Life Transitions Series II

Here we go.. transitioning from kid stage to University life

Fast forward 18 years, a client called Calm Order for help for their struggling student who has just moved away for university. The student was always strong academically, liked to join clubs and get involved in intramural sports, and of course relished the freedom of being able to choose their own meals and socialize with friends. However, after a few months of solo living they found they were losing paperwork, had nowhere to study, laundry and dishes were piling up and they had a general feeling of overwhelm and even homesickness. Calm Order quickly identified that the source of the problem was lack of organization systems that aligned with student life.

The key to providing a lasting solution for this client was to use a low-effort system, one that was easy to maintain. It had to be manageable for someone with a demanding and busy lifestyle, and many distractions.

The biggest problem for a busy student is the accumulation of clutter, which distracts our mind from the tasks at hand.

The Dreaded Drop Zone of the University Dorm/Apartment

It’s really important to operate within one's habits to create effective solutions. For this student, it was the obvious dropper behavior. Hang a key rack (looking for your keys every time you leave the apartment is a huge time drain.) Set up a charging station where electronics are placed each time. A collecting basket is perfect for those that remove identity cards, hair accessories, socks, ... right when they walk in the door.

In a small apartment/dorm, it is also important to designate and set up a study area: a zone that is functional, with the right lighting, a comfortable chair for desk work, and a labeled filing system to sort assignments/projects by due date. It is key to have the things you need access to while your studying or working on an assignment at your desk. A file cabinet across the room ensures nothing will get filed. Pens and paper in the next room don’t allow for efficiency.

Another key tip for the client was to use an electronic calendar to keep important appointments documented. Inputing key dates such as critical assignment due dates, exams and other important events to help you plan your days and helps you with time/study management and your scheduling. If you can see that you have a large exam coming up, you can easily see an impending time crunch and make the decision to reschedule other less time-critical commitments to the following week when there is less pressure to get things done.

Avoid the clutter! Putting things away gives you clear mental space. Too much clutter makes it harder to focus, creates more distractions and keeps us from getting done what we need to have done. You need to make time and set a goal as to how you want to live.

It can be easy to be lazy and tired at the end of a day and decide not to put things put away. The key is to commit to taking 5 minutes to get it done otherwise the accumulation will result an entire weekend of cleaning, tiding and putting away. Wouldn’t you rather be out biking, skiing and enjoying the day? Added bonus: you will sleep better!

Parent's House Tip: In addition to the university student needing new organization strategies, the memories and keep-sakes left behind in the parent’s home can be a problem. Calm Order recommends pairing down your keep-sakes to one bin for the items the parent's want to keep (memories) and one bin the student wants to keep. That’s it! It may be a tough solution at first but it is amazing how these old memories can clog up storage space only to be thrown away in a panic because there is just too much stuff later on. Parents who want to keep every piece of art work , or every school report need to remember that these are the child’s things. The parents most likely have been “saving memorabilia” for their kids. I recommend letting the kids decide on what is actually a memory for them.

Transition Series – next post – Aging in Place.