How to use a planner for students

  

[VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]

Hello my friends, I hope you're doing well. In this video I'm going to talk about how to use a planner for students. If you're new here, my name is Tanya and I make videos on practical and functional planning. If that's something that sounds interesting to you, please be sure to hit the like button and I would love it if you would subscribe.

 

Hey, are you watching this video and you're actually a student, please leave a comment and let me know what type of planner you have. I love talking to you guys about planners. 

 

 Students use planners different than most people, because they almost have to compartmentalize their life. First of all, a lot of students nowadays also work so they have the student life that they're dealing with. And then they also have their work life. Now if you're a student watching this video, and you're able to be a full-time student, consider it a blessing that you don't have to work as well. But either way, as a student, you almost have to compartmentalize each class that you take because each class that you take has different requirements and different due dates and all the stresses with being a student and you have to study for different quizzes and different tests that are due on different days. So there are a lot of moving parts in a student's life. 

 

 So in this video, I'm going to give you some tips on how a paper planner can help students. Now tip number one has to do with the type of planner that you have. You want a planner with a slim format. Most students that I know have a book bag and actually take a few things to the classroom. But there are a lot of virtual students nowadays as well and a lot of the books are online. But if you happen to be a student and you carry a few things, notebooks and actual physical books to a classroom, you will want a planner that is slim and as light as possible. I'll actually recommend a Ringless Planner for students so that you can keep your weight light. 

 

 So what is a Ringless Planner? So this is an example of a Ringless Cover. A lot of people will refer to this as a “Traveler's Notebook” as well. There are no rings on the inside, but it has ample compartments where you can put a notebook. This one has strengths where you can attach different notebooks for different subjects. This has four strengths. So that means you can compartmentalize for different types of information in this as well as have room to slip in notebooks and planners here and here. So I recommend these for students because it is a lighter option. 

 

 Now this is a really small size for those that like smaller planners. And this isn't a five size, and it too is a brainless cover. These are sold in my shop at Tonyaplans.com. And you can save money with the discount promo code Tonyaplans20. You can even put in a notepad that falls over and you can write on the binder here. But for students, I recommend this ringless option because it's so lightweight and easy to carry with you. So tip number one for students is to choose a slim planter so it's easy to carry. 

 

 Tip number two is I recommend a vertical format for students. So I want to show you an example of a vertical format here. So an example of a vertical format looks like this. And I recommend a format that has times on it because as a student, you really got to manage your time. And I recommend time blocking, I have a video about how to do time blocking on my channel. But you can use these times to block the times that you're in class, you can use the times on this vertical format to block the times when you plan to study, when you plan to eat, when you plan to go to work, if you go to work, and all sorts of things. 

 

 So when you have a lot of multiple things going on in your life, I think the vertical format is the way to go. Now another format and this is vertical quote, because you got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc, they're going vertical length. And don't worry about if you have enough room, you just keep writing, if something is longer that you want to write, you just write it all in, I can show you a quick example. I'm not currently a student. I have graduated, but I remember how it felt to be a student. But with the vertical format, you can just write down your whole thought and just put a space in between and make the format work for you. Here I'm showing time blocking is just such a great way to block your time so you can better manage your priorities. 

 

 Another thing that's helpful with the vertical format, too. So let me show you another example here. So like if you were using this vertical format, you can put your subjects over here and draw a line and write in what's due in each class. That's an option too. So sometimes, like you can put, I don't know math here, I'll draw a line or a cross reading here, draw a line all the way across. And that way you kind of have a matrix where you can write in each subject and its applicable area. If you want, choose to ignore the times and use the vertical format that way. 

 

 Just to show you really quick, here's another format: this format is horizontal. If your brain thinks more horizontally, this might be the format for you here. 

 

 So tip number three is kind of obvious. If you're a student you want to use your planner to write down assignments, you want to make sure you have the due dates there, you want to you want to ride on when there are upcoming quizzes, when there are upcoming tests, when there are school activities that you are participating in and all those types of things, everything going on in your life as a student you will want to write down and jot down your planner. 

 

 Nowadays students, of course, you may be thinking, “Why don't I just use my cell phone, I have a calendar on my cell phone? Why don't I just use that for everything you can use your cell phone for?” I like to use both paper and electronics to plan. However, there's something about paper, there have been lots of studies done to show that when you actually write something down, it sticks and you're more likely to do it. In addition, on your cell phone, there's lots of distractions, there's things and notifications. “Oh, let me look at my schedule.” You have to look at your schedule, and you end up on social media looking at something else. Paper is quiet and distraction free. So that's why it's beneficial in my opinion for students to use paper. In addition to electronics. If you really want to get something done, it's beneficial in my opinion, to write it down. 

 

 Tip number five for students is to write briefly. The idea of having a planner is not to do a whole bunch of writing because as a student, your life is busy. And you may not have time to do a lot of writing. Some people love to write, but some people just don't have time for it. You want to briefly Write what you have to do in your planner. And there could be other details that are on your phone or on your laptop. So in your paper planner, you want to be brief, for example, on your plan, or you can say refer to an email dated November 5. And that way you know the details of what you need to know is in an email, for example, but it's great to use electronics and paper together. But I do recommend keeping writing brief and your planner. Then when you see me writing a lot, I normally will start my week like this where I'm from right and a few things that I know I need to do that week. And then as the week goes on, I fill in with a different ink pen. Actually, what happened that day is a way to fill my planner pages. And I enjoy going back and looking at how and what I did on that day. So I kind of include a little memory-keeping in my planning process in addition to what's going on day by day. 

 

 Tip number six for students using their planner is something simple and that is just simply take it with you. Take your planner with you to class, take it with you when you meet your professor. Take it with you because if you don't have it with you, you can't use it, you can't jot things down. So you want to make sure you have a plan and it's portable enough it's not too much of a burden to take with you. 

 

 Tip number seven. And my last tip is I kind of touched on this before which is time blocking. I think time blocking is really important as you're able to see how your day looks and what you actually have time for. Sometimes people are afraid to time block because they're like, “well I don't know if I'm really going to feel like studying at seven o'clock if I write that in”. It doesn't matter fill in something is not that serious go ahead and write down that you're going to study at seven for example, if you need to move it, you need to move it but the idea is when you make a plan for it nine times out of 10 when you write it down, it will eventually get done. You might have to move it to eight o'clock or nine o'clock. But the idea of time blocking is take a look at your day and try your best to fit in everything that you need to do that day. And sometimes there's just not enough time in the day and you might have to move it to another day. It's okay. If you write in something that you plan to do and it needs to move, that's fine and there are planner symbols to help you with when you have to delete something or if you have to move something to another day. 

 

 I did another video on how you can use planner symbols in your planner. But don't be afraid that “Oh this is permanent, and I can't move around”. Your planner is to be used as a tool to help you manage your time and it's okay that things change. 

 

Hey, is there a tip I missed? You think it would be great for students to know if so please leave that in the comments. Some of the best ideas come from you in the comments. Please don't forget to like this video. This is Tanya helping you feel more organized so this can be your best year yet. Please watch more of my videos by clicking on a video on the screen.