Everyone knows you can’t survive college without a good schedule and a plan for taking notes. But don’t worry: if you feel like your schedule is scattered or that you could have done better on a test if you’d had better notes, that’s okay! Even a month into the semester, it’s very easy to locate the perfect tools for strengthening your schedule, neatening your notes, and getting you back on track with much less stress.
So what are the best tools for plotting long- and short-term schedules?
Google Calendar is the perfect means for working out long-term scheduling a month or a semester in advance!
- You can input future dates months in advance.
- You can color-code date entries to keep similar things easily recognizable.
- You can arrange for reminders to be emailed to you days or weeks beforehand.
- You can check Google Calendar on your phone, so even when you’re on-the-go you can easily remind yourself of what’s coming up and plan accordingly.
If you’ve never used this method before, then no worries! Here’s a quick step-by-step:
- Go to your Gmail, click the white square symbol in the top right corner, and then select calendar.
- Pick a date to enter – let’s say KSU Fall Break. It goes from 21st of November to the 27th.
- Scroll down the calendar to November and click on the 21st. In the box that pops up, type KSU Fall Break. Then click edit event.
- Here you can set the date from 11/21/2016 to 11/27/2016 so it will extend over all these days.
- You can add a description with further details if needed (i.e. ‘Pack for going home on the 21st’) and you can color-code the event (i.e. green for breaks).
- To get an email notification, select the type (email) from the drop-down menu. Then type how many days in advance you want to get the email. Finally determine the time you’d like to get it (i.e. email, 3 days in advance, at 8:00 am).
There are two great ways to plan short-term scheduling using a day or a week at a time!
If you like technology, Google Calendar can fulfill all your needs, as it also has a way to view your daily and weekly schedule. However, if you prefer to go old-school, you can make your own weekly schedule by using Microsoft Word.
- Quick to make.
- You can print it out and hold it in your hand.
OR - You can email it to yourself and refer to it on your phone.
So how can you whip up this helpful aid?
- Open up Microsoft Word. Click the ‘insert’ tab and then select ‘table.’ Determine the number of columns and rows needed. Six is good for a five-day week; eight is good for a seven-day one.
- Along the top row, list the days of the week. Along the side, list the hours for each day.
- Now fill in the table with events for the week: class times, study times, job hours, club activities, etc.
- Because you can view it through email on your phone, there’s no need to print it! And whenever you need to edit it, it’s easy to pop into Word, make some adjustments, and email the new table schedule to yourself.
So what about notes?
Taking good notes is integral to passing tougher classes. The question is, what method of note-taking works best for you? Here are three types: the Cornell Method, repetition, and mind mapping.
The Cornell Method
This method is great if you learn best by sticking to a specific pattern. It involves taking a lot of detail and formatting it into a very specific structure.
- In-class, box off a 6-inch portion on the right of the page to take notes. Stick with short sentences that use shorthanded/lists/abbreviations with plenty of space between different points so the notes are easy to read.
- As soon as you can after class, use a 2-inch portion on the left side of the page for writing cues, questions, and other prompts to further connect the point in the body and to help you with reviewing.
- Then use a 2-inch portion at the bottom to write a summary of all the most important points.
In this way you stick to a structure and keep things consistent, which helps you memorize and review.
Repetition
This method is great if you learn best by reviewing concepts in a variety of formats.
- Take notes in-class. Keep them brief but specific, in a similar vein to the Cornell Method.
- As soon as you can after class, type up the notes on a computer and add any further detail you can recall, or from texts you need to read.
- When it comes time to review, look back at your notes, take key points and concepts, and write them on notecards. Put details on the back side of the card.
By doing this, you see the same information in several ways and can ingrain it in your mind.
Mind Mapping
This method is great if you learn best by visualization of charts.
- Take notes in-class, keeping them concise and clear.
- As soon as you can after class, take the notes and turn them into a chart: start by plotting a main point in the center of a piece of paper and circle it.
- Now branch out with supporting points in their own circles, and then give those points their own supporting points.
In this way, you visually “map-out” a concept from start to finish with a chart that lets you see how everything links together.
In conclusion, don’t despair! It’s easy to catch up on things, and with just a few simple tools and strategies you can stay on top of the heap. When you’re planning a schedule, remember your best friends: Google Calendar and a Word Document table. When it comes to taking notes, think of how you best learn and remember things, and use the method that helps you the most. If you get in it to win it, you’re sure to succeed!