1. Being organised How can I help myself? Study Support / Pastoral Mentoring 2013-2014 TOD319001

2. Are you always being told that you need to be better organised to achieve your best? Do you often spend lots of time and effort looking for a page or a book in order to be able to complete a task or a homework? Pastoral Mentoring and Study Support might be able to help…

4. What is it? Put really simply, organisation is described as being ‘efficient, orderly and methodical’. This means that you use your time wisely to achieve the best possible results. But remember – no matter how organised we are, remember that there are always only 24 hours in a day. It’s all about balance and allowing your organisation to help you have a better time away from work.

5. Why does it matter? For students in all subjects, organisation is absolutely vital because you have so many things to do if you are to succeed and achieve the grades you should be. What makes organisation really important is that it allows you to get good marks that you can and have a good time away from work as well. Being organised doesn’t mean you can’t go out or have friends, it just means that you enjoy your time with them even more!

6. Why does it matter? Organisation skills are essential if you want to achieve your goals – they help to keep you focused on doing the right tasks, help you set your priorities and give you the confidence that you are on the right track to your target destination. Organisation is also essential for surviving modern life – and definitely in a hectic world with so many time pressures. Being organised can help to reduce stress, make you feel more in control of your life and help you manage your time better.

7. How can I do it? There are lots of things you can do to be better organised… Make sure you know what to do and when to do it. Use a reliable way to list homework tasks and due dates. Make sure that you always have it! Find a suitable way to store and transport notes and handouts to and from school. Have a few big folders at home to store work with which you are finished.

8. How can I do it? Why not set yourself a day of the week where you put finished notes into a folder at home rather than stuff them into your schoolbag or kitbag? Could you ask someone at home to spend a little time to go over tasks and the state of your work? Could you tell somebody when tasks are due and mark the date on a calendar if the due-date is not the next day?

9. How can I do it? Create a consistent place for you to complete study and homework. Stock that location with things you need to do the work and nothing else. Might you remove any unnecessary items so they are not distracting? Pack everything away when your homework is complete. See if anything else is needed for school the next day. Doing this the night before school helps avoid mishaps that can happen in the rush to get ready in the morning.