Gone are the days when your study materials list consisted only of pencils, erasers, pens, and notebooks. Just as the subjects you'll study at school or university increase, new items are added to this list to make your daily life easier and more organized.

There are so many things happening at the same time, such as exams in various subjects, problem sets, classes, and lectures. To avoid getting lost amidst so many commitments, your desk will need some extra support!

Below is a list of study materials that will make a difference in organizing your routine as a university student, or even for those preparing for university entrance exams and hoping to get into college.

Study materials you will need

The following list shows which study materials are great investments so you don't get lost in the huge amount of classes, assignments, study guides, and exams. Check it out!

Diaries, notebooks and planners

Let's start with the obvious! What would your studies be like without paper by your side? Even with so much technology to support you, nothing will replace the pages of a notebook to write down what's most important, or a planner to keep your week organized and not miss deadlines for assignments and exams.

These may seem like simple materials, but they will be fundamental in organizing your studies. The notebook is where you will record everything that is most important, do exercises, and make summaries to make studying for the test easier.

Your diary and planner will also be great companions, especially for organizing your routine. In them, you'll write down the main dates of the week or month and be able to note all your daily priorities.

Cell phone, tablet, notebook

Paper is a great friend to students, but technology is also an indispensable tool for organizing studies. Nowadays, there are many apps that can be used to organize priorities and do exercises.

After all, electronic devices have been a part of people's lives for some time now, and it will be no different for students. Applications from the Office suite and Google Workspace, for example, are used both in the academic world and in the professional universe. In addition to helping with studies, taking advantage of these resources early on will already be a differentiator for the start of a career.

Colored Pens and Highlighters

Colors can be more important for learning and organization than you might imagine. According to neuroscience, colors can help with productivity when they create a harmonious environment for the student or worker. The same is true for notebooks, and using colored pens and highlighters to differentiate subjects will help you.

In your notes, it's important to use brighter colors, like red and green, for the topics you consider most important for your studies. In your planner, the tip is to use colored pens to write down tasks according to priority. Here's a suggestion:

• Blue pen: tasks in progress;

• Green pen: tasks completed;

• Yellow pen: tasks with approaching deadlines;

• Red pen: urgent or overdue tasks.

Post-it

Continuing with the use of colorful materials, the more visual your study space is, the better. And sticky notes are those tools that seem very basic, but make all the difference in organizing your routine. They are versatile and can be useful in various situations.

The first is as a form of reminder. If you leave a sticky note in a place where your eyes will always see it, you won't forget to do that activity that's written there or miss an important date during the semester. Spread them in places where you usually spend time, like your bedroom and bathroom mirror, or even on your study materials, such as your textbook, notebook, and computer.

In addition to reminders, you can build a flowchart of the activities that need to be done, and we'll explain how in more detail in the next section!

Tables and calendars for a more efficient routine.

Have you ever heard of agile methodology? These are ways that some teams organize themselves within companies to execute their tasks with greater precision and speed, always prioritizing the most urgent demands. The most famous agile methods, such as Scrum and Kanban, can be replicated using sticky notes and a whiteboard.

With them, you can create tables and calendars to break down pending tasks into stages. For example, you can divide the activities for each subject of the semester and complete one at a time, according to priority. It's also important to have a column for completed tasks, so you can see your progress and feel that sense of accomplishment after completing exercises.

How to organize your studies on a daily basis?

We've finalized the list of study materials, but it's still very important to keep everything organized so that the environment is suitable for studying, whether it's your bedroom, living room, or office. 

First of all, be minimalist and only keep what's necessary on your desk. Keep notebooks and study guides for today's material only; store the rest in a cupboard. Don't forget your good old pencil case for storing pencils, pens, and other supplies.

Only leave your laptop on the table if you're going to use it for studying. If you don't need it today, leave it somewhere else to avoid distractions, just like your smartphone. A whiteboard near your desk can be a good tip for planning and sticking up sticky notes!