Keeping organized with planners

Hey Ladies! My name is Sarah Masters. I am a sophomore in Engineering Science and I am going to be a Rover for WEPO 2013!

When you come to Penn State, there will be a billion and one things going on! It will definitely be overwhelming at first, but being prepared before hand can make things much better!

Keeping track of when things are due and when activities are happening is very important. One of the great tools that can help keep your weeks organized is a planner. This past year, I actually carried two daily planners with me in my backpack. One planner I designated to homework and assignment due dates. I used the other planner to keep track of other extra curricular activities. This system helped me keep track of everything at once and gave me a good overall picture of what my week was going to look like.

It is very important to write down and keep track of when assignments are due in each of your classes. One of the main problems I had when I started school was figuring out when different assignments were due in each of my classes. In most of your classes, you will have to look at the syllabus to find due dates and dates of your exams. It’s good to write these deadlines down ahead of time, right when you get the syllabus, because then nothing sneaks up on you.   

You will also probably get involved with other clubs and activities outside of your classes at Penn State. A planner can help you keep track of these activities too. One piece of advice is to write down all of the activities that are going on, even if two conflict with each other. This way, if one gets canceled or ends early or something, you still have the information written down for the other activity.

Keeping organized with a daily planner can take some of the stress out of your freshman year. Also, it is very rewarding to check off the assignments you get done and the activities you participated in. If you keep track this way of what you do each week, then you can adjust how you spend your time depending on what works for you. Over all, I believe that the $5 expense of buying a planner is nothing compared to how beneficial it can be!

Sarah Masters is a sophomore in Engineering Science and a Rover for WEPO'13! To read more about Sarah visit her WEPO Profile: http://raindancer45.wix.com/ladyengineers#!sarah-masters/cwrn