How to channel your creativity into planning and organizing!

Introduction

Most students can agree, it is hard to find a way to channel creativity. Between classes, homework, a social life, and probably a job, it is hard to find the time or even the motivation to do something creative. What’s worse is that if all of our ideas stay in our heads, they can become a jumbled mess, and then everything, especially the important stuff, can get lost in the shuffle. There are multiple possible solutions: find time to be creative, even if it means losing time on being productive, or find a way to be creative and productive at the same time. The latter is obviously the better option, why not kill two birds with one stone? Here are some ways you can channel that creativity while also being productive.

Bullet Journal/Planner

If you want to start a planner from a bullet journal, you’ll first need a bullet journal… obviously. Make sure you get a size that works best for you. I have a smaller planner since I carry it with me everywhere, but a bigger planner will be able to hold more stuff. Then, you need to decide what you want to put in it and how you want to organize it. Personally, I use it as a planner for my academic and social calendars as well as a way to track things like my favorite tv shows, books I’ve read, and movies I want to watch. Here is a basic list of some things you can include in your planner.

Monthly and weekly layout for every month of the year
To do lists for each week
Mood trackers
Budgeting/paycheck tracker
Movie/tv watchlists
Book library
Doodle page

I also have a different theme for each month. It helps my creative juices when I get a new theme every four weeks, this ensures that I am not drawing the same things over and over again and gives me a challenge to find a unique theme for each month. Like always, the internet holds endless ideas, feel free to look there for more inspiration!

Desktop Organization

Another way you can be creative, that isn’t as intense as creating an entire planner, is on the computer. I designed my own desktop background on Canva (the perfect spot if you ever need to design a flier, Instagram post, powerpoint presentation, or computer background) and use it to organize basically everything computer related. I have folders for every class I am taking, a spot for the games I play in my spare time, and note taking desktop widgets that hold my to-do lists, due dates, and a weekly schedule.

Presentations

We all know that presentations can feel like a chore, but being creative with my presentations has really helped me creatively and academically. Have a powerpoint presentation due next week? Don’t choose one of the boring, basic themes, spice up your presentation with any of the numerous presentation theme websites. (I choose SlidesGo since it is the most accessible to me) They have a theme for any presentation you could possibly imagine. Is your presentation about microbiology? They have a theme for that. How about books or poetry? There’s a theme for those, too. The best part is that all of the themes are able to be edited, so you can add or delete pictures and details to your liking.

Conclusion

Of course, you can adjust either of these methods to your specific wants or needs. However, if neither of these outlets work for you, don’t be afraid to turn to Google or a creative friend to solve the problem. Sometimes it takes more than one creative mind to come up with a solution. However you choose to put your creative energy into productivity, make sure you have fun with it! The last thing we need is another chore or something that we have to do.

By: September Wilson (Business and Events Manager 2023-2024)