GET ORGANIZED Without Losing it!

Quick Quiz  Do you spend tons of time looking for thing you need to do, your school work or your homework?  Do you feel like you’re always running behind?  Is your desk at home a disaster?  Is your school locker a shocker?  Would your head fall off it it weren’t fastened on?  Is your backpack a black hole?  Have you ever missed out on fun because your school work didn’t get done?  Are you forever losing the stuff you need to do your school work or homework?  Do you wish you were more organized?

If you answered yes to any of these questions…  There are tools and strategies that can help you  First let’s Identify your Organizational Quotient

Basic Tools for Getting Organized  A Backpack with at least 2 compartments  A clear plastic pouch for storing small items that usually get lost in the bottom of your backpack  A Homework Folder  A Folder to hold lined paper  An accordion folder for graded work that has been returned (this stays at home)

Basic Tools for Getting Organized  Good binders  Things to keep your binders organized like subject dividers  A zippered pencil pouch  Sheet protectors  7 two-sided pocket 3 hole punched folders  A portable 3-hole punch

Clear out Your Study Space at Home  Conquer Clutter! Get rid of trash!  Donate old books to the local library or charity  File important documents and papers  Get rid of all of those old erasers,broken pencils and markers that don’t work anymore

A Good Study Space includes:  Make sure you have a desk, a good chair and good lighting  Make sure you have all your supplies ready at hand- paper, pens, pencils, erasers, colored pencils, scissors, glue, calculator  Make sure distractions are at a minimum and you have a private, quiet, working space  Have a trash can next to your desk  Get a small white board to make a quick list of homework for the night- then erase it off the list when you are done  Homework: Take a picture of your cleaned up study space at home

Organize Your Digital Desktop  Get rid of all old s you don’t need anymore  Make favorite files and organize websites you frequent when doing school work  Make folders for each class and store your digital files in their own folders for each class  Get a data stick so document transfer is easy and you always have back up.  Delete programs you are not using  Keep the number of programs running at any given time to a minimum so that your computer runs faster and you can be more efficient in your work.

Tips For Organizing Your Locker  How to handle a locker shocker!  Your locker is not a waste basket, a homework folder, or a refrigerator.  Plus it’s not a dirty clothes bin, a dumpster, or one of those self storage places people rent to hold the stuff that won’t fit in their garage.  Your locker is where you store stuff you need to find during the school day.

These tools may help you organize your locker  Locker shelves  Magnetic Hooks  Magnetic file pockets  Message board/dry erase board

Organizing your Backpack  This should happen at least once a month  Turn you back pack upside down and dump the contents on the floor.  Shake it to make sure even the stickiest most stubborn items fall out.   Now sort the debris.  Put loose papers where they belong- homework turn-in folder, binder, or accordion file to save for finals.  Sharpen loose pencils and put them back in the pencil pouch.  Put any clothes in the laundry.  Throw the rest in the trash.

Organize Your Binder  Sort  Trash  Put things where they belong  Use index tabs to organize sections  Keep a 3-hole punch handy at all times  Don’t ever put loose papers into your backpack

Make a Plan for School Success  Use a student planner- SMCHS planner  Why use a planner?  It’s portable, it never forgets, it prevents scheduling problems, it keeps all your important information in one place, it reminds you of what you need to do and when, it helps you keep track of important projects, and it helps you reach your goals

A Planner Can Be Whatever You Want It To Be  It frees up valuable space in your brain  Digital planners-Google Calendar, I-Cal, Outlook  To do lists  To Do Apps  Notebook  School Planner

Planners  Use pencil in your written planners so you can erase and not have to cross out  Digital planners are great because you can just delete  Mark important due dates with a highlighter  Check your planner the first thing every morning- you’ll know what the day will bring  Check your planner the last thing every night. You’ll go to sleep feeling ready for tomorrow.

How to Prevent Event Overload  Are you a good time manager?  Do you spend your time wisely or waste it?  You’ll probably waste a lot less time if you are more organized  If you have more time and are less overloaded you will have less stress and more fun in life

Activity  Estimation Vs. Actual Time

Activity  After School Schedule this week

Plan for Homework  Make the most of the time you have  Homework Checklist- this tool helps you bring home the right tools in order to do your homework.  Put it in the clear plastic protector sheet so you can see it.  Start each week with a fresh copy.

Have a regular Homework Time  Talk it over with your parents and then decide on a regular homework time (a set time when you will do your homework every day.)  On some days you may have to adjust due to appointments.  You’ll work best if you stick close to the same time each day.

Have a regular Homework Place  You should do your homework at your desk  Not on your bed because that is for sleeping and you get drowsy when you lay down on it because your body associates this place with sleeping

Use a Task Timeline  Breaks any assignment into smaller pieces and puts you in control of your time  It helps you pace yourself so you don’t rush through an assignment or take all night to do it.  Sample

Deal With Distractions  Turn off your cell phone!  Turn off the TV!  Do not log into Facebook until your homework is done and packed in your backpack!  Listen to music that is conducive to studying- instrumental music without words is less distracting.  Ask your siblings not to bother you while you are doing your homework.  Make a DO NOT DISTURB sign to hang on your door or to put on the kitchen table if that is your regular homework place.

Maybe you are tired, hungry, or bored?  Take a short nap  Eat a healthy snack  Shoot some hoops for 10 minutes  The homework will still be there when you return but you will be more energized and focused so you can complete it.

Plan to Be Ready For School Each Day  Is your morning a blur of getting dressed, gulping breakfast, and dashing out the door?  Do you often forget things you are supposed to bring to school?  Are you already stressed out by the time you get to school?  That’s no way to start your day- so don’t.

Planning for the Morning Tips  Pack your lunch the night before.  Plan your breakfast the night before.  Pick out your clothes the night before.  Pile up everything you need next to the front door before you go to bed.

Is it Worth it to Get Organized?  Is it worth it to clean out my desk, backpack, binder and locker?  Do I have to use a planner and fill out forms?  Won’t all of that take a lot of time and effort?  Sure it will at first, but once you form the habit of being organized it will take a lot less time and effort.  When you get organized you will score bonus time every day!

Experts say…  Disorganized people lose 1-2 hours every day looking for things, dealing with clutter, and procrastinating.  1-2 hours per day = 7-14 hours per week  That adds up to hundreds of hours every year  Just think what you could do with all that time…

It Pays to Put Your Life in Order  One side effect of being disorganized is that things get ruined or lost all of the time.  Replacing it all can add up to serious cash- cash that you could otherwise spend on the new things you really want instead of duplicates of stuff you already had.

A Sweet Escape From Stress  Being surrounded in turmoil keeps your mind in permanent panic mode, with no chance to rest.  When your life is in order your head can relax for a change  And maybe you’ll stop biting your nails…

Be Independent  The more consistently organized you are, the more your parents will trust you.  Earning your parents’ trust = the right to make more decisions for yourself

Score Social Points  Your teachers will notice your efforts to get organized. Teachers appreciate neat work and the work that is turned in on time. That can help bring up your grades.  Your family will be grateful for the new improved you.  You’ll have more time for your friends and have more time and energy for the people you care about  Maybe you’ll even start cleaning your room.  But most of all you’ll feel better about yourself and you may have more free time then you’d ever imagined.