Freshers Handbook 2021 24-09

3. Useful Info
3.1 Getting Organised
It’s no secret that Cambridge can be an overwhelming place. What is much less
well-known, however, is that a lot of stress can be avoided by setting up some
organisational systems to keep everything together when you’re under pressure.
Here are some top tips:
• Before you come to Cambridge, set up some kind of calendar (either virtual
or paper) so that you can keep track of when and where you need to be
for various things. You can check your lecture timetable at https://2021-
22.timetable.cam.ac.uk from September and even upload it directly onto
your chosen online calendar. Even though it might seem annoying at first,
getting into the habit of noting down supervisions, classes, DoS meetings,
social events and more will really help you in the long run.
• Speaking of timetables, it might also be helpful for you to make a weekly
schedule for recurring events to stick up above your desk. Depending on how
your subject works, you might want to make one for ‘even weeks’ and one for
‘odd weeks’, as sometimes classes or supervisions will rotate on this basis. If
you find you have lots of different places to be on a daily basis, it might be a
good idea to get an ‘appointments’ diary too.
• In Cambridge, almost everything is communicated by email (think essay
titles, deadlines, marked work etc). As such, it’s really useful to set up some
folders in your Outlook account to store emails that are important and you
need to keep. Also, make sure to check your account regularly to keep up-todate
with everything.
• If you’ll be doing lots of your work on your laptop, it’s a good idea to back
up your files regularly, either to the Cloud or an external hard-drive.