You probably know that somehow daily life is both boring and busy. And it only gets worse when your planning can’t keep up. So, in honor of the insane holiday season, here are some tips and tricks to keeping your assignment notebook or planner foolproof.

CODEX It actually helps if you have your own little lingo. From algebraic explosions of art to tomorrow’s homework, it keeps it quick and personalized when you can scribble down a few words and later remember exactly what you meant.

GET TO THE POINT I’m serious. Coming from someone who turns “worksheet” into “dang old mathama thang” on a regular basis, my advice is to just write down what you mean. The shorter, the sweeter. It keeps your page clean, and leaves room for other things as well.

EVENTS v. ASSIGNMENTS There are assignments. And there are also events. Sometimes there isn’t enough room for...well, everything. Or maybe you want to be able to look at a piece of paper and instantly know all of your upcoming Marina and the Diamonds concerts, final exam review sessions, and field trips at once. Now if someone texts you, you don’t have to burn through piles of paper to find out if you’re really free on Saturday or not. Keep upcoming events on a separate sheet of paper to go micro and macro planner.

COLOR CODING I don’t do this myself very often, but it seems to work for lots of my friends. And because I trust my friends the future prodigies of America, you can create a color system for certain subjects or things to ditch the endless headers.  

MAKE YOUR HEAD THE ULTIMATE PLANNER After I’ve finished all my homework, I don’t immediately pack up. I run through tomorrow’s classes in my head, and remind myself what’s going on tomorrow and what was due. Keeping a mental calendar stoppers on the endless mental stress, and will help you stop worrying that you forgot something.