Hi everyone!

I hope you all are doing well and soaking up the last couple of months of the year :) I can’t believe that December is approaching… how quickly has this year gone by?!? With a new month coming, I wanted to give you a few tips on how to prepare for a new month–especially a new month filled with (lots of) studying for finals, and holiday festivities! I hope these tips help you stay organized and productive!

Tip #1: Write EVERYTHING down!

This has always been the most important for me. If everything isn’t written down, I miss important deadlines, I’m not sure what I need to do for the week, I am not sure what is going on each day, etc. I am completely lost! But, when I write everything down, my life is so much easier because of how organized I am.

Here are some things I always try to remember to put on the calendar:

• Due dates (this is huge, especially since my semester is almost over)
• Class/Lecture times
• Birthdays
• Appointments
• Activities (things I will be doing with family and friends)
• Everything I need to do for my job

Tip #2: Do something that makes you excited for the new month

Christmas is my favorite time of year. While I was home over fall break, I helped decorate my house! I was able to spend time with my family while also celebrating the new month. Once I get back to my apartment, I’ll be blasting Christmas music, drinking hot cocoa, and decorating as much of it as I can :)

If you do something that makes you happy, that gets you into the spirit of the new month, you will be going into it with a positive mindset and looking forward to everything.

Tip #3: To-Do Lists are ESSENTIAL

I am the type of person that needs a to-do list to survive. I get absolutely nothing done when I don’t write one. This is the perfect way to help yourself be productive. I tend to start my to-do lists the night before so I can understand what homework I have, what studying I have to do, things like that. But, in the morning I take a look at the day and see if there are any minor things I need to get done like preparing something for a job, doing laundry, cleaning my room, etc.

If you do this and stick to your to-do lists, you will feel extremely accomplished and you’ll also be able to stay on top of everything, which is super important, especially during one of the busiest times of the year.

These are my MUST DO top three. They always make me excited for the month, looking forward to everything, and most importantly, being organized. You may not work the exact same way I do, and if that’s the case, that is perfectly fine :) But, if you do and you have been looking for ways to spice up your month and be a bit more productive, these are three things that I live by, and may be very beneficial to you! To all of my fellow Iowa students, I wish you the best of luck on finals…I’m sure all of you will do great. And to all of you, I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving, and Happy Holidays!

<3 Heather