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The Secret to Saving Time and Being a Success!                                                 Be Prepared For The Day
        Life, home, education and work…
                                                                                                       DON’T RUSH. Wake up early enough for school or work
        Reduce before organizing                                                                       to arrive well ahead of time. If you need 30 minutes   Good Study Habits
        n    The mistake most people make when trying to organize their stuff or their tasks or their   to get up, shower and dress, pad that time by waking   Start Studying Early - If you begin studying
            projects is that they have a whole mess of things to organize, and it’s too complicated.  Get   up at least 45 minutes prior to your departure. To en-  before you think you need to, you can go at a
            rid of the clutter and anything you do not need. The solution: reduce, eliminate, simplify.   sure you don’t turn off your alarm clock and go back   more relaxed pace, increasing the possibility
        n    If  you have 20 things to do today, and reduce it to just the three most important        to sleep, place your clock at the far end of your room.   that you’ll retain what you learn. Because
            tasks, you don’t need a schedule anymore.                                                  This way, you actually have to get out of bed to turn it   the stress response can make it more
                                                                                                       off, and you’re most likely to stay up.             difficult to remember certain facts, avoiding
        Write it down now, always–
        n    Our minds are wonderful thing, we don’t remember things when we need to re-               PREPARE YOUR WARDROBE. Before you go to bed         the stress of cramming can help you learn
                                                                                                                                                           more efficiently.
            member them, and they continually come up when we don’t need them. Instead of using your   each night, choose, iron and lay out your clothes for
            mind as storage for things you need to remember, write it down.                            the next day. This way, you’ll be all set to dress and   Have a Study Area- If you do most of your
        Have one inbox & process–                                                                      go in the morning.                                  studying in the same
        n    Once a day,  process the inbox to empty. Take an item out of the inbox and                                                                    place, you not only
            decide what to do with it, right away: toss it, delegate it, file it, put it on your       MAKE TO DO LISTS. Always spend a minimum of 15      reduce the risk of losing
            to-do list, or do it now.                                                                  minutes per day, preparing your To-Do list for tomor-  important papers, but you
        A place for everything–                                                                        row. In doing so, you will know exactly what tasks you   can condition yourself to
                                                                                                                                                           be more ready for learning
        n    Have a place for each item in your life. Where do your car keys go? You should            have to accomplish the next day                     when you sit down there.
            have one place for them (next to the door is best) and you’ll never lose them again. Where do                                                  Be sure to pick a place
            your pens go? How about your magazines. The same concept applies to information: do you    GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Get a good night’s                that’s quiet, distraction-
            have one place where you put all your information?                                         rest. This will ensure you are alert and            free, and clutter-free.
                                                                                                       ready to learn the following day.
        Put it away now–                                                                                                                                   Create Efficient Notes - If you condense
        n    It only takes a few seconds, and this one habit will save you a lot of cleaning and sorting and   EAT RIGHT. Eat three healthy meals          the most important pieces of information
            organizing later. When you find yourself putting something down, catch yourself, and force   each day, along with fruit for snacks. Don’t overload   on a set of note cards that you create for
            yourself to put it away now. After a little while, it will become second nature.           on sweets, which cause many people to feel tired.   yourself, the act of creating the cards, as

        Clean as you go–                                                                                                                                   well as the ease of using them, can help you
        n    If it’s easier to do it in smaller increments, we are more likely to do it. If there is a huge mess   AVOID OVERLOAD. Don’t take on too much. Prioritize   to retain the information more easily.
            to clean, we are more likely to be intimidated or overwhelmed by it and leave it for later.  your time.                                        Break it Up - Break up big tasks, into

        Develop routines & systems–                                                                                                                        smaller, bite-sized jobs. For instance, if you
        n    Develop systems to keep your organization in place. All systems follow the same guidelines   USE ONE CALENDAR. Use one calendar to plan all   have to study three chapters in your history
            -- specific procedures and a routine that is done at a set interval (three times a day, once   of your school, work, and personal activities, rath-  book, study one chapter at a time each day.
            a day, once a week, once a month, etc.) Once those systems are in place, you need to be    er than two or more. When you use more than one,    If you have to work on a project, break it
            vigilant about keeping them going, and then things will stay organized.                    you run the risk of scheduling conflicts and missed   down into three or four stages.
                                                                                                       appointments.
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