University Organisation

British University's require you to be in lessons 8-12 hours per week for your first year, the second year and third years get a bit more and a lot more difficult as your actually working towards your Degree grade.

In addition to your normal classes, British University's require you to read a lot and to do around 20-40 of self study so a 48 hour week would be 5 x 9.5hour shift. Like a Full time job.

This year be organised was linked into my New Years Resolutions as to pass my first year of university. To do this I am going to need a couple of essentials.

1. Binder
2. Access to a printer
3. Time
4. Organiser/Diary
5. Study Schedule
6. Determination

How To Organise a Binder

Before and after customisation

Decoration

Firstly you will need a binder of any colour, its easier to decorate if it is plain, and loads of magazines, I prefer the big fashion magazines like Elle and Vogue because of all the editorials on the first pages, pick images that coincide with each other, when I customised mine I had recently been to the MAC store to pick up some foundation so I cut up the exceptionally large bag they gave me for the side of my binder.

It was from then it had its theme of black and metallic after I ripped out the main picture of the intertwined rings. My binder is very understated but you can decorate it how you want.

Fonts are also a great way to decorate a folder, especially a font that is easy to read, that is pretty and attractive and grabs you attention. If you don't particularly like any of your Word Document fonts head to DaFont and download some fonts you like.

Organise

Dividers will be needed to organise your folder by subject, you can buy them from stationary stores like WHSmiths or Rymans (I prefer Rymans because its more centred towards stationary and organisation), or you can make them with some large pieces of card, A£ is the best.

To make a Divider you measure the length of the binder from the hoop clasps in the centre to the outer edge and the length of an A4 piece of paper plus 1 cm each end, all you need now is to add the shape of you tag, make it a love heart, a star, anything you want.

File and Manage

For the first ever page I suggest a laminated contents page. Being laminated makes it easier to write on it with a dry wipe market and when you change the order or add more things you can add stuff with a marker. This makes it easier for revision purposes, so don't forget for when you add anything to you binder to add it to your contents page also.

This makes revision so simple because if you need to look back on any old work you can find it easily by the contents page. If you need to take it out then you can and put it back in it correct order by referring to your contents page. Every University has Laminating services for very cheap costs.

Organiser/Diary

Filofax are great for this because you can customise them and buy specific packages on-line for the things you need, generic diary's will do that have a 5 day page, which is great for quick jotting deadlines to what you've had for tea. I like to keep my diary in my bag at all times, this is then taken to classes, to seminars for quick notes.

I use my diary to fill out what I have done, what I have learnt, its like then a sort of receipt of accomplishment and a reminder of what and when something was done.

Decorative Filofax from a third year student

Study Schedule

A study schedule should be kept inside each binder you have, on your laptop desktop and any other technology that helps you study, inside your diary and where you look the most when your in your bedroom or place of solitude.

Excel is the best format to make a schedule on, its easy its customisable and to be quite geeky, its kind of fun, if you have downloaded any fonts you can make it look really cool and attractive.

This is mine I created it on Excel and I will be doing a post on how to exactly do it at a later date.

I will give you some helpful hints now.

You don't have to type everything out such as the weekdays and times, if you put Monday in the first box and use the little box at the field corner and drag along where you want the rest of the days, Excel automatically fills it in for you.

Same with times, if you put three times whether they be 30 Min interval, 1 hour interval in a row and drag again with the little box at corner of field it will automatically fill it in for you.

If classes over lap times, Merge the Cells.

Its that simple, but I look forward to posting about this in the future.

Last of all DETERMINATION

You are not going to succeed in anything if you don't have determination.

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today

Malcolm X