An overly detailed daily to-do list is a college necessity

Happy(ish) midterms season! I, like most students at the moment, seem to be drowning in work. First came the midterm that you thought was way too early, really just a fun name for an exam, and now suddenly you’re in the throes of it — it’s four AM and you’re still under Leavey’s fluorescent lights.

With everything going on in our lives, it is arduous to stay organized. I am what some would call scatterbrained. I’m constantly stressed, a chronic procrastinator who always feels like I am forgetting to do something. I put these labels on myself in high school and just accepted them as my reality. Organization wasn’t my thing and I thought it never would be. 

That all changed when I bought a five dollar pastel notebook from Target and designated it for to-do lists. Planners never really worked for me; I always gave up by the time October came around. But this was different. This was something I could organize however I wanted to. I could use glitter gel pens or the occasional free sticker from a club tabling around campus and make it insanely detailed. I always felt limited by the space that I was provided in a planner, only five or so lines for an entire day’s tasks, but here I had a whole page of lines to fill and I could spill over to the next with no consequence. 

Nothing quite compares to the satisfaction of getting to check off a task that you’ve done. Whether it be something that was stressing you out or something super small, all of its associated pressure dissipates with a simple check mark. Also, actually putting what you have to do on paper adds an extra layer of pressure. You can’t get away with not doing it or putting it off without having to stare at the empty box and then add it onto the next day’s list. 

A study done at Florida State University in 2011 found that just by writing down the tasks, you are more productive in your work. This isn’t just some cute journal to add to your already full backpack, it is truly an effective way to stay organized and be more productive (it just also happens to be aesthetic). There are endless benefits but according to psychologist and author in an interview with The Guardian, Dr. David Cohen says that his daily to-do lists “dampen anxiety,” give him structure and a strict plan and they provide “proof of what [he] has achieved.” I can personally second all of those statements.

What works best for me is a color system. Every class is a different color (Spanish obviously red, and of course economics is orange), and I even use pink for personal goals and blue for club meetings/tasks. The secret is to divide everything up into the smallest task possible, so then everything you do still feels productive because you’re checking off the box even if you didn’t make that much of a dent in the whole assignment. For example, I separate my longer writing assignments into smaller more manageable sections that start with a rough outline and end with a final draft later in the week. Instead of writing a paper for a week and not knowing what to do each day, I have a designated task assigned to each day. Even if it’s something as minuscule as starting a brainstorm list, now you have clear goals to break up a seemingly hazy task. In a 2020 article discussing the use of checklists, CNN Health writer Lauren Kent puts it best: The trick is to think of the checklist as “a set of miniature goals,” that are more like “steps in a plan” rather than a broad overarching list of mundane tasks.

I get the most satisfaction out of the pink section, my personal goals. This is because there is no limit to what I can write down. It ranges from what time to wake up, to showering, or sometimes even “touch grass” (‘cause that’s necessary these days). 

Setting up my list for the next day is part of my nightly routine. I sit at my desk, get out every colored pen I own and start the list. It’s almost a part of my self-care routine but with glittery pens and stickers. From the everyday tasks like waking up and getting ready to my classes and assignments, each is noted down and organized so that during the week all I have to do is check off a few things from the list that feel manageable to me each day. 

I know starting new habits like this may seem difficult, but I really urge you to try it out. I used to be the person that forgot assignments or didn’t study for my midterm until the night before, but my cheap little journal from Target has truly been a saving grace. Next time you’re there, just walk down the aisle and look at the notebooks. See if one stands out, and if it does, trust me — it’s worth the money. But, if it ends up not being the method for you, at least you have a cute journal to doodle or take notes in.