West Virginia Wesleyan College  Student Success Center  

ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS TOOLKIT

ORGANIZED?What exactly does it mean to be organized?

Is it having your life all figured out? Is it knowing what the future holds? No.

Organization in college is keeping up with your classes, homework, and your

overall schedule. It includes having each class's work in a separate binder or

notebook, keeping your room clean, and just simply not being lost with your

classwork. Being organized is a skill--whether you're a newbie or a pro--that

makes day-to-day life more manageable. 

WHY BECOMEORGANIZED?

Relieves stress 

Clears space your mind 

Saves time

Increases productivity 

Achieve goals

Reduce clutter 

Saves money 

Reduces time spent on

work/cleaning/etc.

Gives you time for yourself 

A notebook and folder for

each class 

A planner/agenda

(hardcopy or electronic) 

Colored pens or

highlighters 

Index cards 

Sticky notes 

MATERIALS TO HELPWITH COLLEGEORGANIZATION

FAST FACT :

For every minute thatis spent organizing,

approximately an houris earned.

It takes some effort andmotivation to start getting

organized, but it will help yoursuccess.

You'll need to experiment andfind what tips best help you.

Organizational Skills Quiz and Tips Instructions: How organized are you? Do you never forget to bring anythingor school? Do you hand in every assignment on time? Take this quiz toassess your organizational skills. Rate yourself on each statement usingthe following scale. 4 - Always 3 - Usually 2 - Sometimes 1 - Never 1. _____ I use a planner to keep track of my homework. 2. _____ My planner is filled in with all of my homework assignments and upcoming tests, quizzes, and projects. 3. _____ I check my planner before I leave school each day. 4. _____ I prioritize my homework assignments and plan out when I will complete each one. 5. _____ When faced with a large project or test, I break it down into smaller tasks. 6. _____ When I do my homework, I have a dedicated, neat space to work that has all the materials I need 7. _____ I have enough time to complete my homework each day. 8. _____ My backpack is clean and I can find what I need in it easily. 9. _____ I clean out my backpack each Sunday. 10. _____ I put everything I need for school in my backpack and am not rushed in the morning looking for missing items. 11. _____ At school, I can easily locate any items I need to do my work, like pencils, calculator, or books. 12. _____ When I get papers at school, I file them into a binder or folder for that class. 13. _____ I feel prepared when I walk into class. 14. _____ My professors would say I am organized. 15. _____ My family would say I am organized. Add up your total points for the above questions, then see where you fallright now. You can choose to improve. 46 - 60 Points: You should be an organizational coach! You have well-developed strategies for organizing your materials and time. Keep up thegreat work! 31 - 45 Points: You have some solid organizational skills, but room forimprovement. Look for times when you don't have the materials you needor feel disorganized. Ask a friend or someone in the Student SuccessCenter to help you identify some strategies to help improve yourorganizational skills. 15 - 30 Points: Time to rein in the chaos! Ask a friend or someone in theStudent Success Center to help you establish some routines for organizingyour materials and school work. It will take a little work, but once youdevelop your organizational skills you will feel more in control of your dayand may even see improvement in your grades as well.

Clutter smothers. Simplicity breathes.

A little progresseach day adds up

to big results.

Organize your life around your

dreams & watch them come

true.

Put in the effort even if it feels unnatural atfirst; ALL habits take time and consistency. Hang a dry-erase calendar in your room andlook at it everyday. It could have motivationalquotes, a list of "to-do's," etc. Plan your week on Sunday nights. Add into your planner/calendar what youneed to do for the week so you can maketime for homework, free time, etc. Make homework a priority. This will help withprocrastination. Set up a routine for regularly calling yourparents, grandparents, or a close familymember. This can also help withhomesickness! Speak to advisors for advice on classes, soall the stress isn't on you for scheduling. This is a tough one for some people, but trywaking up at the same time every singleday. Having a regular sleep schedule canmake life easier. Set specific days for cleaning your room anddoing your laundry so it becomes a habit. Make a study schedule. Set a time every dayto focus on your homework so later you willget into a routine of just getting it done early. Keep your backpack organized; once a weekdiscard unnecessary items (recycle paper)

Tips for Organizing Your College Life

TO DO

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Good things of the week:

Errands:

Call/Email:

Notes:

My WeekYou can make multiple copies of this page before writing on it and complete a new one each Sunday evening.

Saturday/Sunday:

The Student Success Center

Further Help & Guidance 

The Student Success Center provides services and resources designed to assist in the academic development of students at WestVirginia Wesleyan College, encouraging students to reach their full academic potential.

Services include advising, academic skills seminars, support for first-generation college students, career services,

and assistance in internship placement.

The Student Success Center is located on the first floor of the Administration Building. The office is open Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Apps

Evernote This app helps you keep your thoughts and assignments organized. It allows you to sync personal checklists/notesacross devices, meaning you can work on a task on one device and later switch to another device without losing

anything. Notes can be taken as text/pictures/videos/documents/PDFs/etc. You can also share with others. *Free

Dropbox Similar to Evernote, this works on both your phone and your computer. It allows you to keep all your files, photos,docs, videos, etc. in one place. You can also share items with other people, which is great for group projects! Everything you store in Dropbox is automatically backed up and synced to the app. *Free with limited storage

GoogleCalendar

Google Calendar is great for anyone who wants organization and a way to keep track of their own personal goals.You can see your calendar in different ways, like by the day or in a three-day view or see a map of where a meeting

is. Most importantly, make sure you're meeting any aspirations you have with the "goals" feature. Add a goal andGoogle will remind you about it and schedule it into your day.

Plus, this will sync with your Wesleyan email account so that any meeting invites sent through your email willautomatically show up in your calendar once you accept. *Free

The Health & Counseling Center

The Health and Counseling Center is located next to the Rockefeller Center and the Christopher Hall of Science.

COUNSELING STAFF HOURS: Monday-Thursday 8:00am-12:00pm; 1:00pm-4:30pm

Friday: 8:00am-11:30am; 12:30pm-4:30pm A counselor is available for appointments. Just call 304-473-8100 or stop in.

HEALTH CENTER HOURS:

Partnership with Community Care of West Virginia 7:30am - 4:00pm Monday through Friday

https://www.wvwc.edu/campus-life/health-wellness/health-counseling-center/health-services/

Y O U S H O U L D , T O O .

We believe you can doanything you set your mind

to.