The steps that your high school student took from middle school to high school were big steps.  For them finding a way to get to school, handle the increased work load, and having to start thinking about colleges were often overwhelming.  If they have a job or are involved with extracurricular activities it magnifies their new responsibilities.

With teenagers you can’t always tell them about the tools that you know they should use, even though you know they work.  Organization may be something they will have to learn for themselves the hard way; but here are some ways that we can lead them to finding the tools that they should use and learn organizational skills.

Have Resources Available

High school students may not always know what they need and by the time the new semester is getting ready to start they may be in a rush to get organized quickly.  It can’t hurt to have extra pens, pencils, and notebooks around for when they do need it.  The key to organization is having the right tools to help with the process.

Live By Example

High school students may not say so, but they do notice how we live our lives and what we do to stay organized.  Setting your house up for success will rub off on your student.  Some things that you can do are hang a whiteboard of the family’s weekly schedule, maintain personal notebooks, and coordinate schedules so that your student can see the steps that you take to stay organized.

Take advantage of new tools

Organizational materials today are much different than they used to be. There are multiple organizational apps available, along with online resources to keep organized. Excel spreadsheets, usb thumb drives and Evernote are excellent organizational tools. Don’t forget to use apps that allow your student to create reminders and even send them text messages when a project is due. Since there are so many apps to choose from, visit the Apple Store or Google Apps and do a search on “organization”.

Looking toward the future

However you choose to do it, showing your high school student the benefits of being organized are extremely beneficial to their future. Not only will these skills help them as they enter college, they might develop an interest in all aspects of organization and find themselves studying organizational leadership. This is an up and coming major that companies are requiring to stay organized and plan projects.  Organizational leadership degree programs prepare students to be business and program leaders who are skilled in handling the human aspect of business management.