You Need a Planner! (LPN)

00:01 If you want to be successful in nursing school, you have got to get a planner.

00:06 You want to go through everything at the beginning of the semester and lay out the whole semester, then tackle a few days at a time.

00:16 Now, a planner, okay, make fun of me.

00:20 You're like who on earth uses a planner much less a paper planner. Well, you I hope.

00:26 You should think of getting yourself one because it's going to be very handy.

00:31 Really, just literally necessary to survive.

00:35 And, even I, as a nursing faculty, I still use a planner every single day.

00:41 It's gotten to a point where I literally can't remember from one day to the next where I need to be.

00:45 When my, oh, next office visit is, unless I check my planner. Kinda sad, isn't it? Speaking of how lame this whole planner thing is, I would actually like to tell you a story, a true story of a personal student, of why planners can work.

01:03 So, I had a male student who I mentored.

01:05 He made all these visits with me, he was an incoming new student and about three weeks into his first semester in nursing school, he was having a whole lot of issues keeping up.

01:17 He couldn't remember when deadlines were, he just felt chaotic.

01:22 So I suggested a planner. He said, yeah, sure, I'll get a planner.

01:26 Well, guess what? Didn't get a planner and this particular student is just really bright, but pretty resistant and didn't really see the need to get the planner.

01:36 So I would run into him in the halls and ask, hey, did you get your planner? And he'd say, no, actually, you know, I didn't, sorry.

01:44 But, he'd be in the exact same position, confused about deadlines, missing assignments, missing due dates.

01:50 Well, finally, he got to the point where he broke down, bought a planner, and when, you know, he came to me and told me, it was so very helpful.

01:59 The funny thing is it was so helpful, in fact, that when he was a senior student, this really bright student was asked to give a speech to the new incoming freshman student, and he actually recalled that same office visit and the importance of getting a planner.

02:15 So, now, let's talk about why a planner is important and how to use it.

02:20 So pick something visually that you like, something that matters to you.

02:25 I know that sounds really insignificant and weird, but, literally, I look at mine and you will look at this thing, every single day, so something visually appealing is kind of nice.

02:36 And each planner is a little bit different, so pick one. Excuse me, that works for you.

02:41 Maybe you want it organized in months or every single day, but, however, it's set up, you want it to work for you and your brain.

02:49 So once you get your class schedules, write down every single date.

02:55 So, meaning, class orientations, exam dates, assignment due dates, when you're supposed to be at clinical, simulation dates, and lab times.

03:05 Oh, and, obviously, class times.

03:08 So make sure to include any important dates that you got to know about, write it down.

03:14 Now write any important date, like, again, just for every single class.

03:20 So let's talk about exams.

03:22 These are some of the most important dates you're going to have to look at.