Organizational Tips
Being a student comes with a lot of stress. Often times, students are faced with a lot of
stress from homework assignments, exams, quizzes, projects, and more. The number one way to
stay sane in this time of stress is by staying organized. In this post, I will be giving tips on how
to stay organized in school, which would then lead to a successful and much less stressful school
year.
Have a Planner
The very first way to stay organized in school is to have a planner of some sort, whether
it be physical (notebook, etc.), or virtual on apps or google calendar. A planner is a first and most
important tool when trying to become organized. First, you must set aside time to plan once
every week. Write down assignment due dates and exam dates that you extract from your
syllabus, as well as extracurricular activities you have planned. Here is an example of a list of
things you should write down in your planner; deadlines, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays,
grocery lists, to-do lists, phone numbers, work schedules, doctor’s appointments, bill due dates,
vacation days, parties, inspirational quotes, affirmations, and goals. Planning everything going
on in your life (even outside of school), will lift a lot of stress off your shoulders as you won't
worry about forgetting things. In your planner, categorize your tasks, whether it be through color coordination, sticky notes, or section blocking. This will help you find information that you have written in your planner a lot quicker. Creating a list of the top 3 important things every week will help you prioritize said tasks.
Specific Area for Studying
The next way a student can stay organized in school is by designating a specific area for
study. It is very important as a student to select a desk or table in calm and quiet areas and make
it your designated workspace for doing your homework and studying. The area that you will be
choosing to study should have the ability to ensure your mind goes into study mode, and
therefore this area should only be used for studying. The intention behind this is to let one
associate their designated area with studying, and this will help train your mind. Furthermore,
alongside having a designated studying area, said area must be neat and clean. If it is
disorganized and everything is cluttered, it will be more difficult for one to concentrate, which
will lead to lower chances of a student being motivated or inspired to study. They will struggle to
stay focused because the mess around them will be a distraction.
Organized Backpack
Another important way a student can stay organized is by having an organized backpack.
It is very common to have an unorganized backpack as a student. While rushing from one
classroom to another, students often shove their papers and pencils into their backpacks.
However, the absolute last thing a student should do is have their homework and assignments
crumbled inside their backpacks, and then potentially forget to complete them. There are
however ways in which these things could be prevented from happening! Firstly, one should
expand their file folder. This will enable a student to store their papers and assignments from
multiple classes all in one folder. It is a very convenient and practical way to organize classwork.
Another way to stay organized is by keeping a binder with dividers. This will enable one to
separate their paperwork into different sections with dividers. Lastly, one should ALWAYS keep
a folder of some sort. This will create a space for one to store their papers and assignments from
various different classes altogether.
Papers aren't alone when it comes to things getting shoved into your backpack, pencils,
erasers, markers, highlighters, and rulers might often also become victims of being shoved into
random pouches or sections of one's backpack. For this reason, it is important to keep your
school supplies stored in designated pouches. Also, one should make sure said pouch has enough
space to comfortably fit all school supplies so that there is no resorting to tossing all supplies into
one's backpack.
It is very crucial for a student to stay organized. Without organization, succeeding in
school becomes very difficult. With these simple tricks, a student should stay organized and
therefore successful in all of their classes and extracurriculars.
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Written by Bushra Raza at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bushra-raza/