I promise you won't need one of these for at least another ten years. (Source)
So, it's a brand new semester and only a few days in, we're already swimming in handouts, syllabi, calendars, and textbooks. It's enough to make us think longingly of preschool and supply lists containing items like "Crayons" and "emergency pants," right?
Okay, maybe not the emergency pants.
At any rate, it's a brand new semester, and we've got a lot to keep track of. The stakes are higher now, with more demands on everyone's time, so efficiency is the key to winning this academic marathon. We want to free up as much time as possible for enjoyable hobbies like dirt bike races and starting a garage band, and that means getting organized.
Many of the world's great minds have had super messy desks, backpacks, and beds. Benjamin Franklin! Albert Einstein! Mark Zuckerberg! Now, my mom always said "Messy bed, messy head," but I never really believed her. I was more in the Ben Franklin camp, and I felt deep down in my heart of hearts that candy wrappers and random piles of papers worked for me. It was my signature study style.
But then, of course, I was always forgetting important assignments, losing notes, and collecting a bit of a rodent problem. It wasn't good for anyone.
READING: HOW TO BE ORGANIZED IN SCHOOL
Real talk: Forgotten assignments and lost notes are no one's friend in high school. In fact, we should classify these two as Enemies of the State Numbers 1 and 2. Thankfully, they're not too difficult to master. When it comes to Enemy Number 1, forgetting things, please enjoy this official Bro. Jonathan Nugget of Wisdom:
Write it down.
Seriously, write it down. Write it down anywhere. Just write it down.
As for Number 2, losing stuff, well, I've got some tips for you. You could even, you know, write some of them down. (More on note-taking later.)
Follow these simple rules for staying organized:
Have a Coursework Binder. Multiple folders can be difficult to keep track of, so having a single binder (those binders with zippers are great to keep papers from falling out) for all your work ensures that every assignment stays in the same place. Look for the binders that have two pockets and designate one side for "work to do" and the other side for "work that's done." No man, or assignment, gets left behind!
Pro-tip. Your binder can also be virtual, in the form of some folders on your computer's desktop, Google Drive, or Dropbox!
Stock up. While you're at the office supply store for the binder, snag any additional supplies that you don't already have. Down to your last pencil? Buy in bulk. You don't want to find yourself without any printer paper and end up losing the last page of your essay between your printer and the teacher's desk, or not be able to create that collage you were working on. Oh look! They have planners at the store too! Grab one of those if the paper planner is your thing.
Use a planner. With every assignment and due date written down in your planner—digital or otherwise—you will never miss an important deadline. More on calendars and planners later.
Keep your backpack from turning into a blast site. Organize it into a zen wonderland. Digging around in a backpack for a black pen for 14 minutes is responsible for 87% of the school related tantrums, I hear.
Don't stop the organizing festivities. Speaking of organization, sort those folders, too. Go through your class folders on a regular basis to remove any loose papers or notes that you don't still need. Graded papers and notes from past sections can be put in a separate binder (or virtual folder). By keeping your folders up-to-date, they're less likely to tear from the weight of too much knowledge, and you won't run the risk of losing your coursework in a tragic landslide.
Play it safe. If you have a paper that you want to keep safe from crinkles, spills, or Cheeto fingers, put it in a page protector. Accordion files are also great for keeping papers separated and protected.
Your home away from home: The Locker. If you've been assigned a locker, show it some love. Make sure it's clean and organized by removing all unneeded supplies or loose papers. Round up all the notes that friends have slipped inside. If you work solely at home, you can do the same for the spot in your room where you unload all your school stuff. Do you really need that pile of scratch paper from your math test six months ago?
If you have a big project with a later deadline, say two weeks from now, outline all the components of the project. Break it down into shorter work sessions so that you don't end up pulling an all-nighter right before it's due.
If you think it will take about 10 hours of work to complete, schedule 2-hour chunks every other day so that you don't get overwhelmed by or tired of the project by trying to do it all at once. Plus, then you'll have some wiggle time in case the project takes longer than you expect. (It will take longer than you expect.)
Do your work as soon as it's assigned. It's tempting to put off writing a paper that isn't due for another two weeks for at least the next 13-and-a-half days, but getting work out of the way now means fewer 3:00 a.m. cram sessions. It works for absences, too. If you know you'll be absent next week because of the International Goat Herding Championships, get your assignments from your teachers before you leave. If it's possible to get the work done before you leave, jump on like the goat herding champion you are.
Okay, I know we've covered this already, but it's just too important to only say once. Designate a particular study space at home. This is the place that you keep all your supplies, assignments, and textbooks. No one besides you can move anything from this space. Nothing but school work lives in this space. Now you know that everything for school is where it belongs, and your brain is programmed for working when you're chilling in the space.
Oh, and as for those candy wrappers? I know lots of us have trash-hoarding issues. Sometimes it's such a long walk to get to a trash/recycle bin. After the first few weeks of school, our backpacks usually have a nice, sludgy layer of goo and crumpled papers in the bottom, and that's just gross.
Keep tabs on trash by making sure there's a trash bin by your study space, and prevent backpack grossness by designating a pocket as temporary trash receptacle or even adding a grocery sack inside to collect each day's scraps—hopefully, mostly the paper kind. Banana peels? Nasty. In either case, empty it nightly unless you have a thing for rodents.