What to Keep in your School Bag

   A good school bag equals a successful student. In order to be prepared, it's important to know what to keep in your bag. It is also important to pick a bag that suits both your needs and your personality. I like to have lots of pockets and compartments, while others may prefer the simple big pocket/ little pocket bag. I'm the type of person who likes to have a place for everything, I even have a pocket that designated for my planner.

This is my bag!

The picture you see here is my "main" pocket. It's where you would put your notebooks, textbooks, etc. Now it's usually much fuller than this, but I'm just showing the the basics that should always be in your bag.

Always, Always, Always keep a notebook (or something else with lined paper) in your bag. It's really convenient for what you need a quick piece of paper or if you forget your class notebook/binder. 

 I have my agenda which normally goes in the side pocket of my bag, but I've decided to include it in this picture because not every bag comes with that feature. You should always carry around your planner with you. I'm really bad at remember dates so I have to write it down as soon as my teacher announces a due date.

The third thing that you should keep in your bag is a pencil case. Mine is full of pens, pencils, highlighters, paperclips, etc. You will never be caught without a pencil and will be prepared for anything. I have a variety of colored pens that I take my notes with.




Now for the "little" pocket. My little pocket is a lot fuller than this picture depicts it to be. First and for most, if you are in a math class, ALWAY KEEP YOUR CALCULATOR IN YOUR BAG. The only time that thing should ever leave your bag is if you are using it. There is nothing more tragic than being in math class and realizing you forgot your calculator. If it's test day you may even consider dying. The best way to avoid this of ever happening is just to simply keep it in your bag at all times. If you do not have a math class than you don't understand the struggle and this doesn't apply to you.

Ibuprofen. If you are like me, than you understand this need. In Tennessee, the weather is ridiculous. Especially during the spring when its rain season. The constant change in weather can give you a pretty bad headache. Also, it's hard to concentrate in class when your head is pounding and all you can think about is going home and sleeping it off.

Hand sanitizer is my best friend. I'm a major germaphobe so I usually have three of these in every bag I own. When I'm eating on one of the campus cafeterias it's usually a hassle to try and find a sink to wash your hands. There usually isn't any hand sanitizer either so it's best just to carry around your own.

This brings me to the lotion. All the sanitizing I do dries out my hand pretty bad so I always but on lotion right after.

Sani wipes... again I'm a germaphobe.
Tissues because a runny nose is never fun.
Headphones are also a must for either when you need to block out noise or you don't want people bothering you.



So this is everything that are in my bag 24/7. It's very rare that I'm unprepared in class or when i'm just out. Let me know what necessities you all keep in your bag!! 

Syllabi Spread Sheet

 In this post I am going to show you how to take all your syllabi together and create ONE set of papers with all your due dates, teacher's office hours, and teacher emails.

Once you have all your syllabi you need to set aside about 30 mins to get this done (may be longer or quicker depending on how fast of a typer you are).

The first thing you want to do is start writing down all the dates that you see.

Second, pick a color for each class because we are going to color coordinate the classes. Once you picked out the colors take the syllabus for your first class and start filling in the dates with the corresponding color. Do this for the rest of your classes using your chosen colors. Also, make sure you have left space between the dates that way it is easier to see and the dates won't run together.

Now the spread sheet I have created is semesterly. If you wanted you could separate the dates by month or even weekly. This was my first time using a spreadsheet so I did mine semesterly. Next semester I am going to divide mine up weekly because I feel like it will be more suitable for me. 

Once you have all the dates filled in, look it over one more time to make sure you didn't miss anything. Once you have done this go to the very last page and make an office hours/email section. Continue using the class's corresponding colors as you type out each of the dates/hours and room numbers. Make sure you also include your professor's names.

I feel that this is a very convenient system because I'm not looking through binders to find my syllabus and then flipping through pages to find emails and due dates. This systems allows me to keep all my class information in one place for quick and easy access and I cross of the dates as they go by. Trust me when I say you want to do anything you can to make things easy in collage. 

I keep my spreadsheet tacked on my desk and my roommate (I made on for her) keeps hers in the front of her binder in a clear insert. 

If you guys have any methods or ideas you use for organizing your classes please comment below! I love trying you new ideas!