TchaikovskyPiano

I put everything into a couple folders and then sort everything into an expandable file when I got home. You can keep things in chronological order just by putting new items after older ones.

I carry around a legal pad to all of my classes to create to-do lists and dump all of my thoughts. I use it as a checklist for my day, and at the end of the day I throw out the page. I also recycle unnecessary papers quite liberally, and this has made staying organized more manageable. You can stick post-it notes on your desk for long-term notes.

This summer I began experimenting with Microsoft Office One Note at work. I never organized on my laptop before, so I was not sure how useful this would be. It has been surprisingly convenient for quickly jotting down reminders and ideas. It's set up such that you can maintain multiple tabs, each with multiple pages of notes. It's really fast and easy. I plan to continue with this into next semester, and would recommend it to anyone who needs an easy way to stay organized. Even if you don't normally carry around your laptop, this is a powerful tool worth checking out if you haven't already. (I'm sure one could find open-source productivity software with some similarity.)

PoorCookie

@cbeley

The wiki sounds interesting...something I would do, since I love having everything on my computer. But I noticed you have to run it on your own website...which I do have, but seems a little more complicated than said?

cbeley

Dokuwiki is a snap to set up. You'll just need PHP support and you are set. However, I plan on writing some BASH shell scripts to do backups between my local computers and online, so I can always access it and write to it.

The actual software is also very simple to use and if you know PHP, the plugin system dosen't seem too bad either.

phonyreal98

I just throw stuff down and remember where I threw it.

erhswimming

I'm so disorganized. Papers everywhere, yet somehow I pull it all together when it counts. I do keep certain notebooks for certain classes, and sometimes stuff papers in the front of them. I somehow remember what I have due the next day too, and if I'm afraid I'll forget I write it on my hand.

Same way when I serve too, I just jam all my receipts in one book and sort them out as needed.

lethargytm

i dont organize. i just remember it and call up classmates.

theoneo

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.

PBailey

Personally, I adhere to the KISS principle religiously, as I abhor losing time while implementing a convoluted organization strategy. I just do what feels right and is easy to maintain. For example, I don't use Cornell style notetaking (though, if you can do it, it is really good), I just jot down what I think is important. I carry around one binder, and not even a very big one for my six classes. I use my textbooks as folders for homework, etc.

lkf725

It sounds like you were trying to organize yourself constantly throughout the day. Maybe you would have better luck by taking notes on looseleaf paper during class and then when you get home for the day, put the daily notes into little 1 inch binders for each class. This also has the advantage of allowing you to put any handouts in with the notes that pertain to them. And while you are at it, put the syllabus for each class in the front of each binder.

For long range planning, you can use something as simple as a wall calendar hung above your desk to provide constant visual reminders. And for the truly compulsive, you can write down a weekly plan of action which would include what work you plan to do each day of the week.

I think you really just have to find what works for you and stick to it. My son uses the above method and he is extremely organized. I used your spiral notebook and folder method which worked great for me. The best method is the one that you can keep up with!

precocious

Wow, I never thought of doing this! It seems like an great idea, I'll try it out when it comes down to finals! Do you only type notes when it's like the week or two before finals? Or do you start prepping all semester and then JUST condense them during finals? Aren't you worried you are accidentally leaving important information out though, and when you go check your cheat sheet right before the exam, it won't be there? I love making HUGE study guides, but somehow I don't find much use in them because they are so massive and looking at them makes me tired =.=

The Dokuwiki concept is interesting, but I'm not all too familiar with PHP. I do know HTML/Dreamweaver pretty well, is there a way to manage a wiki with that?

I will look into dry-erase markers for my mirror. This sounds good as I am constantly in front of my mirror and one of the first places I look in the morning, lol. And I bought binders for all my courses w/ folders AS WELL as notebooks this semester. I'll try just using the notebook to bring to my courses (as well as using color coordinated pens for my actual notes... maybe o_o) and dump the notes in my binders when I get to my room... hopefully I can keep track of all of this... thanks!

cbeley

As I said before, Dokuwiki is very easy to use and not very hard to set up if you follow the instructions. There is no WYSIWYG editor, but it takes about 5 minutes to learn the syntax of pages. For example, bold face stuff text works like this:

**this is bold face text

or lists
*item 1
*item 2
*item 3
*etc.

and header titles are like this
=====Level 4 Header=====
====Level 3 Header====
===Level 2 Header===
etc.

You don't need experience with anything technical unless you want to do a little more with it. Anyway, it's probably not for everyone, but it is easy to use regardless. It doesn't matter how good you are, you want something like this to work as seamlessly as posible with your life. It needs to work with you, not against you. If it worked against me, I would like it for the days of playing with it, but hate it when I get to actually using it. Google DokuWiki and check it out. There is a spot on their wiki where you can create some test pages and what not and play with it before you use it.

--------------------------------
I heard about Microsoft Onenote, but I've never been all that keen on the idea of paying for it or pirating it. I will admit there is not such a nice and easy solution like that under Linux, but you can combine programs and acchive the same affect. Though, that takes work and knowlege..it's not for everyone sadly at this point.

lkf725

Seriously, only make it as complicated as you can (or are willing to) keep up with.

Did you have a method you liked in high school? If so, maybe you should adapt that to work with your college classes.

What do you think the reason for your disorganization was last year? How did your calc notes end up in your econ folder? Are you rushed between classes? Is your room generally messy? Where do you study? Maybe the key to organization for you is to understand why you became so disorganized last year.

glassesarechic

Don't make any system too complicated! What you need firstly is a calendar or agenda--you've got to keep track of daily assignments and bigger ones. I recommend a big calendar for above your desk where you write all your big stuff in red and then a daily planner (either paper or on a phone). I write little notes to myself on Post-Its and keep a stack by my bed, but the mirror thing works too.

For notes, you can either do looseleaf or a spiral. I like a separate spiral for every class and then an expandable folder arranged by class for handouts. I also tape my syllabi on the back of each spiral cover and label the front of the spiral in Sharpie with the class name.

You'll have to clean out your stuff about once a week. It only takes a few minutes and makes everything so much easier. Throw away handouts that aren't useful (but don't go crazy--you might need that stuff again!), put all your stuff in the correct class, and make sure everything's tidy and in chronological order.

Oh, and to make sure I'm processing my notes, sometimes I recopy them (but this isn't necessary) and summarize every day's notes on Post-Its and then just stick it on top of the page. That way, I can collect my Post-It notes before a quiz and just look them over.

Good luck with this year! Just keeping things neat is the most important thing; everything else is your choice.

hopeful_gtb

i'm still in highschool, but for one of my ap courses last year, i used a regular binder and a notebook for all my lecture notes... it helped me keep all my notes in one place, and it freed up space in my binder, so i could put other things in there..I also tried to enter things in order of date, so if i needed to go back and look at something, i would just have to remember a relative date adn just look it up like that...This did wonders for me, i got an A both semesters adn a great score on the AP exam..So this might help you in your individual classes.

technol21

There are places like Wikispaces where you don't need a server of your own or any other service to host it on. I think that might be the simplest option with 2GB of storage available also. I just created a wiki using MediaWiki (powers Wikipedia) since I have WAMP on this machine. Lifehacker has a pretty nice tutorial on how to get it going here. If you know how to follow instructions, working with the PHP shouldn't be that hard. With this option you will need to learn wikitext though, which supports some HTML, but it isn't that hard to pickup on (easier than HTML). Though I'm still in high school, I plan to use it as an organizational tool and a personal archive since I've been pretty good about digitizing as much work/notes as I can, the next step is just getting it on the Internet so I can access it anywhere. I don't really like paper anymore. It's nice to have a spiral with pockets to jot down notes and have them all together, but I hate keeping track of a bunch of loose sheets.