A Lesson in Organization!!

Organization is one of the most important skills that you can acquire for your education, profession, or just your everyday life in general. It is a favorable skill in the workplace and a handy skill in school. But I understand that organization does not come easy for everyone. I know it didn't come that easy to me. The good thing about it, though, is that the right set of practices or routines over time can help you in becoming more organized and preparing for your professional life. Without further ado, here's my organization 101.

1. Get a planner (& use it)!!!

~ Let me tell y'all I used to HATE student planners. I would get them at the beginning of every school year and hate using them, because they felt less like resources and more like burdens. My mom would tell me "You have to write down what you did in each class and all of your homework assignments everyday." and it just felt like too much responsibility. Then, senior year came around and I had to become responsible. But I did it a little differently in a way that took the pressure off of my shoulders, yet was still effective. I would write in it, only on days when it was necessary, and I would always create to-do lists. I would give myself bullet points, only including the tasks that I have to do for that day, especially when I have a huge workload, and even include some of my own personal tasks like chores, scholarships, or just maybe something I wanted to get done that day. Then when I do each task I go back and check it off the list. It's a very simple and manageable system for me, especially when I don't put pressure on myself to write in it everyday.

2. Set reminders!!!

~ Use that Reminders app on your phone!! When you're busy like myself, you can't always remember what you have to do on this day or that day. To keep myself in check, I would usually set a reminder in my phone to alert me about an event on the day of around 4-6 hours beforehand. Then I set reminders for an hour before the event, then 30 minutes. It sounds like so much work but I personally think it's worth it, because I'm rarely late to anything anymore!

3. Utilize your calendar!!

~ Just like the Reminders app, you have a Calendar app on your phone as well! While I think the Reminders app is more effective, the Calendar is also very useful. You can automatically associate each event with specific dates and even set your phone to alert you at the time of the event. I recommend that you use the Reminders app for notification too, though, because the Calendar "alerts" aren't 100% reliable in my opinion. I also recommend that you get a physical calendar that you can write on and have on display in your room, that way you always see the events you have to do for the month and it could serve as a constant reminder.

4. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself!!

~ Set realistic goals for yourself!! Stop trying to accomplish every single task all in one day!! If you have 5 things due today for school and 1 thing due tomorrow, you better focus on those 5 things and nothing else!! I'm not saying to procrastinate, but when you have a huge workload, it's important to prioritize & focus on what is necessary to do for that day. Don't get me wrong, if you have the energy to get everything you have to do for the week done in one day, then go for it. I'm just saying try not to spread yourself too thin. Think about the way you feel after the ACT, or at the end of the year when you have a final in every single class. You wanna go home, take a nap, and never think about school ever again. Your brain feels worn out, you have no motivation to be productive anymore. And the feeling lasts a long time. Overall, you don't want your work and your relaxation to be on two extremes. You want it to be a balance, which is why it's important to work hard but to also take breaks and make sure you don't lose your sanity in the process.

5. Manage your time!! (use it wisely!!)

~ This sounds super vague, & I know time management is a huge issue for young students like myself, but let me tell y'all, time management is not that hard to master. I would've done a whole lesson on time management 101, but it's honestly very simple. Time management takes discipline, and discipline can't necessarily be taught, but I can give you all some tips. First of all, if you need to study, put that phone down. It sounds super cliché, but we waste a lot of our time on the phone. Something that has made it twice as easy for me to manage my time has been deleting social media (the app, not my whole account). I talk about it all the time, but it has helped me become more present in the moment and focused on what I need to get done. Without social media, my phone doesn't seem all that interesting or addictive. The same may apply to you. If it seems like something you can't do, then at least turn off your notifications or something. Again, social media isn't necessarily the "root of all evil" but it is one of the main sources of procrastination. Other than that, basically everything I said on this list is helpful for time management. Make sure you are aware of the tasks you need to get done in a day (become aware by writing them down or putting them in your Notes), and prioritizing the most important tasks. Set alarms if you need to in order to make sure that you don't spend too much time on one thing. If you are focused, aware of your tasks, and motivated to get them done, the organization will follow.

Well anyways, Shaping Your Future family, those were my few little tips on organization. I hope y'all don't look at me like I'm an expert or anything, because I'm just a student that's speaking from experience. I've become noticeably more responsible this year, so I just wanted to share my tips on how I was able to achieve it. Make sure you make use of your Notes, Reminders, and Calendar apps on your phone, take advantage of them because they're resources as well. I hope you all found this advice helpful in some way and I will see you all next week.