Being organised at university is a big step to success. But, it’s a pretty un-sexy study skill I know.

Being, and staying, organised at university will help you stay on track and remove those panicky moments of ‘why aren’t my notes in order?’ and ‘where the hell did I put that very important document!?’

So, put aside some time to organise your study materials now before your modules or classes really ramp up, and you’ll thank yourself (and me!) later.

My simple but effective method to organise your study materials

One folder per module

It’s important to have a physical space to store your study materials even if some of them may be online.

I recommend you buy one folder for every module you’re taking. A simple A4 ring binder folder like this one is perfect.

You’ll then need to buy some dividers like these.

I bought this folder and a set of dividers for less than £5 on Amazon so you don’t need to spend a lot of money to organise your study materials.

Next, you need to think about the types of materials you’ll want to store in your folder, and assign a section to each using a divider. It’s important to separate your materials as over the course of one module you’re going to accumulate A LOT of pieces of paper. You don’t want to start studying and then realise a few months down the line that your syllabus, notes, handouts, and test dates are all over the place. Spend a little time getting organised now and reap the benefits later.

Here are the sections you could use in each folder.

• Syllabus
• Module information and admin (module guide, an introduction to the class, learning outcomes, referencing/citation guide…etc.)
• Important dates (tutorials, assignments, tests and exams)
• Assignments (assignment information and guidance, your marked assignments, tutor feedback)
• Notes (every week, transfer your notes to the folder)
• Handouts and slides (any presentations or handouts from tutorials)
• Exam information and revision material (exam details and guide, and revision material you create throughout the module and anything you’re given from your tutors)
• Other (for material that doesn’t work in another section)

You might not need all of these and you might want to add others, but they’re a good place to start.

Once you’ve decided on the sections, mark your dividers. You can either mark the section on the tab of the divider, or keep them blank and instead create a content page as the first page in the folder. I prefer to mark the tabs as it helps me find things faster but do what feels right to you.

Below are the sections I've chosen in the folder for my Creative Writing module.

The note taking dilemma

Everyone has their own way they like to take and store notes. I recommend what works for me but you can tweak this until you find what works for you.

I always suggest filing your notes to keep them safe and in order. If you type your notes, file them in a sensible online folder structure and then print and pop them into your physical folders.

I take all my notes in an A4 notepad like this one.

The pages can be removed so every week I take them out and store them in their own section in my module folder. I find it easier to carry just one notebook around with me and write all my notes in there, even if I’m taking different classes. This means I have to make sure my notes are clear – with the module details written in the corner so they don’t get mixed up.

You may hate this idea and prefer to use one notebook per module. Or you may think its blasphemy to rip apart a notebook and would prefer to keep your notes separate from your main folder. What’s important is that you choose what you think will work for you and what will help you stay organised.

Everyday organisation

Now, let’s back to your folder. Once you’ve set this up you’ll see most of these sections are pretty empty. But it will soon fill up as you file your notes, assignments and handouts.

If you’re taking multiple modules, or just don’t like lugging round lots of big folders, I’d recommend you do the following.

Buy a smaller folder for each of your modules – a small envelope folder like this works.

Rather than taking your big module folder to tutorials you can take out the things you’ll need and put them in this smaller folder e.g. readings, prep work, handouts…etc. Once you get home you can refile these materials and add any new ones.

I hope you can see how useful this simple organisation method is and the impact it could have on your studying.