Time management has never been your thing. You know that very well. But now that you’re in college your lack of organization is killing you. You can’t keep track of what’s due when. You keep turning in assignments late or not at all. You’re tired of feeling behind.

Managing your college credit load, work schedule, and social life is difficult! You may be feeling overwhelmed. Don’t throw in the towel just yet. Getting on top of your college schedule is possible. You can organize your college schedule by using these 4 simple tips.

Buy a planner or invest in an app.

Simply put: if you haven’t bought a planner or a scheduling app, do it now. If you like writing things down physically with pen and paper, a planner is perfect for you. If you would rather use an electronic planner, invest in a good scheduling app. You may even like to use a combination of the two. Great! Whatever you determine, please invest in something that makes you successful.

If you’re thinking: “planners don’t really work for me,” consider the alternative. How are you doing right now without a planner? My guess is you’re struggling to keep everything straight. Stop rushing from one assignment to another without a plan.

Get a planner or purchase a planner app and give it a real try. Don’t give up after a week or two. Stick with it for a month. You won’t see any results unless you give it time.

Struggling to be organized doesn’t mean you’re incapable or unintelligent. It’s just a sign that what you’re doing right now isn’t working. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Don’t be insane and disorganized! Buy a planner or invest in a scheduling app.

Put your assignments in your planner/app.

Having six syllabi and no place to store the information is a recipe for disaster. Don’t do this to yourself! Put your assignments for the whole semester (yes the whole semester) into your planner/app.

While this process does take time, it is entirely worth it. You will have a better idea of what’s coming up in every class every day. You won’t find yourself scrambling to turn things in on time. You won’t get zeros on quizzes, because you forgot they were coming. You will feel ready for your tests. You will be prepared to succeed.

Create a layout of a typical week.

This is honestly one of the best habits I formed in college. By laying out what my week actually looked like, I realized how much time I really had. You can do this with pen and paper, but a simple table on a document will work fine too. Include every waking hour of the day as a row and every day of the week as a column like this.

Start filling in the table with your requirements (classes, labs, working hours, etc.). These should be fixed events that rarely change throughout the semester.

Take a look at all the available spots with no obligations. These spots are ideal for working on your homework. Schedule specific times to work on homework. Be smart with your planning.

For example, working on your English homework will probably take more than 30 minutes but less than 4 hours. So maybe set aside 2.5 hours just in case.

Now see what time slots are still available. These spots are for sleeping, eating, socializing, exercising, etc. Although classes are your priority, remember your health and social life are important too. Whatever is important to you should be a priority in your weekly layout as well.

For example, sleeping and eating were important to me. I frankly didn’t function well without those two, so they were a fixed part of my schedule which looked something like this.

Embarrassing confession: I was definitely an overachieving student who should have made more time for a social life and exercising. Learn from my unwise choices!

At first you may find a weekly schedule restricting. But the longer you stick with it, the more you will see that scheduling out your week actually gives you freedom. Yes, that’s right freedom.

You can always adjust as time goes on. And that’s ok. This schedule is not what every week will be like. But it does show you that your college schedule is achievable. You really can do this!

Plug your assignments into your weekly schedule.

What assignments, tests, papers, quizzes, etc. are coming up? How much time will you need to finish for each thing? You can use both your assignment-filled planner and your weekly overview to help you plan for the upcoming week. Going this extra step can make a big difference.

At the beginning of each week, take 20 minutes to put specific assignments into the spots you scheduled for working on homework. Every assignment should have a scheduled spot. And soon your crazy schedule will seem more manageable.

If time management is not your thing, you are probably swamped in college. Buying a planner, putting your assignments into the planner and laying out your week will help you get control over the chaos. Free yourself from the panic of an unplanned schedule!