Planning for success

How to get the most out of your organizer

By Monica Rolinski, Columnist

The fall semester has barely begun and already there are a lot of students—both new and veteran—racing around the concourse with scraps of paper clutched in their hands, knuckles whitening with anxious stress.

Getting academically organized can be a daunting task. Once you factor in life’s pleasures and demands, even the better organized of us are, at times, juggling two full schedules. I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting for someone to invent an app that’ll allow me to be in two places at once!

But, until said magical app is created, we have to muddle through to the best of our limited, and very human, capabilities. Luckily, we go to a college that provides a well-rounded experience, as well as the tools to get organized. The use of an organizer, also known as a day planner or agenda, can be incredibly helpful—and the Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) gives them away for free, along with many other helpful things.

Here’s how, in three easy steps, you can be calm and collected (at least on the outside) the next time you cross through the concourse. You may even appear so put-together that you can help direct someone who’s still figuring things out, making you a leader among your peers!

1. Get your organizer. Pop into the DSU office, downstairs from the DSU main floor—you know, the place where all those great Pub Nights are held. Ask the nice, helpful people there for an organizer. If you have the time, take a tour while you’re there! (Did you know the new computer lab offers 100 sheets of free printing per semester? That’s definitely a service to take advantage of.)
2. Fill it up with your course material. Update it as you go along. It’s super easy because of the way it’s laid out. Unlike standard organizers, this is a student version specially designed to aid you, the student. The bonus of getting an organizer from Douglas College is the handy school info at the front that you can use all semester. There’s also a sheet of bright, colour-coded stickers for things like assignment due dates, important deadlines, exams, and holidays (so you don’t end up in class when you could have stayed home and watched Friends reruns).
3. Use your organizer to its full advantage. In order to get the maximum benefit from your agenda, you’ll need to take it to school with you. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Well, since working with this helpful tool may be new to you, it might take some getting used to. Apparently, it takes three weeks to replace an old habit with a new one. The best way to make sure you get off to a good start is to keep your organizer with your school supplies. Give it a nickname; for example, “my assistant.” Then, when you don’t know how to say no to something, you can say, “My assistant says my calendar is full, but thank you for the offer.”