Returning to college with Talendar

Whether you’re an older student returning to college after years away or have just taken the summer off, the first days on campus are here. If you’re feeling anxious about this big event, a good way to calm the nerves and get organized is to put together a to-do list (or two or three of them).

And that process is modernized – and even easier – with the Talendar app that merges the to-do list and calendar in one. I wish I had it back when I was in college!

Benefits of to do lists

When it comes to school assignments and class schedules, there’s never a dull moment. Then add in any on-campus club meetings, sports practices, personal appointments, and part-time work. Before you know it there’s a meeting missed, you’re late for night shift, and that essay is a week late.

Even if you can keep on top of it all mentally, that’s a lot of stuff to keep track of in your mind. Mental overload is exhausting.

While you can’t get rid of stress entirely, it’s helpful to clear the mind as much as possible. A good way to do so is to write down your to-do’s. I learned many years ago from my therapist at the time that writing down those future tasks is a great way to release them from the mind.

Then you open yourself up to feeling able to sleep rather than trying to keep everything fresh in your mind. Not to mention being able to be in the moment rather than reciting lists in your head throughout the day.

As if that’s not enough to get you making to do lists, here’s another benefit. Filling out these types of lists trains your mind to set goals and motivates you to reach them.

But not just any list will do

When it comes to checklists for completing student projects and to-do lists for the day, week, and month, a haphazard structure won’t cut it. That means jumbled notes and hard-to-read tasks likely won’t make you more effective or feel more organized. Instead, be sure to add detail to your to-do activities, explains time management guru David Allen.

You’ll also want to be realistic in how long those tasks will take, as per Allen. So, if you know that you’re prone to wandering off to Facebook midway through the afternoon, for example, factor that into your plan for the day. It might mean that your chemistry homework takes longer than it might if there were no distractions.

And it’s helpful to keep your lists all in one place, whether that’s a notebook or the Talendar app. The convenient thing about using a mobile app is that your iPhone is on you a lot if you’re like most students. So, it’s convenient; just click the app and you’ll see your lists. Easy!

You can keep all sorts of lists in this one app too as the checklist incorporates seamlessly into the calendar. For example, see all the steps to completing your end-of-semester marketing project week by week, along with your daily activities, all at a glance. It’s a revolutionary idea for organization when returning to college, especially if you are trying to balance a job too.

Templates to start you off

As you have enough to worry about with returning to college after a short or extended break, Talendar is a cinch to start using. It’s intuitive, for one, and there are several pre-made lists within the app that you can add to today.

Plus, within each list are lots of tips to help you make the most of them.

For example, you might track your college move; just select the type list and end date then click “Create.” It’ll simply track your activities and you can add new ones as they come up.

You’ll quickly see that it’s simple to create to do lists and mark tasks as done. All of which keeps you on track day after day through the school year.

So now you have the basics for staying on track as the new semester is about to begin. And I wish you a wonderful time returning to college!

What works well for you for keeping on track with your studies or life in general?