Friday, September 7, 2018

Back to School Supply Shopping with Office Depot

This post is sponsored by Office Depot®and Her Campus Media. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Prep In Your Step possible!

If you ask me, the best part about going back to school is without a doubt stocking up on school supplies. There is something about new notebooks, pens, and planners that gets me going. I’ve been this way as long as I can remember. At my high school, we wouldn’t get our supply list until our first day back, and nothing infuriated me more. We would get a half day on the first day so that we could get our supplies and have them ready for the next day, but even that didn’t seem like reward enough for having to wait until the first day to shop for my supplies.


I am the type of person who wants to look at all of my options even when it comes to back to school shopping. There were a number of years when I would get nervous as the first day approached that some of my favorite supplies would be out of stock once I finally had my list and the chance to stock up on supplies! Fortunately, Office Depot and OfficeMax seemed to understand my pain of waiting until the first day and were stocked with what was on my list and more with low prices when I would back to school shop.



For the most part in college, you don’t end up with a supply list and instead are supposed to figure out how you want to organize your work without any guidance. While there was some trial and error for me personally, I have finally figured out what works for me. Now that I am out of school, I have found that the same supplies I would gather for college are what I’m reaching for when it comes to work as well. In the same way, those supplies work for me, Office Depot and OfficeMax still offer the trendiest supplies for college students so that you can go back to school in style. I’ve even found that Office Depot has a ton of accessories that you can use to personalize all your new school gear. For those of you who are just now determining what supplies you want, I thought it would be fun to share the items I’ve found to be essential over the years.


Since I have no self-control when it comes to shopping for school supplies, grabbing a basket when I started my supply shopping was optimistic when thinking about the number of items I’d actually pick up. I ultimately needed to get a cart to hold all of my new pens and pencils and give me the chance to thumb through everything before checking out!




Writing
Black flair pens: There’s something about having a go-to pen for notes that is important for me. For whatever reason when I was taking notes in college or grad school, I always needed them to be in black ink using the same type of pen. I definitely have some OCD tendencies, and I am sure that became clear to y’all in that last sentence. With everything written in the same color ink, it became easier for me to focus when reading back over things. I love that these pens have a felt style tip that makes my handwriting look so much better.
Colorful flair pens: Am I contradicting myself by listing colored pens after my last vouch for black ink? While I don’t use these pens to take notes in class, I love them for color coding my planer and underlining or making words stand out on study guides I make. Sometimes when studying it is necessary to have a pop of color to make things a bit more fun.
Sharpie ® yellow highlighters: I love using highlighters when reading textbooks or articles for class. I try to make a habit of annotating and highlighting while reading, so that come time to write a paper I already have strong quotes from readings to work into my own assignments. In discussion-based classes, highlighting readings also helps to back up what you interpreted with the text when communicating your understanding with your peers and teacher. Even when reviewing notes I try to highlight unfamiliar terms to remind myself to learn their meaning before my next big quiz or test.





Note Taking
Legal pad: Legal pads have become my favorite way to organize my to-do list or take notes on nonschool related things. Whether in a meeting for an on-campus organization or trying to stay engaged on a phone call with a brand, legal pads make it easy to jot things down, cross them off, and eventually get rid of the page once what needs to be done is done. Keeping one of these on the corner of your workspace will allow you to write down any stray thoughts before they wander off and get lost in the rest of your notes.

Spiral notebooks: In college, I had a different spiral notebook for each of my classes. This allowed me to keep all of my lecture notes for a class in one place making it easier to gather everything when the final approached at the end of the semester. While I know many people choose to take notes on their computer, I remember things better and am less distracted when I write them by hand. Even if you tend to take notes on the computer for class, having one of these on hand is a smart choice in case a professor doesn’t allow technology or instructs you to get out a piece of paper for an in-class activity.

Office Depot® Brand Reversible Sequin Notebook: I couldn’t see this and not mention it since it looks like something the girls in my fourth-grade class would adore. I guarantee you once one student brought this in, they would all want one. The cover sports a sparkling array of reversible sequins in either rainbow or rose gold while the college-ruled pages would help to encourage them to take notes. That is a win-win in any teacher and student’s book!





Planning
Post-it® Notes: One of my favorite organizational tricks that I learned while teaching was to use one sticky note for each task you need to accomplish. When planning out the day, there are usually a number of to-dos that fall into your lap and this post-it trick was the best way to encourage me to get everything done. By spreading the post-it notes out on your desk they are a constant reminder of what you want to do. Whenever I would accomplish something on the note I’d let myself pick it up, wad it up in a ball, and throw it out. My desk would slowly regain space as the day went on and eventually I would have accomplished everything! If you need some motivation to stick to the plans you have, try this trick!

TUL® Student Planner: When given the syllabus at the beginning of the semester it can be overwhelming to see so many dates on one page of when things are due. Keep on top of deadlines for projects and other assignments to make sure your semester runs as smoothly as possible with this customizable planner. It’s easy to see your upcoming schedule at a glance so that you’re always prepared and ready to go and the page markers, pocket dividers, rulers, and stickers will help to remind you of when things are happening.



I am happy to have some of my trusty school supplies in cute colors and durable styles on hand at work to keep me organized and on task throughout the day thanks to Office Depot. New supplies in August no longer just have to be for students if you ask me!

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