Tip Tuesday: Daily Planning 101

“If you fail to plan you plan to fail”- Benjamin Franklin. We hear this saying over and over again, but do we truly understand the meaning? Do we really believe planning is beneficial? Research suggests, “…planning can allow the person to be more organized and better prepared before facing a task (Hayes-Roth and Hayes-Roth 1979; Kreitler and Kreitler 1987).” We all share a common goal of being academically successful and being involved in various organizations across our campuses, so here’s some ways to get ahead:

1. Get a planner – at the beginning of every academic year it is important to get a planner. Whether it be from Walmart, Target, or simply the calendar in your smart phone or tablet, just be sure that you have something to record important dates and information.
2. Transfer important dates – We all dread “syllabus day” the first day of classes. Often times we don’t even glance at the syllabus after that day. If you take all the important dates from the syllabus and put them in your planner, you will never forget that you have a test or an important assignment due. The same goes for any organization you are in. When the semester or yearly calendar goes out, record those dates in your planner.
3. Use planner when making appointments – You will often need to make various appointments throughout the week. Use your planner to make these appointments to ensure you aren't double booking yourself, or more importantly, not giving yourself enough time to grab lunch.
4. Refer to planner every day when forming to do list – Each day you should have a written to-do list. If you use your planner effectively, everything you need to do will be in your planner. So forming your to-do list can be as simple as looking to see what’s on the calendar for the day.

Being a college student is probably one of the hardest jobs there is. It’s like there is never enough hours in the day to go to class, work, attend organizational meetings, finish homework, study, eat and sleep. However, if you plan ahead of time, you can get all of these things done with enough time to catch “Scandal” or “Breaking Bad.”

*Stop by Career Services in Dunford Hall to pick up your free University of Tennessee planner*