Well hello there, friend!
So, now is about that time in the term when you look around, and you see your nursing stuff everywhere. Like, literally everywhere.
You have graded assignments stacked on your desk, your textbooks are sprawled across the kitchen table, and dozens of flashcards are nestled next to those snack crumbs between your car seats.
Plus, you feel like your brain might just explode with all of the information in there, and it’s becoming a huge chore to keep track of things. #NursingSchoolBrain
So here are 10 tips to help you get (and stay) organized so you can prep for finals in a more peaceful space and with a clear mind.
Clean up your work space.
Take just 10 minutes every week to organize your office (aka, your kitchen table ;P). Go through the miscellaneous papers and file them in your binder or throw them out if you don’t need them anymore. Stack your textbooks neatly and take the dirty dishes to the kitchen. Seriously, spending 10 minutes a week to tidy up can help you feel so much more in control of life.
Get a planner.
Preferably, a pretty one that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Because let’s be honest, you’ll be using it a lot. So make sure it sparks joy. Write all of your due dates and exam dates along with your lab, lecture and clinical times. Make a to-do list of all of the things you need to get done, both for nursing school and outside of nursing school (things like laundry and food prep). Use your planner every single day and write everything down so you don’t accidentally forget something.
Schedule your study time.
Those sacred free spaces between classes look good for a nap, huh? Maybe later, I mean, this is nursing school after all. So right now they make the perfect place to add your private and group study time. And once you’ve scheduled in this time to study, stick to it. Tell your family how long you’ll be gone, turn your phone on silent, bring some healthy snacks and a water bottle, and get to it.
Don’t read everything.
Your professors will tell you to read everyyyy word in everyyyy chapter that’s assigned to you. But the sheer amount of reading is enough to crush even the most ambitious and enthusiastic, “I’m going to demolish this textbook!” student like yourself. So don’t do it. You’ll just burn out and won’t remember it all anyway. Focus on reading the sections of the book that correlate to what you learned in lecture, or other important topics that your professor points out in your course materials (like homework questions and such). This will help you free your mind of the clutter that you don’t really need to know.
Use two different colored pens to take notes.
Use one color pen for the notes you take in class and one for the notes you take from your textbook. Write both of these notes in the same place so you can compare them. For example, you might write your lecture notes on one half of the page, and your textbook notes on the other half of the page. This cuts down on paper and keeps all of your notes organized and in one place. And as a HUGE bonus, you won’t need to read the texbook again before finals, because you already wrote the important information down. How cool is that?! ?
Get a binder for clinical and lecture.
If you haven’t already, buy a massive binder that you can store all of your class notes and clinical stuff in. If you’d prefer, 2 smaller binders will do the trick just fine. Use these binders to store all of your class notes, your homework, modules, power points, care plans, and all other lecture and clinical papers. Having everything in one place will eliminate those times where you run around your house trying to find your homework that’s due in 2 hours. No one enjoys that. So let’s not do that anymore, k?
Lay out your clinical gear the night before.
Make sure all of your clinical stuff is organized and in one place before you go to bed the night before clinical. Seriously, no one wants to think about where they left their clinical uniform at 3am, so make it easy on yourself and put all of your stuff together the night before. This includes your clinical paperwork, your uniform, stethoscope, watch, bandage scissors, clamps, pen light, brainsheet, and a whole lotta pens (seriously, where doooo they all go?)
And you’re off to a great start!
You’re probably feelin’ a little too cool for school now that you’re all organized.
Keep this list handy to refer to periodically when things get a little out of hand (like your kitchen table starts to overflow again).
Nursing school is tough, and staying organized during nursing school is even tougher. Don’t worry, you’re doing better than you think you are. ?
Comment below and tell me YOUR best nursing school organization tip.
