It’s the start of a new school year and to honor that, we at CollegeCandy are bringing back our favorite series, “We’ve All Been There.” Every week, Lauren – University of Michigan will comment on the common experiences all college women share, like the dreaded move-in day, including some new ones thrown into the mix.

You’ve spent the last 3 nights enjoying the free booze freedom that Welcome Week allows, but as you wake up with the garbage can next to your bed – again – you realize it might be time to buckle down. Classes are looming ever closer and not only can your body not handle another 12-hour hangover, you’ve got a lot of stuff to prepare before those 18 credits take over your life.

So while your friends watch another SATC marathon/discuss what they’re going to wear to the night’s festivities, you grab your schedule and head out for something a little more….fun: school supplies shopping (!!).

Most people wouldn’t find this particular type of shopping exciting, but back-to-school shopping has been the highlight of your Augusts since you were 6 years old. The smell of fresh books, the feel of a new (medium point) pen as it runs across the pages of a fresh, crisp college-ruled notebook. The richness of a new, juicy highlighter. You can’t wait to get it all home and organized for the first day of classes.

You skip through the aisles of Office Depot (or the campus bookstore if you’re smart and you can use your campus card…that your parents pay for) picking up color-coordinated notebooks and folders. You grab a pack of highlighters then, feeling ambitious, pick up one more. You plan on doing all your reading this semester – you need to be prepared. You grab your favorite pens (uni-ball vision elite, what what), a pack of pencils, the super pack of Sharpies (Ok, so this one is for game-day shirts, but whatever), then move onto the planners.

You’re picky about your planners. There needs to be both “Month at a Glance” and “Week View.” You need to be able to see when exams are coming so you can start studying early, but also have plenty of space to write down (and cross off when you’re finished) the important daily assignments. You need to stay organized so you can kick some ass this semester. So you spend 10 minutes staring at the planner display before you pick one out (“WHA? Planners are $30!), put that one down and pick another.

Once you’ve got all your supplies, you head back home (where you find your roommates passed out on the couch with an empty pizza box on the floor) to organize. You label the notebooks and folders, fill out the information card in the front of your planner, and put all your new pens/pencils/highlighters into your bag.

On the first day of class, you are on top of everything. You arrive early, you copy all important dates from your syllabus to your planner, you organize all your papers into the correct folders and even take serious notes in class. You know what to do and when to do it and you are excited for all the learning that is to come this semester.

But then the second week rolls around and you still haven’t purchased your books let alone highlighted in them. Then you start rolling into class five minutes after it starts. And then you have some quizzes, which are a surprise to you since you have no idea where your planner went. By the time midterms arrive, you’re back into your old all-nighter habits, praying you make it out of the semester alive.

Yeah, we’ve all been there. At least you had good intentions.

Since school is right around the corner, I thought I’d give a list of some of my favorite inspirational and informative books for school. Whether they help you in deciding your major or cooking up a mean dinner, these books are a college student’s best friends (next to the microwave, Vitamin Water and Jersey Shore).

1. What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles
We’ve all taken those online quizzes about your future career, but have you ever really done a personality assessment to see what career is going to suit you best? “Parachute” has been around for years and is considered one of the foremost books on the subject. It’s not a short read, but it will get you to really evaluate every part of what makes you, you! By breaking down your strengths and weaknesses, you will find out not only what job will make you happy, but also what field you will find success in. My parents bought this for me after high school and I chucked it to the back of my bookshelf. However, after my first year of university, I dug it out and read through. I feel like it really assured me that I had switched into the right program for me.

2. How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman
This book is a life-saver for anyone who needs to cook their own meals. I consider myself fairly capable in the kitchen, but this book helped me expand my skills and taught me the basics. There are chapters on how to cook simple things like meat and pasta, which are then followed with recipes where you can test your new knowledge. I find that once you have a basic understanding of how to cook your food (like thawing your chicken breast, cooking it in a pan with oil, etc), you can combine them to create all sorts of great meals!

3. The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho
This classic novel teaches the important lesson that, essentially, you must do what you love. It’s a short book with a powerful lesson. I think that for college students, this book can have a huge impact. It made me think about my purpose on Earth (known as your Personal Legend in the book) and totally influenced my career choice and goals. As a student, I think it’s so easy to get lost with all the pressure and distractions in life. Re-reading books like this (or The Little Prince – another great one!) every once in a while help to keep your goals in sight and your head on straight.

4. This Year I Will…, by MJ Ryan
Once you’ve decided your major and picked your classes, you’ve got to set yourself some goals! I know I sound like a broken record, but seriously! Writing your goals down for the year – whether they be academic, professional, personal, etc. – is a wonderful strategy. This book is great for helping you to not only set realistic goals (I’m going to do my best as opposed to I’m going to get the highest grade in the course), but create a plan to fulfill them through the school year. It’s designed to help you set and keep New Year’s resolutions, but there is no reason why you can’t apply it any time of the year!

5. A Great Agenda
My final book is not really a book in the “novel” sense, but it’s still crucial and probably the most important one on this list. If you’ve never used an agenda or day planner before, let this be the year! Go to your local bookstore and find a really pretty one (or, if you’re more tech savvy, use an online program!) and fill it with everything! I try to color-code mine (I know, I know – nerd alert) by class and then also for school and extra-curriculars. Seriously, once you get into the routine, you will thank me.

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Zappos…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Party School Texts, Daily Burn and Musicovery) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Life can be pretty overwhelming sometimes: balancing classes, a job, and social life can sometimes be too much for one person. I know it gets hard for me to remember all that I have to do—especially schoolwork.  I have a regular planner that I carry around in my purse to help keep me organized, but I don’t always remember to look at it every day when I get home, which means sometimes I forget about a reading assignment or worse, a test… which doesn’t really help my G.P.A.  I know I need a better way to organize my schoolwork, but I haven’t found a way that works for me yet.

A few years ago, Andrew Schaper was a high school student with the same organization problems I have.  In order to solve these problems, he created Soshiku, a website that helps you manage and keep track of all your school assignments.

It couldn’t be any simpler to start getting organized.  First, register for a free account on the site.  Once you do that, you can log in, set up all the courses you’re currently taking and add assignments for each.  Every time you log in, you’ll be directed to your personalized homepage that displays all the assignments you have due that day, the next day, and in the coming week, as well as a calendar highlighting the days you have projects due.  You can add notes or upload files to each assignment as well, which helps you stay organized by keeping all your work in one place.

Soshiku’s most useful feature, however, is the option to set up e-mail or text message reminders of the projects you have due at the particular intervals you set (such as the day it’s due or a few days before).  How awesome is that? I mean, you may not check your planner every day, but I can guarantee you’ll check your phone.

You can also upload projects to your account via text message or e-mail so you can add them as soon as your professors assign them, which means less chance of forgetting about them.  There’s also an option to share an assignment with other users and assign tasks, which makes organizing group projects a breeze.

Thanks to Soshiku, it’s now practically impossible to forget you have a test or project due (unless for some reason you decide to ignore your texts and e-mails).  Using Soshiku will help even the most organizationally challenged change their ways!

"How many more hours until I'm chugging eggnog with the fam?"

Finals week is probably the most daunting few days of your college career. Winter break is so close you can almost taste the gingerbread cookies in your mouth. But first you have to survive your Calculus exam. Four exams, three term papers and a presentation may seem like the impossible dream. But I promise, where there is a will (to get home and gorge yourself on home cooking and holiday cookies) there is a way.

Do use your time management skills to help lessen the stress of your workload. Plan out your days using your friendly school-provided calendar – yes, the one that I’m sure you tossed aside long ago – to map out your plan of attack. When you realize your end goal is attainable, the path to getting their seems less dreaded.

Don’t cram your studies into a series of all-nighters at the library. You will go stir-crazy and end up mindlessly watching videos of people falling on Youtube at 4:00 a.m.  Don’t be that person. Nobody likes that person. Your GPA won’t like that person.

Do use the nerds to your advantage. And by that I mean form study groups with your classmates. Five brains are better than one, especially if that one is my own. Having people to catch my mistakes has always been my saving grace. It can be yours too.

Don’t rely on energy drinks and your roommate’s Adderall prescription to get you through this week. Save yourself from an early heart attack and make sure to schedule in sleep. A good night’s sleep is actually beneficial to your studies, believe it or not. This is your body’s time to recuperate and regenerate. And if you’re lucky you’ll regenerate a few of the brain cells you lost during last weekend’s pre-finals booze-fest.

Do resist the urge to party on your days off. My school always designates one day for study, which means there are no finals scheduled on that day. Which also means that people tend to party the night before. It seems so right (especially with a half-bottle of tequila running through your bloodstream), but it’s oh so wrong. This is one week where you can’t afford to be hung-over because, while you can’t relive the party… you really can’t retake a final.

Don’t stress yourself out.  And don’t surround yourself with stressed out people. While you shouldn’t take studying for finals lightly, there’s a difference between over-achieving and over-doing it. Take a break and let off some steam.  This is one time when I can call chocolate my friend and not feel bad about it.

Do rejoice when your last exam is over! What’s done is done. And if you’ve followed my advice, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Except how you’re going to fit all those for-pleasure books into your two week break.

You’ve spent the last 3 nights enjoying the free booze freedom that Welcome Week allows, but as you wake up with the garbage can next to your bed – again – you realize it might be time to buckle down. Classes are looming ever closer and not only can your body not handle another 12-hour hangover, you’ve got a lot of stuff to prepare before those 18 credits take over your life.

So while your friends watch another SATC marathon/discuss what they’re going to wear to the night’s festivities, you grab your schedule and head out for something a little more….fun: school supplies shopping (!!).

Most people wouldn’t find this particular type of shopping exciting, but back-to-school shopping has been the highlight of your Augusts since you were 6 years old. The smell of fresh books, the feel of a new (medium point) pen as it runs across the pages of a fresh, crisp college-ruled notebook. The richness of a new, juicy highlighter. You can’t wait to get it all home and organized for the first day of classes.

You skip through the aisles of Office Depot (or the campus bookstore if you’re smart and you can use your campus card…that your parents pay for) picking up color-coordinated notebooks and folders. You grab a pack of highlighters then, feeling ambitious, pick up one more. You plan on doing all your reading this semester – you need to be prepared. You grab your favorite pens (uni-ball vision elite, what what), a pack of pencils, the super pack of Sharpies (Ok, so this one is for game-day shirts, but whatever), then move onto the planners.

You’re picky about your planners. There needs to be both “Month at a Glance” and “Week View.” You need to be able to see when exams are coming so you can start studying early, but also have plenty of space to write down (and cross of when you’re finished) the important daily assignments. You need to stay organized so you can kick some ass this semester. So you spend 10 minutes staring at the planner display before you pick one out (“WHA? Planners are $30!), put that one down and pick another.

Once you’ve got all your supplies, you head back home (where you find your roommates passed out on the couch with an empty pizza box on the floor) to organize. You label the notebooks and folders, fill out the information card in the front of your planner, and put all your new pens/pencils/highlighters into your bag.

On the first day of class, you are on top of everything. You arrive early, you copy all important dates from your syllabus to your planner, you organize all your papers into the correct folders and even take serious notes in class. You know what to do and when to do it and you are excited for all the learning that is to come this semester.

But then the second week rolls around and you still haven’t purchased your books let alone highlighted in them. Then you start rolling into class five minutes after it starts. And then you have some quizzes, which are a surprise to you since you have no idea where your planner went. By the time midterms arrive, you’re back into your old all-nighter habits, praying you make it out of the semester alive.

Yeah, we’ve all been there. At least you had good intentions.

I’m happy to share – after all, that is what this column is all about – so check them out!

1. Make a schedule for yourself.

This is really the most basic time-management tool. I use a daily planner and I write a new to-do list for each day. Then I cross things out as I finish them. For longer-term projects, I write down the due date and then I write down what I need to accomplish on the project on a daily or weekly basis. You can do whatever works for you—color-code your schedule, write it on a white board, use an electronic calendar, etc.

2. Consolidate activities.

I used to go to the bank every time I got a new check, which sometimes meant I’d be going several times per week. I wasn’t using that money immediately after depositing it, so there was no reason for me to go so often. Now, I only go to the bank once every two weeks. It saves me tons of time, and I just keep all my checks together until I go on my biweekly trip.

Think about the things you do often—run errands, cook, do homework—and then think about whether you can consolidate any of them. Maybe it would help you to cook several huge batches of food on weekends and then freeze them in meal-sized portions to use throughout the week. Can you do a quick math assignment while you’re riding the subway or waiting on the phone for a customer-service rep? If so, you’ll have more free time later.

3. Eliminate activities.

There are probably a few hobbies you have that you really enjoy doing, and a few things you do that you may consider a slight waste of time. I spend way too much time surfing the Internet, so if I’m going to write a big article or work on a portion of my book, I’ll disable my wireless connection. If you feel like you watch too much TV, you might want to drop a couple of shows from your repertoire and catch up on episodes online later (but only if you have extra time). Consider your biggest time-wasters (Bromance, anyone?), and get rid of them! You’ll be amazed at how your week opens up if you downgrade this way.

I know many of you guys are multitasking mavens, so please feel free to share more tips in the comments!

[Image courtesy of blogs.theage.com.]

Sure, it seems overwhelming; sure, sometimes you want to break down and cry; but at the end of the day, you love what you do, and you’re proud of the fact that you can accomplish an exponential amount more than most mortals. And you know that everything you do will benefit you in the long run.

I love to feel useful, so it’s always been hard for me to say “no” to picking up an extra shift, or doing an extra project. When I was in high school, I worked part time, was active in drama club, cheerleading, amnesty international, gay/straight alliance, dance classes, and, senior year, I edited the yearbook. And I did it all while making honor roll each semester. In college, I wasn’t so active in extra-curriculars, but I held down two restaurant jobs, took a full course load, and partied my face off, while making Dean’s List. You can call me a nerd; I just think I have a severe case of ADHD that’s never been officially diagnosed.

That said, Wonder Woman, I know the meaning of stress, and I know the importance of staying organized. Here are some of my own personal life-saving tips.

1. Write everything down.

In fact, write everything down multiple times. I feel relaxed just by rifling through my brain and coming up with a list of what needs to get done, and when. Carry a planner, so you don’t have to rack your brain if someone asks what you’re doing Saturday, November 15 at 3:30 p.m. Tape a list of upcoming homework assignments next to your bed, and cross off each completed task when you’re finished. Instead of doodling during a boring lecture, write the list over again, and come to grips with what projects are the most urgent (eg. you need to start them NOW).

2. Use every minute of free time.

Have a half-hour break between classes? Email your professor while you scarf that bagel. Do that “busy-work” assignment that’s been in the back of your head – the one that’s so simple you can’t bring yourself to start it. Lunch break at work? Bring your English book and read a chapter instead of gossiping in the smoking lounge (and by smoking lounge, I obviously mean that obscure space outside the back door where everyone huddles around a butt can). You’d be surprised how much you can get done in little intervals… and you might even find that you’ve suddenly got a large interval of time to spare.

3. Condense Your Tools.

When you’re on the go, forgetting one thing can ruin your day and cause a mega-meltdown. Instead of having a folder, a binder, and a notebook for each class, get a five-subject notebook and one of those accordion folders with dividers for handouts. You’ll only need to grab the same two things each day. Plus, instead of having an assignment book, a date book, and all that fancy shmancy stuff, grab a planner that has a section for everything you might need, all in one. Still not efficient enough? Try…

4. Using Technology to Your Advantage.

My favorite tool on my Macbook? The “Stickies” application. I have notes open (in all different colors, of course), for my banking and credit card info, upcoming assignments, important email addresses, etc. As long as you have your computer, you’ll never lose them or accidentally throw them out; they’re easier to manage than rifling through a hundred pages to find one reminder; and they can conveniently disappear behind your Microsoft Word or Firefox windows, OR you can set them as a “floating window” so they’re always visible. Blackberries, iPhones, and other digital instruments can work to your advantage, and send you preset reminders so you never forget.

5. Stay clean.

This is the most difficult for me, a self-proclaimed slob and packrat. But if your papers are all over your desk, you’re not going to find your Spanish notes before the exam. Hell, even if your clothes are scattered on the floor, you might freak out if you can’t find the blouse you just NEED to wear for your business class presentation. Knowing where everything is, and how to locate it will make things a thousand times easier for you, and, in a crunch, you can probably get help from your roommate, friend, or a family member (such as when you’re stuck in bumper to bumper traffic but have to hand in an essay in twenty minutes, and your dear, sweet, darling roommate agrees to find your USB stick, print your essay on her computer, and meet you outside your dorm to pass it off as you spring to your deadline).

6. Plan ahead.

Finished everything for today? It might be easy to crash on the couch and watch SoapNet reruns for hours, just so you don’t have to think. But then you might be stressed again tomorrow. Look at your calendar, and see if there’s anything you can get a jump start on, or anything you can work on now to give yourself time to party like a rockstar on Saturday. Forcing yourself to work when you’re beat might seem like cruel and unusual self-discipline, but as a fellow workaholic, I can affirm: we did this to ourselves.

7. Take Time to Recharge.

Sure, I just said to plan ahead. And you should, if you’re up for it. But if you can barely keep your eyes open, it’s time for a nap; even if you still have one more little thing to do today. Running yourself into the ground will have drastic consequences, including sloppy work and a bitchy attitude. Besides, if you are a stellar multi-tasker, you’ll learn to plan ahead your time to recharge. Look at your calendar- if you know you have back-to-back midterms, a twenty-page paper due, and a monthly meeting, it won’t kill you to take a shift off from work. Or, if you’re on top of your game in class, you can use your free skip day when you know you won’t be missing much, and rest up with little guilt. People as busy as we are can appreciate every minute of free time, so if you treat yourself to an unexpected break, even a half-day can feel like a million years.

These are my own personal tricks to staying collected even when I feel like I’m on the brink of erupting in a volcano of anxiety. On the bright side, the waves of stress come and go, I’m NEVER bored, and at the end of the day, I can sit back and see a variety of products that I made happen. People ask me if I’m on crack, and I’m not. Just a billion milligrams of caffeine. And I wouldn’t change my lifestyle for the world.

How do all the other supergirls of the world deal with their hectic schedules?

[Photo courtesy of www.crystalcreekproducts.com]

Shopping for elementary school supplies was so much more fun – you got to stock up on your favorite Lisa Frank supplies and you begged your mom to buy you a few gel pens because everyone was using them.

This year, instead of making a quick pit-stop at Staples on the way to school and buying a few notebooks and black pens, why not bring some of that grade school excitement back with fun school supplies?

Remember how excited you were to use those gel pens to fill out worksheets in the first couple weeks of school? How cool it was to start a brand new notebook? Here are some funky school supplies that will make you want to head to class, take some notes, and do some hardcore studying. Or at least they will help you make friends by serving as a good conversation starter for the girl sitting next to you.

This stuff puts the “cool” back in school. Yeah…I went there.

Calculator – You will probably need to bring one of those nerdy graphing calculators to your Advanced Stats class, but why not buy one of those enormous & brightly colored calculators for when you just need to add, subtract, multiply, or divide? Math sucks, but bright pink makes everything better.

Staplers - The pink one is pretty (who doesn’t love sparkles?!) and the fist shaped one will bring some humor into the situation when you’re trying SO hard to smash that staple into your 12 page paper or 40 pages of reading that you had to print yourself.

Planner – You probably usually buy one of those cheap, boring planners that you throw away every year. Like that will motivate you to stay organized. Invest in a nice planner, preferably a leather one, that you can buy new inserts for each year. It is sturdier, cuter and will help you keep track of your crazy life!

Laptop Accessories – You’ll probably bring your laptop to class a lot because Solitaire definitely helps the time pass quicker (erm, I mean so you can take notes faster!). Just throwing it in your bag is definitely a bad idea; you don’t want it to get scratched, bumped or ruined when that bottle of Diet Coke explodes.

Protect that little guy with a case, just not one of those nerdy shoulder bags your parents will try to make you buy. This case is cute and functional, but if the dots are too much for you there are tons of cases out there in a variety of colors and designs. Check out the Apple store or Best Buy for a huge selection.

Also, a cute mouse isn’t a must, but how could you not love this fuzzy blue one?

Paper clips - Instead of plain silver ones, clip important papers together with hearts, circles, or these adorable little animals! A lot of craft/gift shops (Hallmark, for example) sell unique clips. Nothing makes a 30 page paper look better than a cute little pig.

Maybe by now you’re thinking, “OK, only a whack job would waste their money on this pointless crap,” but the whole point is to express yourself! Buy school supplies that are going to motivate you and express who you are. Maybe you’ll use them to bring some humor to that stressful study group, or as an icebreaker with the people sitting next to you in class. And if you already spent all your money on posters, you could always decorate your own stuff (if you’re into that kind of thing).

Good luck this year and happy back to school shopping!