The Student Life: How to Rock This Semester With a Badass Planning System

Welcome to The Student Life, our new monthly column with stories by and for CIIS students. You’ll find tips, hacks, and interesting facts that we hope will help make your student life at CIIS easier.

Do you tend to procrastinate and end up having to write all your papers in the last two weeks of the semester? Do you start each term thinking this time will be different but end up with the same last-minute habit?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Sometimes it can be hard to plan ahead and actually follow through on your good intentions. My friend Ankur Chablani, a fellow PsyD student does not have this problem. He’s very organized and always on top of everything. Ankur finished a paper three weeks before it was due.

I asked him to say more about his skills and how he does it. Sadly for those of us looking for a quick fix, being organized requires more self-discipline than any fancy software or app.

Here are Ankur’s 5 tips for being more organized this semester.

1. Create a folder on your computer or Google Drive for each semester.

This first tip might sound quite obvious, but great organization starts from the simplest things. Ankur creates folders on his Google Drive for each semester and subfolders for each subject. “This allows me to have an overview of the different things I have to keep in mind and to be able to find the right document when I need it,” he says.

I also have folders on my computer and I save the syllabi, too, as I never know when I might need them in the future for licensure or something else. I found this very helpful because I need very clean and organized desktop and files to be able to work more efficiently. This fosters my self-esteem and motivates me to do more. Keeping everything organized by semester also saves me time when I’m looking through my files.

2. Create a spreadsheet with all the assignments and deadlines.

Ankur then creates a spreadsheet at the beginning of each semester with all the assignments in chronological order and deadlines or each. “I copy-paste the specific assignment request from the professor and the required length so that I have everything in one place and I don’t have to look at the syllabus or Canvas. This allows me to have everything under control.”

I tend to think that I have everything in my head anyway and have never really created such a file, but it sounds incredibly useful. Especially because I have to go back to the syllabus 10,000 times when I plan and draft my assignments.

“When I’m done with a paper, I highlight its cell in a different color,” he says. “This feels really good and gives me a sense of achievement and progress.” I can totally relate to Ankur’s positive sense of accomplishment I also get when I mark something as done. It actually motivates me to do more.

3. Create a master document for each subject with notes and inspirational ideas.

Ankur said that another good practice that made his semester easier was creating a master document for each subject. “I use it to write down my notes and thoughts from classes and what stood out from the readings and reflections from my daily life that could somehow be related to my courses. Since I have my spreadsheet with the assignments and their deadlines, I always have an eye on them and can use the master document as a helpful tool — even to brainstorm ideas. I keep this separate from the actual paper.”

The master document is what I admire the most about Ankur’s organizational skills, and I am looking forward to seeing if I can replicate it this semester. This would probably require the most self-discipline as I tend to think that I remember my best ideas but systematically forget them when it’s time to write a paper. Maybe I can start preparing the master document in advance; this will make me want to use it right away rather than wait until I start thinking about the various assignments.

4. Allocate one day a week for each subject.

“Last semester I was lucky enough to only have two days a week at school. This is wonderful on one hand, but can potentially lead to procrastination and laziness. To avoid this, I allocate one specific day for each subject and commit to it. This way I know exactly when to work on each weekly reading or assignment.

“Thanks to all my other organizational tools, I am able to be very focused on writing each paper on the dedicated day. I think that this time allocation was also vital in being able to get my assignments done in advance. You need a lot of discipline to keep up with this plan, but it pays off,” Ankur says.

This seems like a useful tip for people who tend to procrastinate, as long as they fulfill their commitment and actually do what they planned to on the designated day.

But, as Ankur reminds us, it is not all about working. “To be able to perform, I also need to enjoy some free time. I decided that day was Sunday and allocated it to self-care.”

I love this idea of committing to at least one free day. I tend to first work on everything and have fun only when I’m done, but it sounds so healthy to me — giving myself one day a week to really disconnect.

On the other hand, life can be unpredictable. What if something happens and I can’t do what I was supposed to on that day? Ankur has a very practical answer to that too: Allocate one day to make up for possible emergencies or for finishing what he has to. Another trick that has all my admiration.

5. Take advantage of being a student

“Being in grad school is not much different from being a professional,” says Ankur. “I was a teacher for the past 15 years, and I am used to having to do extra work outside of my hours. It can be a lot, but I have different responsibilities now as a student. People treat me as a novice; they are more understanding and supportive. This is very nurturing for my mental health, and it makes me realize that yes, sometimes I’m stressed, but this is stress that I chose. I’m doing what I want to do and it’s easier for me to accept those harder parts.”

Another great advantage of being a CIIS student is that we have forms of University support. The Center for Writing and Scholarship (CWS) is there to help us with papers and assignments. Also, the library has a great service called “meet the librarian,” where students make an appointment with the librarian who specializes in their subject and learn how to make the most out of the various resources that the library offers. Neither the CWS writing fellows nor the librarians will do the job for us, but they will help us save precious time with their insights.

We want to know from you: Do you also have badass organizational tips? Did you try any of Ankur’s tips? How did it go?

We’re always looking for tips to make your life at CIIS better. If you have any you would like to share, feel free to email me at afranchi@ciis.edu.

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The Student Life is currently curated by Anna Franchi, PsyD student from Italy, who enjoys talking to people and learning from their stories.