This post comes to you as I productively procrastinate whilst halfway through writing my A215 Creative Writing assignment due on the 12th and completely ignoring my A233 English Literature one due on the 22nd. A small brain break, so to speak.

It got me thinking though that when I first started my degree journey last year with the Open University and A111, I was so overwhelmed with what I thought I needed to make it a successful decision. New notebooks, new planners, all the highlighters and ringbinders, a new brain perhaps. The kind of fantasy self who colour codes effortlessly and never forgets a deadline and definitely doesn’t start assignments by opening seventeen tabs and then gets distracted by doomscrolling TikTok.

Let’s be honest for a second.

Now, this can be different for everyone, but what I needed has changed as my study pattern changed, so having the ability to go with the flow and change when needed is a requirement, I’d say. Flexibility over perfection, adaptation over aesthetic. And honestly, a willingness to admit when something that looked very “that girl studies” on Instagram is absolutely not working for your actual life.

Spoiler: this did not last.

When I first started, I thought organisation meant rigidity and fixed study hours at a desk. A perfectly mapped-out week that would surely survive family life, unexpected tiredness, creative blocks, minor existential crises and the general chaos of being a human. It didn’t. What did survive was learning that organisation, for me, looks more like softer expectations of myself with fewer tools because so much stuff. Learning that self-care is not selfish, and that I need systems that catch me when I wobble instead of scolding me when I don’t show up perfectly.

Organisation, but kinder.

These days, staying organised as a distance learning student looks a lot like giving my brain fewer places to panic. I don’t need everything written everywhere. I already overthink, and if I’m not careful, burnout pops its head up very quickly. Everything pretty much lives in two places, split between Notion and Google Docs. The OU provide those studying with access to Microsoft 365 package, which includes Word as well as other software. For free. It also includes OneNote which I found really helpful for keeping my notes and work together before I found Google Docs suited my ways better.

Where things actually live.

Deadlines live on my Notion calendar as well as on The Open University module assessment tab, as expected. Notes live where I can find them again without feeling like an archaeologist — a Google Docs file with dedicated colour-coded folders per module. Ideas are allowed to be messy, half-formed, scribbled on scraps of paper or in my phone memo at 3am, but they eventually get gathered up and tucked somewhere safe. For Creative Writing, my writing notebook is an absolute blessing for all the random thoughts that need somewhere to land before they disappear.

Some weeks are not the same.

I’ve learned that my brain works in seasons. Some weeks I’m structured and focused and feel very capable of higher education, almost invincible. Other weeks I’m reading how to write an essay and take notes for the millionth time because I’ve forgotten how, sitting in my pyjamas while questioning all my life choices. My tools have to work for both versions of me. The one who plans ahead and the one who needs a reminder, and possibly a snack. Ok, always a snack.

This was the shift.

The biggest change has been realising that organisation isn’t about doing more, it’s about removing friction and the things that make my life harder than it needs to be. Making it easier to start, easier to return to after a break, and easier to forgive myself when I fall behind and pick things back up again. The Christmas study break is a nightmare for my productivity, but the Open University is built for real lives, and once I stopped trying to study like a full-time campus student with no responsibilities, I stopped fighting my reality and started working with it.

Meal planning and shopping for a block 2 weeks, and marking which nights I have tutorials so that I plan an easier dinner (or tea, the evening meal). Paul and W doing things like the dishwasher, laundry or hoovering, to help lighten the household chore load. Planning as much in advance where possible to schedule around assignments so that nothing clashes.

I no longer chase the perfect system. Simple and slightly chaotic is what’s working right now. If I’m avoiding opening a document, it’s usually because it feels too big and scary and needs breaking down into bite-sized chunks. If my brain feels full, that’s a sign to empty it in a mess of scribbled notes, not push harder.

So here we are.

Right now, as I sit here avoiding A233 by talking about organisation, I can see how far I’ve come from that overwhelmed version of myself at the start. Not because I’ve become more disciplined or more academic, but because I trust myself more. I trust that I’ll get it done. I trust that chaos doesn’t mean failure — it just means I need to pause, reassess, and return to what actually works for me. And right now, what works is breaking that assignment down into chunks I can tick off so it doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming.

If you’re at the beginning of your distance learning journey and feel like you’re doing it “wrong” because your desk isn’t aesthetic or your planner isn’t perfect, I promise you this: the right tools are the ones that meet you where you are. And that place is allowed to change. So grab a pen, a notebook (I’ve actually used school jotters before) and get yourself a snack. You don’t need perfection, you need to believe in yourself and what you can accomplish. Don’t compare yourself to others, everyone is walking a different path.

Now, on that note, I should probably go and face A233. Or at least open the document. Baby steps.

TL;DR – Here’s the short version

• I thought I needed new planners, new notebooks, and a whole new organised brain. I didn’t. You don’t.

• The colour-coded, perfectly aesthetic study life isn’t realistic for everyone. Flexibility matters more than perfection.

• Organisation isn’t rigid schedules or fixed desk hours — it’s systems that survive real life, tiredness, and wobbly weeks.

• Fewer tools = less overwhelm. For me, Notion for deadlines and Google Docs for notes and essay writing. The OU provide Microsoft 365 including Word for free.

• Ideas are allowed to be messy first. Scraps, phone notes, half-formed thoughts — they get gathered later.

• Organisation isn’t about doing more, it’s about removing friction and making it easier to start again.

• Chaos doesn’t mean failure. It just means it’s time to simplify and return to what actually works.

• If your desk isn’t aesthetic and your planner isn’t perfect, you’re not doing distance learning wrong.