Some Tips On Self Organization

Dele is a boy… or a girl… or one of the 60+ genders that have been declared existent in some parts of the world. However, because I’m a writer, not a magician, I can only tell so many stories at a time. As such, for the sake of this blog post and my sanity, let us make Dele a boy.

As I was saying, Dele is a boy. He has a fair skin with chestnut brown eyes that could stare your soul down into oblivion. He is six feet, four inches and has hair with curls set in deep. He has a chiselled chin, six pack abs and lean, well defined muscles that could do anything from winning that departmental football cup to sweeping you off your feet. Long story short, Dele na fresh guy.

He comes back from school every day and sleeps with his shoes on, reads anything from 0-15 hours a week. He leaves his worn boxers – clean or not – on the bed and everything else under the bed. His wardrobe is mostly for sneakers and unwashed socks. He goes to class with the wrong notes and randomly invites friends over, causing his roommate discomfort. Dele is an ass. Dele is disorganised.

If you’re a girl (or a boy who’s confident enough about his masculinity), you would agree with me that Dele is physically appealing. As a matter of fact, you probably have an image of him in your head already. However, the fact that he’s so disorganised and dirty is a pretty big comma and that kind of messes things up. Regardless of your really good qualities, the really bad ones would draw more attention.

See Also: Speak Up

In some ways, we are like Dele the disorganised boy. That, my good friend is why I’m writing this article. Because, sometimes in life, you need to get your shit together. Here are a couple of tips on being more organised as a student:

1. Create a Personal Timetable

This one is kind of self-explanatory isn’t it? You can’t hope to be more organized and get yourself together if you pretty much just breeze through the entire day and go where the wind takes you. Spontaneity is one of the spices of life but it also can be quite dangerous if not managed properly. As such, instead of “roughing am”, take your time and create a timetable. It might not be written down and rigid (some people who aren’t huge nerds like myself find that a bit old school) but it should be existent nonetheless.

That way, you would be able to track your activities and carry them out at the right times. Keep in mind that this can only work if you’re not a lazy pair of buttocks who can’t follow through. There’d be no point to creating a timetable if all you do is sit on your ass all day and do the opposite of what it says.

2. Keep a To-Do List

It’s similar to the first but not exactly the same. Similar in the sense that it helps you figure out stuff you have to do but different because unlike timetables, it is not a routine task giver. The tasks you have to carry out differ from day to day. So, all the stuff you have to do today could be completely different from all the stuff you have to do tomorrow. It basically helps you set goals for yourself and achieve them before the end of a particular time.

3. Get Enough Sleep

“Sleep is for the weak”, “money doesn’t sleep and neither should you”, “brilliant students always burn the midnight candle.” These sound a lot to me like the words of sleep deprived people. Nitori Olorun, don’t listen to them.

Being more organized isn’t just a matter of keeping your things in the right places. It goes beyond just organizing your curry and thyme (pun intended), it is a thing that first happens mentally and if you are to function properly upstairs, you need to be well rested.

So, when the time is right (and not like a pregnant chicken on drugs), sleep. The minimum is six hours but eight hours per day is also a fine recommendation. You might think it’s not important but trust me, it is.

4. Write Stuff Down/Keep Notes

This would serve as a reminder of sorts for you. When you learn of a new test coming up, write it down. When you learn of a new assignment, write it down. Don’t leave it to chance because chances are that you’ll forget and find yourself scrambling and struggling to do it later on.

Carrying a notepad and a pen all over the place can be a lot of stress. I know this because I’m just as lazy as every other 21st century adolescent (yes, like you too). As such, I won’t recommend it. You could just make use of the notepad on your phone provided you go back to it consistently to remind yourself of the things you need to know.

5. Keep Calm (In spite of Deadlines)

This pretty much goes without saying. Don’t let your mind get cluttered. You probably have a ton of things to do and so little time to do them but the surest way I can think of to mess everything up is by getting into a frenzy.

You might have multiple deadlines staring you in the face and it might get difficult to keep your head above the water but if you don’t, you’ll only sink lower and why the heck does this sound like a motivational speech?

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Conclusion

Being a student can be quite difficult and mentally tasking especially in this world where people keep telling you that you have to start building your career early. It’s hard to stay organized but for the sake of your crush, please do it. Nobody wants to date someone who can’t put some order in their lives.

If you don’t have a crush however, I guess I have nothing on you. By all means, keep leaving your dirty paynt on the bed. May the force (and the smell) be with you.

Question time, awkward time:

• Did you like the article? I care too much about your opinion not to ask this question.
• How do you manage to keep your head above the water and stay calm when you have several assignments and deadlines staring at you? I just start crying and drinking garri. That’s why there’s “crying” on my timetable.
• This one is a personal question that I shouldn’t ask but…