Organizing For Success

In a traditional classroom, there is lots of opportunity to interact face-to-face with your teacher and other students. Often, the teacher will take the time to highlight upcoming assignments and due dates. This isn't always possible in an online environment and much of the responsibility for remembering things falls on the student. Luckily, there are lots of tools out there that can help.

But first, it's important to get organized. Let's learn how to:

• organize your physical study space

• organize your class materials

• develop a scheduling system to help make sure your work gets done on time

Organize your environment

Everyone's preferences will be different, but you can start by asking yourself the following questions:

• What does it take to be organized?

• How can I take control of my physical space?

• When am I most productive?

• What environment allows me to be most productive?

First, try to identify what time of day you are the most productive. Are you the most alert and fresh in the morning? Do you prefer to work at night? Or is there some other time of the day that works best for you to study? It can really help to set up some kind of schedule so you know when you will be sitting down to accomplish the requirements of your class.

Second, decide where you are going to study. Some people will work at home while others prefer the quiet of a library or the hum of activity in a café. No matter where you decide to study, make sure that you have a backup plan in case your preferred location doesn't work on any given day.

Third, what conditions will enable you to concentrate and learn most effectively within your study space? Your motivation can be influenced by noise level, temperature, or even lighting in the place you choose. Once you find what works best for you, you can make the adjustments necessary to be comfortable and work (ex. sweater when it's cold, headphones to block out sounds).

**When it comes to your live online classes with your teacher, you will definitely want to make sure that you find a place with as little distractions and background noise as possible. It will help you to be able to focus and participate fully while not having to shout over other noises in your background to be heard. :)

Organize Your Course Materials

The next element you will have to organize is your course materials. Try to determine if you prefer working with hard copies of materials that you can print out and write on, or if you prefer the ease and flexibility that comes with working digitally. Most students use a combination of both depending on the class or the assignment. No matter what your preference, both require you to set up a reliable and convenient system so you can stay on top of your work.

If you like to work with hard copies, find a place where you can keep all of your school materials: books, notes assignments, binders, and a calendar. Try to keep a stash of basic office supplies like pens, highlighters, paper, a stapler, binders, folders, index cards or any other study aids you might need.

create an organizational style

There is no one organizational style that works for everyone. You will need to create an organizational style that works for you. The Internet can come in really handy here. A quick Google search or a few minutes on Pinterest might give you some helpful tips and ideas.

If, on the other hand, you prefer the ease and convenience of a digital system, there are still many options available for how to go about this. You will need to ask yourself questions like:

• What device will I keep all my materials on?

• Where will I store backups?

If you save your files on different devices, you might find yourself wasting time searching for where you saved a particular document. One of the advantages of enrolling with PACeS is that you get access to the G Suite range of tools including Google Drive. This is a great option for storing files in "the cloud" and being able to access them from any device.

PRO TIP: When you create different files for your assignments, make sure to create descriptive files names so you won't have to open every file just to know what is in it. For example, use the class title and assignment name.

Organize Your Time

Finally, you will want to make sure that you have organized your time. One of the first things you will want to do after starting your online class is to read through the syllabus and familiarize yourself with class requirements and assignment due dates.

An amazing benefit of working through Google Classroom for PACeS classes is that all of your tasks are automatically posted to your Google Calendar! Make sure that you access your calendar on a regular basis to make sure you're aware of upcoming tasks. The last thing you want is to be surprised by a big project simply because you neglected to plan your time well.

PRO TIP: Make sure that you break up large assignments into smaller, more manageable pieces and schedule them accordingly. This can be incredibly helpful because it will give you milestones that will allow you to monitor your progress.

Because online learning can be so flexible, you can really tailor the experience to your own personal preferences. Simply find what works for you and stick to it.