As students begin heading back to school, anxiety becomes abound. To prevent grades from slipping and a decrease in motivation, students should develop several strategies to maintain organization in and out of the classroom. Here are some tips that will take your organization to the next level.
Use a Planner
“Has there been a time where you came to school completely unprepared for a test because you forgot you had to take it that day?” Well if you have, then consider using a planner so that never happens again. Planners allow you to write down tasks like homework and projects you have to complete so you don’t have to keep all the tasks in your head. Additionally, you can write down events going on in school on top of just other important information in your life. Keeping all of this information in a planner organizes all the tasks you have so that when you can complete them, you have everything listed for you to do.
Break Bigger Tasks Down
Daunting tasks like projects require micro tasks that build upon each other. To make the project coherent, you can assign little tasks that contribute to the end goal. For example, you can plan the design for a 3D model, then gather the materials to construct that 3D model, and then complete the construction process to your liking. These three steps will all contribute to you completing the model and also simplifies a complex situation. If you want to go even more in-depth, you can develop little tasks that contribute to the work you complete in the project. This is just one example of Task Breakdown; however, if used correctly, it could be applied more generally.
When writing down tasks you have for the day, don’t be afraid to add more and more as the day progresses. Let’s say that originally you were going to research possible data to support your conclusion about how to lower the homeless population, then put it in a presentation format to display the results, as well as create a physical poster to show what your research conveys. Over time, you will come to realize that you can’t just research from one perspective and will have to look at many sources to come up with solutions. Then you may have to do many little steps in the design process in both your poster and your presentation and with that, many tasks can be added. Once these are added, you can complete them at an optimal pace until you achieve your goals.
Make a Schedule
Developing a schedule makes sure you know what you are doing at a given time in a day. If you always wake up at 6 AM, get to school at 7:30 AM, leave at 3 PM, play basketball at 5 PM, eat at 7 PM, and do homework at 9 PM consistently, then you need to adjust for when you want to accomplish certain tasks on each given day. This schedule doesn’t have to be rigid; however, it should cover important tasks you do like extracurriculars and homework.
Have a Routine For Your Tasks
When you plan something like doing homework or going to sports practice, you should have a routine for your tasks. If you do homework, you may start with your hardest class and work your way through based on the difficulty of the class until you are done. Consistently doing your work this way builds good habits that make sure you are organized in and out of the classroom. In sports, you may have to start warming up before your coach arrives and if you lead your team with a simple routine to prepare, it shows leadership in your sport and also carries your organization to areas beyond the classroom. These little things will make a big difference in your productivity during the day.
Set Reminders
“Have you ever come into class and forgot to complete a project that you had to turn in?” Well, if you don't want that to happen again, try setting reminders. On top of writing your tasks in your planner, keeping important dates like assignment due dates in your reminders helps you get in a position to do your work. Having these important dates on your phone or writing them in your planner allows you to prepare for when those dates occur, whether that means doing the homework or studying for the test. If you want to take it even further, you can write dates for when you want to complete tasks. For example, if you have an assignment due Thursday, you may write in your reminders that it is due Tuesday so you complete the work earlier. This allows you to be efficient in how you do work and also the time that you have.
Keep Your Supplies Tidy
“Has there ever been an instance where you needed your notebook but you left it at home?” Well, if so, then consider trying to keep all your supplies as organized as possible before heading off to school. Having your planner, pencil case, binder, and notebook ready can help you focus in class without the nagging worry of forgetting your homework at home. Being tidy can also carry over to the sport you play. If you already have a bag packed with your clothes and water for practice after school, you are in a good position for when practice starts.
A study in 2008 analyzed students at three different public schools to recognize patterns in how they organized themselves in the classroom. What they discovered concerning materials is that “Of all the tools, [keeping] the binder [organized] was the most effective because it accomplishes such basic necessities for order: students had a definite place for homework, they could find returned assignments to review for tests, and they had paper with them for note taking.” Keeping all of their materials placed in specific sections of their binder made students work efficiently when they had to go back and forth to place things in the binder. If this binder isn’t nice and neat, then the student may waste even more time worrying about where they will put things. This is another example showing the importance of staying organized in schools and how that can help you.
Going into your next year of school, you should consider how you can implement these tips to make yourself successful come to the end of the year. Burning out is common, but if you set a routine, write down your tasks, and stay tidy, the priorities of the school and the world around you will be less likely to make you overwhelmed.
Work Cited
“An Organized Student Is a Successful Student.” Parent Today, Capital Region BOCES Communications Service, Albany, NY, 10 Aug. 2017, www.parenttoday.org/an-organized-student-is-a-successful-student/.
Team, Trafft. “Time Management Statistics and Facts That Will Surprise You.” Trafft, 7 Apr. 2021, trafft.com/time-management-statistics/.
“10 School ORGANIZATION Tips for Students.” Latest Post - Wilbraham & Monson Academy, www.wma.us/about/titan-blog/post/~board/titan-blog/post/10-school-organization-tips-for-students.
Blyn, Rebecca. “How to Get Organized and Manage Your Time in High School.” CollegeXpress, www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/majors-and-academics/blog/how-get-organized-and-manage-your-time-high-school/.
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