How to become a better organizer & note-taker!

It's exam season for all of the college students out there and I know how hard it is to even begin the process of studying for the multiple exams you may have in one or two weeks. Over the last three years of college, I've tried (and failed!), but finally have learned how to best prepare myself for an exam through proper organization and note-taking. I'm going to share with you my personal layouts, strategies & tips for feeling prepared to take these exams and I hope you can feel inspired to do the same!

1. Keep all your notes in one document.

Typed notes have become a quick and popular trend that I've seen in both college and high school environments. I prefer typing my notes because its quicker and I'm able to write down more than I would be able to with writing. Also, it's very helpful to organize notes by the specific class and exams. I recommend using Google Docs (it's my favorite option) so you can easily build on notes from the previous classes all in one saved document. Title each document by class and exam content, for example "ADV 310 Beginning for Exam 2 Notes". Once exam time comes around, you'll readily have all the information you need instead of having to rifle through a bunch of papers or compile different Word documents.

2. Write out all your notes onto one study guide.

I know I just said I prefer typing notes, but when it comes to making an exam study guide, I like to write out everything in front of me so I can see it all clearly and in one place. I go through my typed-up notes and then begin to transfer them over onto a tangible sheet of paper. Using paper is helpful because if I need to add in information from textbook chapters or other articles, I can easily add them all onto this document.

3. Categorize your notes.

While some teachers do hand out a study guide or outline to follow, I recommend always sectioning off your notes as you go through them. Title each section in all caps and maybe put a box around it. Then jot down the most important notes or facts underneath the title. This way, you can study your notes section by section and not feel overwhelmed by looking at a huge list of items. This is how I like to do it:

4. Color Code

I know color coding may seem sort of cheesy and honestly, I thought it was too until I tried it. You can emphasize so much through simple coloring, highlighting or adding important notes in other colors. Highlight key definitions or words & phrases that are important to a subject. Use colored markers to section off different parts to the study guide. This will help you distinguish the important concepts needed for an exam. Here is an example of how I organize my notes using color!

5. Schedule out your studying.

It's likely that you've heard that you need to prepare in advance for an exam. What I do to hold myself accountable for studying is that I plan which specific sections of content I'm going to cover for each day. So, for example, if I plan to start studying three days in advance, I would cover half of the content on day 1, the other half of the content on day 2, and I would go over all of the content on day 3. The first two days would allow me to really focus and understand a less amount of material so by the time I get to day 3, I'm able to easily review all the material without stressing about it.

I hope you can take some of these tips and try them out in your own studying! If you're a student like me, know that you'll kill it on all your exams and assignments; it's almost Thanksgiving!

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