Organization
The biggest thing I learned my first year as an RA was how to organize my life and actually use a planner.
![Picture](/uploads/8/8/7/5/8875581/1082777.jpg?531)
The sticky-notes that are across the top of my bulletin board are reminders to myself of what color each of my various activities is.
I use this color in my planner as well as for folders and notebooks. By color coding everything I find it much easier to see what is going on "at a glance".
I have different colored sticky-notes for each of the following categories:
-RA Stuff
-4B (My floor)
-Free Time (because I need to remind myself)
-Each of my classes
-Each club/organization I am a part of
-Staff Development (which I am in charge of for my hall)
I use this color in my planner as well as for folders and notebooks. By color coding everything I find it much easier to see what is going on "at a glance".
I have different colored sticky-notes for each of the following categories:
-RA Stuff
-4B (My floor)
-Free Time (because I need to remind myself)
-Each of my classes
-Each club/organization I am a part of
-Staff Development (which I am in charge of for my hall)
![Picture](/uploads/8/8/7/5/8875581/1024413.jpg?1378238283)
This is the month page of my planner. This is September.
You can see that I have labeled various Duty days, football games, as well as other things I would like to remember and (hopefully) attend.
There is also a purple sticky-note that reminds me to plan a staff bonding event for the month - once I have planned an activity I will move this sticky-note to the week view and on the actual date of the event.
there is also smaller arrow sticky-notes that show what program I plan to do for that week. These are obviously just ideas and are subject to change.
You can see that I have labeled various Duty days, football games, as well as other things I would like to remember and (hopefully) attend.
There is also a purple sticky-note that reminds me to plan a staff bonding event for the month - once I have planned an activity I will move this sticky-note to the week view and on the actual date of the event.
there is also smaller arrow sticky-notes that show what program I plan to do for that week. These are obviously just ideas and are subject to change.
![Picture](/uploads/8/8/7/5/8875581/6398254.jpg?555)
Here you can see the week view of my calendar for this week. You can see the various sticky-notes that display due date and events for each of the days. The colors tell me which class/club it is from.
I use a giant paperclip to mark the week so that it is easy to flip to.
When I first get my syllabi, I immediately put all my deadlines into the planner. I also add everything from various calendars (staff calendars, campus events, etc.).
The nice thing about using sticky-notes is that when something gets changed, a meeting postponed, a deadline extended, or anything else, all I have to do is move the sticky-note to the new location in my planner.
Below you will find a few more images of my planner in week views from various weeks throughout the semester.
I use a giant paperclip to mark the week so that it is easy to flip to.
When I first get my syllabi, I immediately put all my deadlines into the planner. I also add everything from various calendars (staff calendars, campus events, etc.).
The nice thing about using sticky-notes is that when something gets changed, a meeting postponed, a deadline extended, or anything else, all I have to do is move the sticky-note to the new location in my planner.
Below you will find a few more images of my planner in week views from various weeks throughout the semester.
This is obviously just one way of organizing, and each person has different needs and a different preference. This is what works best for me and I hope that it at least helps you get onto a road of organization.