As a third year at university, I’ve been through semesters of buying unnecessary items for university, but also starting the semester without an important item. These are just recommendations from my experience, and it may differ from yours. Here are my top 10 going (back) to university essentials to have an organised and productive semester.
1. A backpack or tote bag
For a balance of weight on both your shoulders, I would suggest having a backpack; however, some would still prefer a tote bag for their one class a day schedule. Brands that are popular within the studyblr community are the Fjallraven Kanken and Jansport. Alternatively, this organic cotton cloth tote from Muji is an option.
2. A personal laptop
Having your own laptop gives you ease of access to your work from wherever you are; however, if you do not have one, make use of the university computers in the library and save your work to Google Drive or essential 3.
3. A pendrive or external hard disk
“It is of the utmost importance that you always backup your work!”
All my personal tutors, as well as most lecturers.
Having a pendrive or external hard disk is crucial at university, in the unlikely event that your Google Drive might be full or a document does not properly upload to the Cloud. Nevertheless, you should have at least one recent backup of your essays, assignments, and projects.
4. Binders or Folders
I would first refer you to this excellent video for binder comparisons. Regardless of your major, it’s important to organise your lecture handouts, weekly readings and other important papers.
5. An academic calendar
Whether this is combined with essential 6, or a separate calendar altogether, you should have something where you can list all your important deadlines and exam dates. Emma, from emmastudies, has free downloadable calendar printables that you can use.
6. A planner
Planners are essential for keeping your life organised and scheduling your tasks. If you like an extensive amount of space to plan out your day, then the Hobonichi Techo planner would suit you as it has daily pages. Another option would be to create your own planner from a blank notebook, following the Bullet Journal. Stay tuned for a future post comparing these two!
HOBONICHI 
BULLET JOURNAL
For those who would rather not commit to an entire book is this Pumpkin Productivity undated daily planner. Alternatively, you could plan digitally by using Google calendar which syncs to all devices and making a to-do list on the Notes section on your phone.
7. Notebooks
Note-taking is a very important part of university life. Studies have also shown that taking notes by hand leads to better long term comprehension and information retention because when you write, instead of type, you engage in the process of selecting what information is important. For note-taking, any notebook is fine but here are a few that are popular within the studyblr community.
Muji notebooks are affordable and they come in packs. You can also customise them at the stamp station in the store. Notebooks from Leuchtturm1917 and Moleskine are also community favourites. Both these brands offer both hardcover and softcover options, as well as notebooks in different sizes. Most importantly, there is the choice of lined, squared, dotted or blank for these brands, giving you the flexibility to choose which best suits your needs.
MUJI 
MOLESKINE 
LEUCHTTURM1917
As to organising your notebook(s), either dedicate one per class, or divide one notebook for the many classes you are taking that semester.
8. Highlighters
For highlighting important ideas, examples or definitions in your readings or for marking important dates on your calendar, highlighters are also a university essential. A study on the benefits of highlighting found that selective highlighting promotes long-term information retention. That is to say, one should not be highlighting the entire paragraph, but the act of selecting important information to highlight facilitates the process of learning and retaining new information.
A sworn favourite by many studyblrs would be Zebra Mildliners, boasting double-ended highlighters with a nice range of colours that are not bright neon.
9. A tablet or iPad
Should you choose the digital route with note-taking or weekly readings, having a tablet or iPad Pro would prove useful as it is compact and portable. Furthermore, it is possible to pair a bluetooth keyboard with the iPad Pro and most tablets, doubling it as a laptop with a touchscreen.
A useful app that you could use to organise your notes digitally would be Evernote. This video demonstrates how Evernote can be used on a desktop, laptop or phone, regardless of operating system and compares the free version with the different price plans.
10. A plant
Other than being a cute little decoration piece for your dorm room, studies have shown that indoor plants improve productivity and decrease stress, as well as clean the air from toxins. If you are a beginner, then start with succulents or cacti as they are easy to care for.
https://artisticlog.tumblr.com
That’s studyingandstationery’s top 10 university essentials! I hope this list is helpful and all the best with your university life!
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