finding out that it is much better. Here is why.

1. First I can put the schedule from the syllabus in the front. I love being able to see this everyday when I go to take notes because it tells me what we’re doing that day and what homework to expect that night.

2. This front pocket is perfect for things I am working on, or current handouts I might need that day. The key with this is to put it away when you’re done, or else it will get out of hand and too cluttered.

3.  I have some loose-leaf notebook paper for taking notes. I like this more than a spiral because I can easily take out whatever notes I need to study and don’t have to bring the whole thing around if I don’t need to. Also if your class doesn’t have a cumulative final, you can take out notes after the test, so that you don’t have to carry that extra weight around and it’s easier to find things you are working on at the moment.

4. I like to type up my notes after I’ve hand written things. This is especially helpful in classes when there are powerpoint slides posted. I spend time in class writing down what is not in the slides then right after class I go back and add the powerpoint information. This way I don’t miss what is said in class because I was too focused on the powerpoint, but I still get all the information in my notes. I have my typed up notes tabbed by chapter, so I can easily find what I need. And behind my typed notes I have hand outs that I am not currently using, but still need.

5. Then after hand outs I have my textbook. Loose leaf books can be irritating sometimes, but it is convenient to have my notes and textbook all in one place, so a binder is especially helpful if you textbook is a loose leaf one.

6. Last in the back pocket I have important papers I will need all year, like the full syllabus. I like having this just in case I need to reference it at any point in the year.

Well what do you think? How do you usually organize your classes, and does it work for you? If you decide to try this out tell me how it works out for you and what you think could be improved. I love hearing feedback from you guys.

xoxo Lauren

*All pictures and edits are mine