Messy backpacks. Lost papers. Unsubmitted assignments. As students juggle schoolwork and extracurriculars, organization is not always at the forefront of their minds. Nonetheless, it’s a valuable skill that serves a purpose. Maintaining an organized lifestyle keeps an organized mind, increases productivity and reduces stress. Listed here are tips to improve work management and stay on top of deadlines.
Agenda books are one of the most effective tools when keeping assignments in order. School planners allow you to mark important dates, record homework by the class and check off assignments after completion, leaving the feeling of accomplishment and motivation to keep working. Beyond organization, these planners track your progress, teaching you long-term beneficial habits.
Maintaining an organized backpack means no longer wasting time searching for loose, crumpled-up papers and lost pencils. To prevent these annoyances, students should have one folder per class, at least one notebook, and a pencil pouch full with pencils, pens, erasers, highlighters and a few colored pencils. Students may also benefit from using a color-coding system, assigning a specific color for each class (for example, green for science, blue for math)
Junior Isabelle Weiner has found her own methods to manage her responsibilities. She uses Google Calendar to keep track of her schedule and highlight assignments, as she values the importance of managing her work. “As high school students, many of us take lots of hard classes and have a lot of work to do, so if we do not stay on top of our homework, it is easy to fall behind and grades will suffer,” Weiner said.
While not as visually appealing, changing the Canvas home page from card view to list view may be another helpful organizational tool. List view displays all upcoming assignments with due dates and announcements posted by teachers. If checked daily, students will stay aware of deadlines and avoid missing assignments.
Sophomore Reed Gottesman shares a similar mindset as Weiner. He believes by not keeping track of work, it can be difficult to catch up to the rest of the class, especially as high schoolers. “I stay organized by updating my Notes app on my phone so I know what homework and tests I have coming up,” Gottesman said.
When beginning homework, starting with the assignments you have the least desire to complete first may be the logical approach, as completing the more difficult assignments early can increase motivation and make the rest of the work feel manageable. Completing these assignments as soon as they are assigned may also come in handy. If a teacher were to post an assignment due at the end of the week, students are likely to complete it at the last minute, submitting rushed work with no additional thought. If knocked out immediately, students have one less thing to worry about.
Senior Aiden Scherr updates his Google docs to-do list daily, where he jots down his homework and quiz dates. Scherr also uses the Apple Calendar to record upcoming appointments and events. “It’s important that students have an efficient way to keep track of their work, as well as maintain their GPA,” Scherr said.
