Calendars, paper planners, digital calendars, charts, spreadsheets, desk organizers, to-do lists, budgets… without organization tools like these many of us would be lost. We’d lose track of time, numbers, quotes, notes, votes, meal plans, annual budgets, appointments, meetings, dinner dates, family events… the list goes on. So each and every day we all use a few tools to help us stay organized, maintain productivity, and make it to those precious family events.
The benefits for using organization tools for students, for teachers, at home and office are endless. An organized student knows how to find the information they need to stay on top of notes, to study, and to perform well. They know how to allocate their time wisely, and have enough time for studying, extracurricular activities, and personal life.
For some students, organization and planning are daily habits. For other students these skills present an opportunity.
Planning and organization are skills under the umbrella of executive function skills. Executive function skills are the skills which enable us to self regulate our impulses, create plans and follow through with them, and to harness our attention to focus on what we need to do to initiate and accomplish a task.
Having the appropriate organization tools for home or school help students avoid last-minute cramming and the stress associated with it. They allow students to prioritize assignments, projects, and study sessions. Organization tools for students help them keep track of textbooks, notes, and other materials, making it easier to find what they need when they need it.
These skills (Planning and Organization) are critical for learning and development, and can positively impact academic performance. While we are not born with executive function skills, we are born with the capacity to develop them and use them to help us manage daily life at home, work, school, and in our community.
Executive Function Skills include: organization, attention, working memory, planning, time management, inhibition, initiative, and flexibility.
There is overlap with each of these skills. Let’s think about how organization and planning work together and with the other Executive Function Skills.
Planning includes skills like time management, sequencing, and looking at the big picture as well as the parts. Managing time can be so challenging for students. Kids are so busy today. There’s school, home, and family. There are also many additional activities such as lacrosse practice, soccer practice, violin lessons, drivers ed, and chores at home. It takes a lot of juggling to manage all these. Add homework, studying, and long-term projects into the mix. Students must have a system for balancing all their various responsibilities and keep track of when things are due. Timers, stopwatches, planners, calendars, and time lines are tools that can assist students with staying on track.
Organization includes more than just keeping track of physical property. It includes managing thoughts and ideas, feelings and emotions, and activities and responsibilities. Completing homework is fantastic, but if a student misplaces the homework how will the teacher even know it’s been completed? Knowing how to be organized doesn’t happen overnight. There are many ways in which to organize: color coded, alphabetical, size, theme, etc. Students can find ways which help them maintain a sense of organization that works for them. Calendars, planners, journals, accordion files, cubbies, backpacks, schedules, charts can all assist students (and let’s face it- all of us) in staying organized.
Organization tools are valuable resources that can help a student in school and reduce stress. They encourage students to create study schedules, review notes regularly, and stay on top of assignments, leading to better study habits and retention of information.
And speaking of organization tools, let’s delve into two game-changing resources that can help you and your student manage time and tasks more effectively.
If your kid is trying to balance school work, extracurricular activities and social life, or trying to increase productivity…these two organization tools for students are going to be life saving and essential.
Here’s the trusty Monthly Task Planner, with a section for your to-do list and notes AND a Weekly Assignment Chart, with space for six different subjects. We created them with you and your student in mind and their purpose is to help you achieve more efficiency, prioritize assignments, and less stress in your daily life. Please tap on the images below to download them, they’re free and for personal use only.
Students bloom in confidence and skills.
The joy they feel from accomplishing tasks and assignments is undeniable.
And this confidence and joy spill over into all areas of their lives.
Please visit our website https://wrightacademics.com/contact/ if you need any help or more information.
Thank you,
Karen Macfarlane
Please tap on the images below to download the resources.
