Staying organized in pharmacy school can feel like a never-ending task, especially when your to-do list keeps getting longer and longer as the semester rolls by. When you have exams looming in the distance and responsibilities waiting on the sideline, it can feel like you can’t rid of the chaos around you. Trust me when I say I’ve been there before, and the key to getting rid of your stress is to find an organizational game plan that works for you.
While there’s plenty of complex hacks and tricks online, I’ve learned from personal experience that the best way to stay organized is to keep things simple and efficient. You’ll want to find a method that works for your lifestyle and easy for you to implement, which will most likely look a little different from your fellow pharmacy classmates. If you’re ready to learn how to stay organized in pharmacy school, then let’s dive right into the organizational tips.
Use a planner
The easiest way to stay organized in school is to keep a planner, either a paper or electronic version. It’s pretty difficult, no matter how good your memory may be, to remember everything that has to be done in your personal life and for school. Throw in a part-time job, and it’s nearly impossible to keep everything straight in your mind.
This is where keeping a planner comes in to clear out the clutter and help you stay organized. In your planner, write down all of your future exams, assignment due dates, work schedule, and any other events you don’t want to forget about. My favorite planner right now that I’ve been using the last few years is this customizable one from Cloth & Paper. It’s pretty luxe (aka pricey) for a college student, but I’m obsessed. If you need a more budget friendly planner, then check out the Recollections planner from Michaels. It’s a complete dupe for the Erin Condren planners for half of the price.
Keep your class schedule visible
With a constantly changing schedule, it’s pretty easy to forget when and where you have class each day. At the beginning of the semester, place your class schedule in a visible location for easy access and help keep yourself organized during a busy morning. I always used to keep a copy of my schedule in the back of my agenda, where I could easily flip to it before I headed off to campus for the day.
Plan your days
At the beginning of each week, sit down and look at what you already have written down in your agenda for the week and make sure to update it with anything new. Once you have an overview of how your week is going to look, you can start to plan out your individual days. Lately, I’ve been using this method called the Top 3 Method, where you write down the top 3 most important tasks that need to be done for the day.
The goal for the day is to get those three tasks done, and if you have time or energy later, then you can work on the other items on your list. With the Top 3 Method, it helps declutter your mind and helps you focus on the tasks that actually matter, instead of wasting time on items that won’t make a difference. Use this idea whenever you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed and just need to cut through the mind clutter.
Break down long-term projects
It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed or stress when you have a complex project or a task that is due months down the road. Instead of letting procrastination to get the best of you, try breaking up your big project into smaller, more manageable tasks. Posters, manuscripts, and seminar presentations are all examples of large projects that usually take a few weeks to complete and can be quite stressful.
By breaking up your long-term project into bite-size tasks, it tricks your mind into thinking that the project is less intimating, and it’s easier for your mind to stay focus on the task at hand. Depending on what the project is, you may be able to break down the task based on categories, due dates, or some other method that works best.
Use the right tools
Having the right tools and equipment in your arsenal is an easy way to stay organized in college plus it’s easy to keep up with.
- Zebra Pen G-450 – These are my favorite pens right now. The ink that Zebra Pen uses is super quick drying and doesn’t smudge, which makes it perfect for note taking.
- Highlighters – Highlighters are a must for your school supplies. I went through so many of these during pharmacy school. I use them to highlight any important details in my notes, so they stand out when I’m studying.
- To Do List – I always keep a running to do list, either on paper or in my phone. If I don’t write it down, then it most definitely won’t get done as I can be quite forgetful. I love any lined notepad, but this one on Etsy is especially cute.
- Binders – These are self-explanatory, but I used to keep my notes in one binder during pharmacy school.
- Binder Dividers – You’ll need these to divide up your binder and make it easier to keep your classes separate from each other.
Complete one task before moving on to the next
Yep, you heard me right. If you want to learn how to stay organized in pharmacy school, then the first step is to learn how to complete one task before moving on to the next. Distractions can happen so easily, especially when you allow your mind to wander from the task at hand and lose focus. When you’re constantly hopping from one task to the next, you may find at the end of the day that you haven’t gotten much done on your to-do list and have left a huge mess in your workspace. Instead of jumping up right away when your mind wanders, write a quick note to remind yourself to do it later.
Don’t be afraid to declutter
My favorite hobby is the art of decluttering. Whenever I feel like I have nothing to wear or my space is getting extra messy, then I know it’s because I simply have too much stuff. When you’re in college, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that you have in your small dorm room or off-campus apartment.
From the free stuff that everyone gives you to the stuff you brought from home, it can all add up and make you feel even more anxious than you already are. Organizing your life doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task nor does it have to be a long process. Whenever I’m about to start to declutter, I always pick one thing to declutter at a time, such as my closet or kitchen, to break it up.
Use your wait time
When you have a full schedule, it’s imperative that you use your time wisely including your wait time. This may look a little different for everyone depending on where you are and what you need to get done throughout the day. One example of how to use your wait time is to wash some dishes or clean up the kitchen while you’re cooking or waiting for your food to warm up. You’d be surprised about how much you can get done or learn with those few extra minutes throughout the day.
Clean up before bed
Right before bed, take a few minutes before you go to bed to clean up your space. Trust me that your future self will thank you later and you’ll feel so much lighter. Seriously you’d be surprised by how much better you’ll start to feel when you start doing this right before bed. It doesn’t have to be a deep clean or anything either. Take 5 or 10 minutes to pick up your clothes, wipe down your counters, and a few other things to get ready for the following day.
Listen to your body and sleep!
Pharmacy students are notorious for not getting enough sleep, but I promise that nothing is more important than sleep, your mental health, and your physical well-being. There are so many studies that show how important sleep is for happiness, memory, and so many other things. While I won’t dive into the science behind it, you should be shooting for 7 to 9 hours a sleep a day to stay alert and happy throughout the day.
What is your favorite organization tip that has helped you in pharmacy school?
