| I do something similar to Fanatic517's idea but with Excel.
I have never been able to stay organized, but I finally found a way to let myself stay disorganized on a daily basis but be organized in the long run, if that makes sense. I buy a 5 subject spiral notebook at the beginning of the semester. It's the only one I use, so as long as I bring that one notebook everywhere I won't forget it. I include notes, homework, etc, for every class in it, and when I'm starting a new assignment or work for a different class, I make sure I start on a new sheet. That way everything stays in chronological order and all my notes are in one place. To keep it organized I begin each new page with the class name (Biology 101), what I'm doing (Lecture notes), and the date (if I forget this I can figure it out using the pages before/after). Then when an exam is coming up I just look for the pages relevant to that particular class and trust that they're already chronological order. This way I don't have to worry about stuff ending up in the wrong place or losing notes because everything is right there. Handouts/printouts are a problem area so I usually just keep one huge, ripping folder in my bag and put everything in there.
Side note - I love ending the semester by scanning through my notebook and realizing that everything I just learned in the past 5 months is contained right there. It's like, I can wave it around and say "this is what I learned." Ok, maybe that's just me.
When I study for exams I type all my notes up (and take notes on handouts/printouts) so everything is in one Word document. Then I print it out and study it whenever I can. Then I keep deleting stuff until the last day and then I fit everything on one page (typically size 8/Arial Narrow/two columns/.2" margins/double sided) and there's my last minute cheat sheet. |