Organization

A foe you can name is far better than one you can't.

In the best of times, high school and college can feel like a relentless onslaught of assignments, projects, and exams, even before you add in all the things you need to do in real life. The crushing wave of deadlines can feel even more intense thanks to virtual learning. If you have a method for keeping due dates, important times, and the rest of life straight, figuring out what work you have to do and taking care of it is so much less of a hassle. Moreover, if you know what you have to do, you can make a plan and get it done sooner than the hour before the deadline and avoid coming up with a project that looks like this.

True, but I appreciate your struggles.

There are thousands of different organizational techniques, to the point that there are (very entertaining) TV shows demonstrating such.

What works for me may not be what works for you. That's okay.

Any (school-related) organizational structure should contain the following:

1. Class Name + Assignment

2. Due date

3. Deliverable

And then you organize each assignment per your preference - by class, due date, how much you have to do for it, or how much you dread doing it (personal preference)

You can, of course, get fancier. You can make plans for hourly or daily or weekly targets you should be meeting in terms of assignment completion, you can put your plan into your calendar or a planner, you can write down what's due each day on a post-it note, etc.

If you're still not sure where to start, here are some ideas:

• 8 tips for staying organized in high school

• Organizing assignments and schoolwork

Some people need a routine to thrive; others love chaos. If you are the former sort, plan your days once and hold yourself to the schedule you make. If you are the latter, still try to have some rough outline to your day; otherwise, you'll have a wonderful chaotic day until you realize as you're going to bed that you totally forgot to do something really important.