Plan Your Life in STYLE
Last time, I showed you the best backpacks I’ve seen so I figured I would keep this week’s post similar but with more focus on what goes in your backpack. Whether you’re an incoming freshman or a senior 2.0, I think it’s safe to say that many college students have a hard time staying organized. We all have busy schedules and it’s easy to forgo writing down a detailed to-do list after each class, so I am putting together a list of some of the most fashionable items you can use to stay organized and on-track for a successful college career!
SPLURGE:
While this isn’t a huge splurge, I feel like spending $40 on a padfolio is a little much, especially on a college budget. The “‘SHE WROTE THE BOOK ON IT’ Leather Padfolio” by Kate Spade is classy and sophisticated, which makes it the perfect place to take notes during your internship, while still having a fun look.
SAVE:
I swear by five subject notebooks because they make it so easy to have notes for all of your classes in one place without having to worry about remembering to grab a different notebook each morning. These notebooks also take up less space than five individual notebooks so you’ll never have to worry about not having room in your backpack. My go-to brand is the Staples brand, which you can get on sale for $3 (normally $5.99). During this sale, I encourage you to stock up with enough to get you through the school year!
AGENDAS:
I will be the first to admit that I am 100% guilty of splurging on a planner each year and then forgetting about it three weeks after classes start. That being said, I have already filled in as much as I can in my planner this year and am challenging myself to keep up with it all year long! The best/most difficult part about shopping for agendas is that there are literally hundreds of designs to choose from. Some tried and true brands that I swear by are Kate Spade ($30 and up), Erin Condren ($30 and up) and Lilly Pulitzer ($24 and up). If you want a more customizable option, Recollections at Michael’s ($19.99 and up) is super fun and 100% created by you. If you’re into a simpler look, Anthropologie’s Productivity Planner ($24.95) exuberates sophistication.
NOTEBOOKS:
I strongly believe that the cuter your notebooks are, the more encouraged you are to take good notes. Whether you want to splurge for the Kate Spade folio I mentioned earlier or save and go with a Staples brand notebook, there are aesthetically-pleasing options for all budgets. In addition to amazing quality folios, Kate Spade also has a large collection of cute notebooks ($14 and up). The plus for spending a little extra on a leather pad is that when you run out of paper, you can usually score a new stack in the dollar section of Target (it also looks uber professional to show up to your internship and whip that out). On the other hand, if you know you are going to be writing 5 pages of notes every day or you are concerned about how easily a leather pad could get dirty, it may be easier to stick with a normal notebook. For me, I usually go with one fancy notebook like the ones Kate Spade offers and then regular store-brand notebooks for class and extracurriculars. I use the fancy one simply for jotting down blog post ideas and lunch meetings with my boss so I don’t have to worry about using all of the paper on marketing notes since it is more expensive. If you choose to stick with a college-ruled notebook, check your local office supply stores BEFORE school starts and stock up with enough to get you through both semesters so you can save money.
INCENTIVES:
Typically, the more organized you are, the easier it will be to succeed. Because of that and the fact that it can be very difficult to stay organized, I have found that it helps to offer yourself incentives. In the past, I have known people who would reward themselves for good grades and simply plan to do better when they received less than an exemplary grade. However, instead of that I plan to offer myself incentives for staying organized this year because good grades start with organization. Whether it’s marking a treat day in your planner for a month after school starts or having a netflix night-in after you finish notes on an entire chapter, I am excited to see how much easier this year will be once I succeed in staying organized. I hope this post helps you with your organizational endeavors and let me know in the comments which tips and tricks you swear by!