A Professional Organizer's Guide to a Successful College Life

Soon college students will be heading back to school. Emotional and physical health is essential, especially in their freshman year. As a Professional Organizer, I love sharing tips on time management and space planning this time of year for a successful college life. So, this week, I am going to share with you tips to help students succeed under the pressure of college. This post includes various tips about organizing a college life so that the student can enjoy this point in their life. Feel free to share it with your favorite college students.

The Ultimate Guide to a Successful College Life

Dorm Life Happiness:

Making your dorm a home away from home is essential. The straightforward tips below seem simple but are genuinely useful to make your dorm a home away from home.

• Keep wet towels off the bed. Always, always, always hang up wet towels/robes. Mold will grow. Yuck!
• Make sure you have plenty of toilet paper, especially if you have your bathroom in your suite.
• Keep your stuff on your side of the room. Dividing the room down the middle helps keep your things on your side.
• Remember everything in your room should have a home. Before you leave your home, assign a bin or container for different tasks. Some examples of groupings you can create are cleaning supplies and personal care extra supplies.
• When you’re in your room and not studying or sleeping, keep the door open. Especially when you first start school. You can see who is walking by. Discuss it with your roommate before doing this, so you both agree.
• Check the weather the night before, so you know what to wear the next day.
• Don’t be surprised if you miss home more than you expect. Call home to schedule a weekend away. Pick a day to call home with your parents.
• Having company in your dorm, straighten up before they come over. Your guest will truly appreciate it.

Visit our posts below for organizing the dorm ideas:

5 ITEMS EVERY COLLEGE FRESHMAN MUST HAVE TO SUCCEED

THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED WHEN ORGANIZING A COLLEGE DORM ROOM – PART 1

THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED WHEN ORGANIZING A COLLEGE DORM ROOM – PART 2

8 HELPFUL ORGANIZING ESSENTIALS FOR DORM LIFE

Tips on Completing Tasks:

Completing tasks will make a student feel empowered to do more and little by little create a successful college life.

• Check your school email every day. Don't forget to check your personal email also. Reply to important emails. Delete unwanted emails. It's OK to delete emails you don't need.
• Pay attention to the class syllabus. All critical dates will be there. Add due dates to the calendar, and add an alert one week before.
• Have your Class’ syllabi handy. Look at it every day. Before school starts, add all the due dates to your electronic / paper calendar and set an alert reminder (or written reminder) a week before.
• Get your papers started early. Give yourself a week or two for research papers.

Visit this post about getting the right Academic Planner.

How To Improve Time Management with An Academic Planner

Click-through and check out this planner for college students to help them manage their time and tasks for a successful college life. (affiliate)

Self-Growth Tips:

College is a great time to learn about yourself and strengthen your view on yourself.

• Take pictures of yourself with friends. But keep intimate photos of yourself off social media and Snapchat.
• Travel whenever and wherever you can but be safe and always be in a group. Call your mom to tell her about your experience.
• Don’t be afraid to ask your teachers, your RA, and your adviser, for help.
• Be kind and helpful toward others. Be the type of friend you want to have.
• Don’t allow others to steer you away from your goals.
• You can never say enough, “please” and “thank yous.”
• Take risks, but be smart about it.
• Recycle plastics and glass when possible. Follow the signs on the trash cans on what to do.
• Stay current with all your college events.
• Volunteer weekly to get involved and meet new people.
• Sometimes you need to cut your losses and move on. You can’t change everyone.
• Failing is part of the learning process. Learn from your mistakes. Try not to beat yourself up about the experience.
• Say you are sorry if you make a mistake.

Visit this post for more self-care tips: 

Easy Self Care Remedies for Common Ailments at College

Controlling stress:

Stress is going to happen. How you deal with it is going to help or hurt you.

• Take a relaxation class like yoga or Tai Chi.
• Go for a walk or jog daily.
• Never use food to relax. Visit this post for some healthy eating tips: EASY HEALTHY SNACKS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS DORM LIFE
• Eat dark green veggies at least once a day. Read this article for what to eat: These 10 Fruits and Veggies Are Linked to Better Mental Health—Especially If You Eat Them Raw 
• Clean your room at least once a week. Doing mundane tasks will separate yourself from the stress, and it will give you perspective.

College Socializing Tips:

Go ahead and socialize, but always be careful. Most people will be kind, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

• Never leave your drink unattended when you are at parties or small gatherings.
• Experiences are way more valuable than things. You don't need to buy something to be happy.
• Use the buddy system at parties. Three to four people is a group works well.
• Plans change. Be flexible with the changes.
• Coolness is overrated. It's OK to show your vulnerable side.
• Everyone does embarrassing things sometimes. Learn to laugh at yourself.
• Remember that people love to talk about themselves. Ask them questions and see where the conversation leads.
• Sometimes you will have to pretend you are interested. Smile and nod and ask questions to show you are interested.
• If you are drinking, call Lyft. NEVER drive.
• Don’t smoke or do drugs. It’s a bad habit to start, and it is super hard to quit.
• Make an effort to eat with other students. If you have the same free time, make it a routine to eat in a group.
• Listen to others when they say “no.”
• Pick your battles. You don't need to win every discussion.

Creating Good Money Spending Habits:

You may not think it is essential now, but it will be in the future!

• Don’t overdraw your bank account. The fees are high. Always have your checking linked to your savings just in case you have an issue.
• Don’t let the salesperson talk you into buying the stuff you don’t need. Create your priorities before going shopping. Determine how much you want to spend on something before going to find it. If it is more expensive than what you think it should be, don't buy it.
• Create a budget and stick with it. You don't need a software or app to do this. Simply use a spreadsheet and write down the amount of money you make, and determine how much you need for your fixed (regular) expenses, and your variable expenses. Don't forget to put money in your savings account.
• You are a college student. Ask for a discount! There are many student discounts, don't be embarrassed to ask for it. You deserve it.

Feel free to visit this post to help you save money. 

Easy And Simple Ways To Save Money This Year

Well, there you have it. Taking these tips into account when a student is in college will most definitely keep them on track for completing a successful college life. I hope these tips help you stay focused on achieving your goals. Do you have anything to add? Please feel free to mention it in the comments. I would love to hear from you.