Staying Organized – Using an Agenda

Using an agenda is one of my absolute favorite ways to stay organized. Anyone that knew me in high school or college knows that my agenda was my prized possession and I didn’t go anywhere without it. Over the years, I have picked up a few organizational tips and that’s what I am going to share with you today!

Getting an Agenda

First of all, I think everyone that goes to school or works or has any sort of social calendar needs to have an agenda. I know that we all have built in calendars and reminders in our phones these days but it’s just not the same as putting pen-to-paper and writing yourself a note, in my opinion. The actual act of writing it down does 90% of the work in terms of remembering what I need to do. Also, is there anything more satisfying than physically crossing something off a to-do list? No, there isn’t. Having a home base where you can write everything from school assignments to meetings scheduled to a dinner with the girls is the best way to get a look at your week, or month, at a glance.

Finding What Works for You

This is just as important as getting an agenda itself. For me, it always helps me stay motivated and organized if I think my supplies are pretty. Some people couldn’t care less about this and that’s okay! Am I the only one who is more excited to go to a party if I like my outfit? The same principle applies here! Finding an agenda that I think is really pretty and buying all the matching accessories (sticky notes, pencils, etc.) makes me excited for the upcoming year and ready to get organized. If a gold-foiled agenda with matching pencils is going to help keep you organized – get it!

Color Coding

Color coding my agenda has helped me take my organization to the next level. I found this especially helpful in college when I had a bunch of different classes requiring a million different types of assignments due on all different days of the week. When your schedule gets all over the place, writing about specific things in certain colors helps you have an overview of the week without reading a single word. At the beginning of each semester, I would assign each class a color and write all information and assignments pertaining to that class in that particular color. This allowed me to flip open my agenda and see if I was going to be doing a lot of studying for Math or a ton of writing for English. If you’re a mom using your agenda to keep your kids’ activities straight, assign a different color to each child and write all of his or her appointments and activities in that color. If you’re a blogger using your agenda to keep your posts organized, assign a different color to each type of post (fashion, lifestyle, etc.). My favorite pens for doing this are Paper Mate Marker Pens. They come in a variety of colors and don’t bleed through the page – which is essential. Nothing is worse than remnants of the last week peeking through to your fresh agenda page.

Additional Accessories

Sometimes getting the extra accessories is the best part of getting organized! I mean, people pick up different hobbies based on what equipment comes along with it, right? Maybe that’s just me. If you need to do a lot of writing, buy a coordinating notebook to write additional notes in. To make sure tasks get done on time by marking things off, get yourself highlighters that color-coordinate with your pens. Make sure you can easily access the right date by purchasing these cute flags to mark your page. Whatever it is that you need to get organized, do it! Make your agenda work for you!

What are your favorite ways to get organized?

Agenda | Sticky Notes and Flags | Pens