Written By: Paige Neely
For students and adults alike, our organizational skills can either make us or break us.
Being organized will not only keep things in line but create a routine in our day-to-day lives.
Think of it this way, the key to organization is being able to prioritize what's most important each day and having a system set in place to help keep things in order.
Students are given folders, binders, and agendas, etc. to help them in school but very little of them really understand how to make those tools of organization work for them. So, Tutoring & Beyond is here to help make sense of it all.
1. Get An Agenda/Planner/Day-Timer
As a young student in 6th grade, I was introduced to my first "day-timer" as my dad would call it and I haven't stopped using one since. This is a great starter tool for all students and even parents to outline their days hour by hour, week by week, month by month. The most important thing about using an agenda is... actually writing in it consistently! This method only works if you do your part.
2. Pencil Pack
As silly as this sounds, these are a very useful tool to have for all students. This avoids ever asking for a pen during class and not only does it hold pens and pencils but also sticky notes and highlighters that can be utilized at any time during class! A pencil pack keeps everything you need in once spot.
3. Separate Class Folders/Binders
When getting down to the nitty-gritty of staying organized, keeping separate folders or binders for each class is very important. This helps students locate their work and get in the habit of putting things back where they belong. If the school wants your student to use one GIANT binder for all of their classes, invest in binder dividers.
4. Colored Pens
When re-writing your notes, colored pencils help distinguish terms, important people, or formulas. This is a fantastic method for helping students organize and even control their way of studying. "Color improves recall time for graphs and important information that can be a very effective performance factor, if not overdone."
5. Sticky Notes
This is such a simple tool that can easily be overdone. Sticky notes are great for making side notes in textbooks rather than having a whole sheet of paper of notes. It also marks pages in books and also can be used for your OWN notes.
Tutoring & Beyond offers study and organizational skills in every session for students that need guidance. Being organized and sticking to it is a major building block in becoming a star student!