Does anyone have any ideas on how to stay organized in high school?

Question

I am one of the most irresponsible people--not on purpose--in this world, and I really need good grades on highschool. What were your tricks for staying organized and balancing everything?

I don't know why this is in Beauty and Style!!

Answer 1

These are good skills to cultivate now, because your plate will only get fuller.

Re: study area, you need a place to work. Declutter a place in your home, getting things out of the area that are distracting and have nothing to do with schoolwork. Get your materials together and store them there. You probably need a place to hook up to the internet, with room for a computer, as well as a writing surface. You need a good light and a container to store misc school supplies like post-it notes, highlighters, pens, and paper clips. You also want a day planner, a dictionary, and a thesaurus, unless you use computerized versions instead of hard copies. Get all these things together, there may be some other stuff, but keep it simple and uncluttered, with a home for all the objects and keep them in their places.

Remember when setting up your space, to set it up according to what hand you have. If you are left, for example, your light shines from the right hand side so your arm doesn't cast a shadow. Vice versa for righthandedness.

Re Your backpack, you want room for all your books, as well as library materials, your laptop if you have one, your snacks and pens, etc as well as your assignment book. Carry a different bag for gym stuff or sports or clubs.

You want to layer in all your obligations, starting with your class schedule, then your practices, your chores, your part time job, and your study time, THEN social life. You should make time for reading something for pleasure everyday, time for exercise, and time for some sort of restoration practice like meditation, as well as laying out your materials for the next day.

For study time and other projects, you should think about not just putting in due dates but "benchmarks" in each project, including tests...so if you have a project due in four weeks, you spend the first few days brainstorming the ideas of what you will do, then set a deadline for gathering your supplies, a few sessions to do your research, and deadlines for first drafts, checking in with your teacher for advice, then final drafts and making copies or a backup file in case your teacher loses your work. So then your projects will not sneak up on you, nor will they overwhelm you because you have broken them up into doable tasks.

You should get folders for each project, like essays and term papers, and label them, not just for each class, if you need to keep classes straight, color code them so you have (example) green for all English stuff, blue for all history stuff, etc...inside that system you might have dark green for your English notes, lime green for your persuasive essay, navy blue for your history notes, and sky blue for your civil war paper. See what I mean? Then you know to grab all the blue stuff for history, but all the light colors for writing projects.

Try to schedule in a study hall if you can, so you at least have time to plan your evening during the school day.

Hope these ideas help.

Answer 2

Well, the first thing is to know that you're absent-minded and need some help. Most people don't even realize it!

I would recommend getting a planner. I've been using one for years and it really helps. I like ones where I can see the whole week with enough space to put homework, meetings, and activities in. That way I can see what's going on ahead of me, not just what's going on that week.

Balance all comes from within. You need to know when to say no. HS gives you so many things to be involved in, but you really have to narrow down what's important to you and stick with it. Are you a sports person? If so, go out for the sports that really mean something to you. Are you artistic? Go out for the play or musical group. Pick only the important ones because getting too involved will keep you from concentrating on your studies and getting ahead come graduation.

Thinking now about your time and what you want to accomplish will greatly enhance your ability to move on after HS. Study hard, make no excuses about doing it later. Do it now and learn as much as you can. No one has ever been turned away because they were too smart.

Good luck in HS! It's a fun time!

Answer 3

Get yourself a 1" binder for EACH class, don't try to use a big binder with lots of dividers. That way you only have a small binder to carry into class with you and it will be easier to stay organized in smaller divided sections. Within each binder for each class, make yourself a section for class notes, graded tests/quizzes that you've gotten back so you can keep track of your grades, and homework. You should also set a time schedule for yourself. Make sure you set your morning alarm early enough so that you can get up, have breakfast, and make sure you are ready to go and all of your things are ready. Then when you get home from school, maybe allow yourself an hour to do whatever you want, or if you have after school activities, consider that your "fun time" for school days. And after your "fun time," set aside 2 hours to work on school work either before or after dinner depending on your after school activities. It might seem silly to set such a stringent schedule, but it will REALLY help if you tend to be all over the place otherwise. Once you get acclimated to your school work and the new social environment of high school, you will probably just stick to your schedule without even trying and you'll be organized in no time!

Answer 4

I like to use either a binder with 2-3 subjects in it with dividers that have pockets. If not a binder, then use a notebook for each subject along with a coordinating folder. For instance, for Science use a blue notebook and blue folder, Math red notebook and red folder etc. Locker organizers usually help also. To keep track of homework, use a small spiral notepad and take it to every class. Write the date at the top then when given an assignment to do write it on that page. At the end of the day, pull it out and grab the books you need to take home. I know when I was in high school my locker was full of trash and scrunched up papers in the bottom. Keep all your papers for that class in that class' folder. You can tape a small bag to the inside of you locker door for trash.
Lastly, use a backpack to take your stuff home in. It is much easier to find a misplaced backpack than it is a misplaced book. When you get home, do you homework, then immediately put it back in your backpack. Before going to bed put it in front of the door so you do not forget it in the morning.

Answer 5

Take care when creating your class schedule that you commit to a comfortable balance of 'artistic' and 'scientific' classes to insure a wide variety of experiences. If you are having trouble finding a good balance, meet with your school counselor before you choose your classes.

Think about how you tend to organize yourself outside of school. Do charts help you to keep things orderly? If so, make a chart for each class, which can be filled in with relevant details as the year progresses.

Buy a miniature tape recorder to bring to class, especially if you are an 'audio' learner. You can study your notes from each class by replaying the tape.

Devise a sample plan for doing homework. Will you study right after school, or wait until dinner ends? Finding a comfortable study time will insure more balanced and successful sessions.

Buy your books ahead of time and read the first chapter to familiarize yourself with the topics you'll be learning.

Dedicate one full notebook to each subject or class. Choose different colors for each class so you can find the right notebook easily.


Learn to concentrate on one thing at a time. Close your eyes, relax and focus on a single thought. This skill will help you to pay attention to the important lessons with maximum focus.

Answer 6

Start with a daily planner. Write down all important dates,assignments,test dates.Also have a 9 or 10 week calendar for each semester so you can see the overall plan. Have a good backpack and keep it stocked with paper,pencils,pens.Every eve. at the same time if possible, get your assignments finished. As hard as it is I make my kids do them as soon as they get home. Then they are out of the way and you can relax. That is,unless you have a test. Then you will have to put more time into it. I try to tell my kids to keep up with stuff each day and not to cram for a test the night before. It is not as effective for learning. Take care!

Answer 7

keep everything neat. clean out ur locker at the end of every week, and keep a binder w/ all of your papers and stuff in it. also, keep ur room at home neat and organized. if u know where ur stuff is, everything will b a lot easier and life will run a lot smoother. dont keep old things that u dont need. throw out old papers, sell old clothes and junk. it keeps things clean and is a good way to make a little extra cha-ching! the one main thing u need 2 know is keep your cool. everything goes better with a level head. hope this helps! <3

Answer 8

get a desk and a lamp so you can study quietly in your room...wake up early to study.....put your clothes out the night before and pack your lunch the night before...get those notebooks and and use a ruler and make a line down the middle of the page..one side have your notes..on the side have the notes from the teacher..have one notebook for each class...after school take a brisk walk to get some exercise to clear your head...try to get to bed early and wake up early...to do more studying when everyone is sleeping..its quiet and this is the best time of the day...you can get a good backpack with lots of pockets from L.L. Bean....always eat breakfast everyday...watch ur sugar intake and don't drink too many beverages with caramel coloring...they are beta blockers and don't help you to retain info...get a organizer calender write down tests...get flash cards and study early on...don't worry so much about boys..get good grades..keep your head up...clean your room every sunday...do your laundry and organize your room with plastic bins..i hope this helped...be yourself and love yourself..good luck ..this will be the best years of your life:)

Answer 9

ok, so i just finished my freshmen year, so here are some tips:

~get a small file cabinet...after you finish a unit in a class, empty your notebook into the cabinet...it really helps when you have final...i wish i would have done it!!! DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!!!

~have a locker shelf...it helps you to maximize your space

~i'm assuming that you have 7 or 8 classes in a day...color coordinate your binders so your 1st and 2nd class are one color(like white), your 3rd and 4th class are like black, and your 5th and 6th class are one color...or you should coordinate them this way: if you go to your locker at the beginning of the day, but not again until after 3rd period, then 1st, 2nd, and 3rd period binders should be one color!!! get it?

~keep a daily planner so you can write down all of your assignments and after school activities!!! check your planner every night right before you go to bed to make sure you didnt miss anything...if you did forget something, do it then, or get up early!!!

~when a teacher hands out a big assignment, get started right away...dont be like "oh, that's due in 3 weeks, i have plenty of time"...that 3 weeks goes by really fast!!!!!!

follow these tips and you are good to go!!!
good luck in high school!!!!
don't forget to breathe!!

Answer 10

1. Get folders for homework, things to take home, important info, etc.
2. Seperate blue pens from the red pens, and the red pens from the black pens and so on.
3. Make a schedule for yourself telling and reminding you when you are going to do homework and take a break.
4. Spend more time on week nights studying instead of playin with your friends.