Develop organizational systems that will work for YOU. Not all organizational systems will work for all students. You should choose the ones that will work best with your schedule and needs. Remember, though, that learning to be organized takes time and practice. If a system doesn’t work the first time you try it, try again. You may just need more time to become accustomed to it.
Avoid distractions in your study space. If your study space includes a TV and radio, it’s probably not the best place for you to study. Your study space should be used for studying and working only. Choose a space that doesn’t have a lot of tempting distractions available.
Keep all of your books, notebooks, binders, and folders for each class together on a shelf. Then when you need to grab your math materials for school, they are all in one place, making it less likely for you to forget something. You can even label the shelves to make it that much easier to find the right materials.
Reward yourself! Positive reinforcement is an amazing thing. When you have completed tasks, reward yourself in small ways. This can be anything from allowing yourself to take a 10 minute break to treating yourself to a movie. This will help to avoid procrastinating!
Schedule time to complete your assignments based on anticipated time on task and urgency. Once you know all the assignments that you need to complete, determine their deadlines and estimate how long it will take to finish each one. You can then prioritize your tasks and set a clear schedule for completing them!
Use an academic planner to keep track of your assignments, deadlines, and appointments. By having all this information in one place, you’ll know exactly where to look to find out what you need to do. You can even use your planner to prioritize tasks and set a study schedule. See the example provided.