Organization and me

By Lauren Kelly, Editor-in-Chief

Organization and planning aren’t my strongest points. I’ve bought many a planner with the intention of this being the time I get my stuff together and actually use it, but it falls apart incredibly quickly (or never starts properly to begin with).

In this week’s feature, our Multimedia Editor Lauren Paulsen talks about the many ways you can make a planner your own to keep you on track. Going the extra mile to customize it, or get special things for it, will make you more invested in and likely to use it. There’s some really cool stuff in there, so if this is something that has caught your attention, or if this is something you already actively pursue (good job!), definitely check it out! I’ve seen some amazing and fun planners that friends own as well, and I’m very jealous of how creative some people can get with them.

Personally, I turned away from the idea of buying a real life planner once I realized that my phone can do all that stuff—from fancy calendars to budget and habit tracking apps, there really is an app for everything. Since I’ve started trying to carry a smaller and lighter purse, it’s also easier for me to keep it all in my phone instead of in a heavy physical object. However, I download these apps and use them for a couple of weeks, but it’s easy to fall off course. A favourite of mine was My Budget Book, but I got away from it when I got a new phone. The one thing I manage to mostly stick with still is throwing appointments into my calendar app, which I keep as a widget on my home screen to remind me of what’s coming up.

This is definitely something I need to work on. It can be tough to always be on top of everything and remember everything, and having a physical (or digital) reminder goes a long way towards easing that stress. I think the key for this is writing down everything—each assignment, article, appointment, plan, even email I need to respond to. There are checklist apps (and apparently stickers for physical planners) that allow you to plan out all this without sticking to the calendar. You (and I) could even go the old fashioned way and use my Nana’s favourite organizational tool—the Post-it. It’s hard to miss out on a reminder when it’s right in front of your face on a brightly-coloured square.

However we go about it, organization is integral to managing life and adulting in general. From finances to work to school to friends and family and relationships, there’s a lot going on in all of our lives, and that all produces a lot of stress. Keeping on top of it means you can manage it all and enjoy it as much as you can.