Hello everyone!
Everyone is different but I wanted to share how I stay organized during nursing school! This is kind of different for me, because through pre-req classes I never really was the “together” type, but I’ve found that in the nursing program I actually am!
I’ve jotted down some concepts of what’s kept me organized. Some of the ideas are simple and some of them are obvious, and some of them are total lifesavers!
DIGITAL ORGANIZTION:
Okay we’ve all been there, right? Where we swear we saved that document to this folder but it’s not there and we’re left frantically searching through old emails and different accounts while totally freaking out. I know I have been there! So, I made it a huge point to get (and stay!) with my shit digitally together!
Make it a point to take all your notes the same domain
Examples: some people like taking their PowerPoint notes on their laptop every lecture, some people like typing up their own notes on their laptop, some people take notes by hand on the printed PowerPoint, and some people go sans printouts and jot stuff down in a notebook.
You will find your note taking style, and when you do I advise you to stick to it! I started last semester typing my own notes and then printing them. I quickly found out that the notes I made didn’t really help me at all. I had all these hand written notes on my printed PowerPoint from lecture and then my typed notes and when I compared them, my notes were not worth it.
Point being it gets confusing to be like “wait where do I remember seeing that! Was it my notes, lecture notes, the text book, a practice question..!?”
Now the only time I even bring my MacBook or iPad to class is when we do a test review. And I have a specific blank page titled “Exam Review” where I can quickly type what the professors say about the test.
Digital folders are just as important as real folders
You can not have too many folders within folders!! I have one “Nursing” folder. Which then has a folder for each class. Which then has a folder for specific things like “Module quizzes” or “exam reviews.” within that class. And make sure to save documents into these folders as you go! Don’t just hit the save button and be done with it- make sure you know where it is at!
OneNote for planning instead of using a planner
Okay so by now you guys know I’m really into color coding and pretty notebooks and such. So I was soooo excited to plan things for school and make a pretty planner! Welp, that didn’t happen. SO many things change! Professors get sick, test get chapters removed, reading assignments get switched, lectures bleed into the next class pushing everything back, and the list goes on and on.
This is when I discovered, and started using, OneNote through Microsoft (if you have the Microsoft software downloaded then it’s probably already on your computer). It’s great because it saves to OneDrive which means I can get on it from my MacBook, my desktop, school computers, and my phone- anywhere really! It saves everything automatically too so I’m never worried about updating it manually.
Below is a picture (blank because I won’t fill it out until this weekend when the assignments really get going) of what my OneNote calendar looks like. You literally just click anywhere to create whatever it is you want- a graph for the days of the week, a checklist, something urgent that needs to be in big highlighted font, etc.
PAPER ORGANIZATION
Print everything that’s available to you, and print it all at once on campus
I just went into campus yesterday and printed all my syllabi and all the PowerPoints that were already uploaded. Now I don’t have to worry about printing again until next week for Adults 1 and I’m done printing for my Psych class!
Seriously you’ll thank yourself later when you don’t have to cram the extra time in to go to campus just to print tomorrow's lecture. It also allows you some time to go home and divide everything up into binders and start getting those ready!
Dividers have saved my life
But seriously though. I have a divider for everything in my binder. If they don’t go together in lecture/class then they aint going together in my binder!
Usually I have the syllabus/schedule up front, then any handouts like dosage calculation practice questions, then exam study guides, then PowerPoints last because they take up the most space. You really can’t have too many on hand in case you need more later in the semester. And Target has great ones in their dollar spot!
Also- I take a piece of tape and put that on the “label spot” instead of writing on it. You never know when you may want to move things around. It also means that you can peel it off and reuse the dividers!
Pick up some laminate sheets for your schedule
Odds are you’re going to be flipping back to your schedule so often that it’s going to get beat up. I like to slip mine into a little plastic sheet (laminate sheet?) so it doesn’t get worn down and stays pretty all year!
I also like to highlight my schedule right away. I assign each book a certain color and highlight those chapters of reading in that color. I highlight test and quizzes in yellow and HESI test and case studies in orange. This way at a glance I can see how much needs to be done.
A whiteboard hanging up is nice
I just picked two up from IKEA not too long ago. Are they necessary? Not really. But I like to write my major due dates (like big test, test out return demos, presentations, papers) so they’re right there when I look up. It kind of helps me time manage and also remind myself “okay this paper isn’t due for another week and a half so let’s focus on something else.”
A blank piece of white paper would basically do the same thing :)
Other tips:
-Get a pen pouch and keep color pens, black pens, at least 3 colored highlighters, and 2 pencils in it. Keep paperclips and sticky notes on hand. I also have chapstick, white out, and gum in mine.
-Keep a binder for each class so you don’t get notes/assignments mixed up.
-Tag the chapters in your book!
-Learn how to time manage studying subjects. Some lectures require more study time than others.
-Use colored highlighters to highlight different things in your book. For example: a fact is highlighted in yellow, an example of something is in green, something you don’t understand is in pink
