When I started university, I asked the students in the years above me for some advice about what I should do if I wanted to succeed. I was told that the most important thing for me to do was to get organised and now having graduated I believe this to be true.
Being organised gives you a foundation to make the most out of the short time that you are at university and helps to remove the frustrations of being disorganised. As a topic organisation is very broad. In my interview with Academic Librarian Caroline Ball we discussed specific advice for organising your time, your files and research and your projects.
The first key point about organisation is that you can become organised even if you are not already. One of the reasons why I chose to interview Caroline is because both of us think that we are not particularly organised, and in the past were not organised at all, but are seen by others to be organised. I know that when I started University I was extremely unorganised, but after hearing how important it was to become organised, I targeted improving the skill and tried some ways to be organised, reflected and improved on them and then tried again. I have continued following this process and am still finding ways that help me to improve. So, don't have a fixed mindset about organisation, know that you can improve and do better with reflection.
The second key point to highlight here is that organising yourself can massively help your mental wellbeing and reduce stress. I never connected those dots, but hearing Caroline explain this in the interview, it makes so much sense. If you know what you are doing and have a mapped out plan, things will seem easier and you will naturally get into a good work flow. Being organised also helps you in avoiding procrastination as you will know what you are doing next. This in turn can help avoid future stress from occurring.
The final point that I will highlight here is find an organisational system that works for you. What others do, however well it works for them, may not work for you. So, whilst you can look at what others do for inspiration, be prepared to adapt it through reflection or to try other things.
During the interview Caroline mentions a number of key resources that she uses that you may find useful. I have linked these in the resources section of this page.