Staying Organized in a Busy World

No matter what age, staying organized can be a struggle! From a busy school life to managing home life and chores that need to get done, everything you need to do can get a little overwhelming at times. That’s why I have 3 methods to control the mess in your life!

The first method is using Google Calendar to keep track of your time. It’s important to know when everything is happening, so you’re not late or unprepared for something! Once you know a deadline or an event time, put it straight into your calendar. This will make sure you don’t forget to do something. Also, a helpful way to set up your work schedule is time blocking, where you set aside time in your calendar to do specific tasks, like studying for school or doing chores. This can help keep you accountable, because there’s a specific time for everything you need to get done. However, being organized doesn’t have to be solely functional. In Google Calendar, pick a color palette and create new calendars for each part in your life using “My Calendars.” Some categories you can use are events, studying, job, friends, self-care, etc. Once you have each specific calendar, click for more and add a new color. Use the color palette you picked to color-code your calendars, and each time you create a new event, pick what category it fits into. This is not only more visually appealing, but can also help you keep track of what each event is.

My personal favorite way to keep my life organized is through the app Notion. This method takes a bit of a learning curve to get started, but once you’ve created the perfect space to outsource your brain, it helps keep everything on track. To start, download Notion onto your computer. You can also do this on a phone or iPad, but it’s a little trickier to set up from there. Notion is notoriously difficult to start, as it gives you a blank page to customize as you like, but just have fun with it. Don’t bother with trying to make it perfect your first time, just put something down, and change it as you go along. As you keep using Notion, you’ll get more ideas and figure out how to get the best use out of your space. Start with some premade templates, or watch some YouTube videos on how to get started! Personally, I have a ‘Home Base’ and a ‘School’ section that I use the most. In my ‘Home Base’, I have some inspiring quotes and pictures, and then a gallery with sections like Job, Girl Scouts, Budget, Future Plans, etc. These are so I have a place to drop anything in my life into Notion, so that I know where it is in the future. In ‘School’, I keep my schedule for the year, and a daily to-do list, along with another gallery that has a section for each class I’m taking. I put any notes or projects in these class sections. Creating your Notion will take a minute, so don’t worry about how long it takes. Just have fun in the process, and learn what works best for you! The link to download Notion: [https://www.notion.so/](https://www.notion.so/).

If you prefer less digital methods, a great way to keep all of your school stuff organized is to have a folder for every class you’re taking. In each folder, have a to-do side, and a finished side. This way, you can know what homework you have to finish for class, and have a space to keep all of your old handouts to study from! Personally, I find this method less space-consuming because after each unit of study, I move all the handouts out of my folder into a bin in my room, so that I can keep my old work but don’t have to carry it around all year.

These methods can all help you stay organized and in control of your life. Just make sure to put every task or event or handout in its proper place as soon as you get it, and it’ll be easier to ensure you don’t forget anything again!