Binders have always been my favorite organization tool.
They allow for endless customization options, can be reused across the years and its content
can be reorganized according to your needs.
So of course that I would be looking for a binder as the first purchase of 2019's back
to school season.
The purpose of this video is to show you some options in terms of binder organization and
what you should be searching for in terms of price and quality while you are shopping
for your stationery.
In this back to school shopping trip I was looking for a binder setup with old-school
vibes and that could act as an archiving solution for my notes at home.
I was also looking for a budget friendly setup so I went for mid to low range supplies that
were durable enough to withstand the semester without breaking the bank.
Taking that into account, I knew right away that plastic binders were out of question
since they would be completely over budget, ranging from ten to 20 euros so I went for
the classic cardstock slash cardboard version which is probably going to be more than enough
since I won't be carrying this thing in a backpack to college.
If you find a plastic binder that fits your budget, that's always the option that I alays
recommend since it will last you a looong time, especially if you carry it around.
In case you prefer to stick with the lighter version, it can be a good idea to laminate
the corners of your binder so it doesn't rip when it scrapes against other objects.
After the binder was picked, the biggest challenge was finding tabs that were resistant enough
and fit the price point.
Although the hard plastic ones are the best, they were incredibly expensive and the cheaper
plastic solutions are those thin plastic dividers that easily bend and rip as well; the cardstock
dividers however, are very filmsy and will look torn at the tabs after a couple weeks
of use so I found a good in-between which were cardstock dividers with plastic reinforced
tabs.
For more organization goodness I went searching for some old school looking folder inserts
for the binder and found these archiving folders that can be easily hole punched and serve
as a place to keep handouts, your syllabus or any initial information provided at the
beginning of the semester that is useful to isolate and can be kept as a front page of
the course's divider.
Besides those folders, which cost 75 cents each, I also found a pack of cardstock archivers
that serve to file major projects that can also be isolated from the rest of your notes.
These can be useful for test practice, homework you have to turn in, assignments, reports
and that type of work that is detrimental for your final grade.
Since Staples was majorly lacking in filler paper I went out of my way to another store
and found this new notepad by Oxford that was perfect for the type of binder I was trying
to achieve.
They also had this same notebook in white so if the yellow toned pages are not for you,
that's not a problem.
Two great features about this notepad are that one, each page can be scanned using the
markings in the corners and they work with their app Scribzee, and, two, despite being
ruled pages you have markings at the top and bottom of each page that serve to guide you
in case you want to draw vertical lines, which can be useful in some formats like the cornell
method.
Using a hole-punched notepad is great because you can keep it at the back of your binder
and of course you can also double tape it or hold it with a binder clip.
Regarding what to put in your binder during setup, I always recommend a one-page academic
calendar which allows you to see what are the assignments, tests, midterms, quizes and
exams you'll have at a glance.
Of course that all of this information should be migrated to your personal planner, whether
you use an app or a paper calendar, but having all of this information condensed in one page
is really nice and helps you manage your expectations better.
To quickly create the perfect academic calendar just go over to [calendarpedia.com](http://calendarpedia.com)
and generate your custom made calendar, download the PDF and print it.
They have many templates available for each specific type of calendar so it's easy to
find something that fits your needs without losing time creating something like that yourself.
Secondly, I think it's a good idea to keep your syllabi in your binder, divided per classes.
First of all, it acts as a table of contents for the following notes and, secondly, it
can be a precious tool to refer back to previous chapters or to simply understand how all of
your lectures are connected around a bigger theme.
Of course that you can go all out with your binder and use other inserts and acessories
but if I were you, I would keep it as simple as it gets.
Maybe get a penloop if you are prone to misplace your pens or a side pocket to keep a class
schedule or the map of your campus.
The more crowded and full your binder is, the less likely you'll resort to it as a studying
tool and that's the opposite of what we want to achieve with today's video.
Binder organisation is just a part of the many things you can organize before back to
school to have an easier time once the semester starts, and if you want to boost your organisation
skills in time for the first day of college so you can start the year on the right foot
and without losing track of your studies, you can find tons of organization and planning
lessons in Skillshare, who's sponsoring today's video.
Skillshare is an online learning community with more than 25 thousand classes in dozens
of different categories and they can help you build new skills, develop new strategies
and learn more about anything you feel curious about.
Skillshare portfolio includes productivity and business masterclasses, tutorials on how
to work with different types of software, language classes, art and design courses and
so on.
But if you're watching this video because you want to get more organized for back to
school, you can start by watching Productivity with Evernote: Use one Tool for Everything.
Premium membership gives you unlimited access to all these incredible classes so no individual
payments required and since skillshare costs less than 10 dollars a month for the yearly
subscription, it’s the perfect platform to conitnuously develop your study skills.Also,
if you one of the first 500 people to click the link in description box to get your first
two months of unlimited classes for free.