Tag Archives: organization

Mom-Approved Tips: Staying organized in 2014

 

staying organizedThe New Year is upon us and high school students are gearing up for all types of college-related activities. Juniors and seniors especially are looking toward the upcoming year with anticipation and excitement. There are many tasks to complete and many decisions to be made, but the key to gliding through the process is staying organized.

Here are just a few tips that should help make 2014 a successful year and keep your student organized during the college prep process:

Cleanliness is next to godliness

Teenagers are infamous for messes; their rooms are no exception. It’s no surprise that you’re more productive when your space is clean and organized. Their floor should not be a filing cabinet. You can help by providing them with the tools they need to stay organized. A study station, filing cabinets, wall calendars should help, along with calendars and to-do lists on their smartphones. When any type of college related correspondence comes in, establish a landing space that will help you locate the information when needed.

Tame the email monster

Students will be bombarded with emails from colleges, scholarship search engines, teachers and admissions officers. Get started early by creating an email address specifically for college correspondence: firstname_lastname@gmail.com. Use this email address for all communication and create folders to organize the incoming and outgoing mail.

Show me the money

If you expect to get financial aid, you need to be organized. From scholarship applications to completing the FAFSA, you have to stay on top of deadlines, forms and requirements. Missing deadlines and leaving out essential information could cost you and your teen substantial savings. Establish an organization system early in high school and the scholarship search will be less stressful.

Put your best foot forward

Recommendation letters and college interviews require planning and preparation. Long before requesting those letters, students should be establishing relationships with teachers and mentors. They should be networking with the college admissions officers and doing background research about each school. These tasks require organization and planning.

Make a list and check it twice

The college search process begins with a list—a list of colleges that your student is considering for application. This list begins by putting together a wish list of majors, locations, college services and activities and of course, financial aid data. Before the applications are filed, make sure every item on the wish list is satisfied and the colleges your student chooses meet all their expectations.

Staying organized is never easy. It requires a list of priorities and a commitment to complete the daily tasks as planned. An organized student is a successful student. Commit to staying organized in 2014.

The organizational skills your student will need in college

 

organizationRaising a child is a job full of never ending challenges, and requirements. Beyond discipline and love, a parent needs to offer their children opportunities to prepare for college. The child that is reared with the future in mind is better able to function as an organized adult. Preparing a child to obtain a college education should be a goal of all parents.

In order for a child to be prepared for continuing their education and function as adults, they must have organizational skill sets taught to them. Of all the skills a child will need to attend college, organizational skills rate as being among the most important. An adult child can be smarter than all of the other students in his or her class, but if they are unorganized, they will have difficulties beyond measure.

Stepping Into More Responsibilities Being Better Prepared

When attending college students must follow their educational facilities rules and regulations verbatim. This means they can’t make excuses for not completing homework, showing up late, missing class, or being unorganized. They must be organized and they must function at an adult level, which is fair, after all college aged kids are most often young adults.

Though many movies portray college as one big party, for most students it is not. Attending college means accepting responsibilities unlike any they have ever had to face. Many students must get full or part time jobs, others must keep their grades above the soaring level in order to qualify for scholarships and grants. Being taught to be organized at a young age obviously better prepares students for the real world.

How to Teach Kids to Be Organized

As many parents already know, children tend to mimic their parents habits and behaviors. Trying to teach a child to be organized if living in an unorganized lifestyle is next to impossible. The first step in teaching children to be organized at a young age is to be organized as parents. Taking control over a messy home, paying bills on time, and keeping the junk drawer from overflowing are all positive influences a child will notice.

Parents that are organized can better teach their children to be organized. Parents having a messy desk and those who are always late for appointments and deadlines can teach a child to become disorganized themselves. It is obvious that maintaining a normal everyday life in an organized manner can speak volumes to a child. Purchasing organizational tools such as folders, calendars, dry erase boards, cork boards, and other organizational tools for children can be a big help in teaching them to get and stay organized.

It’s the Little Things That Teach The Most

By helping kids become organized and rewarding them for doing so goes a long ways towards preparing them for a college education. The child who completes homework on time and keeps their school related materials and bedrooms neat and tidy tend to fare better in college. This of course may require a small investment in the tools they need, and the time it takes to teach them, but it will pay off.

A college student will be responsible for keeping track of several courses, and all of the work required of them. They will likely have to juggle a job in between studying and doing homework. In addition they will also have to organize their schedules, keep their dorm room or apartment clean along with paying their own bills on time and shopping for food and clothes. The organized college student will be able to tackle the overwhelming new challenges they will face while getting a college education.

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Author Bio

Ryan Ayers is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to education. In this article, he explains how to prepare a student for college and aims to encourage further study with a project management masters degree.

 

 

Organization starts with a clean room

 

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Studies show that a clean room can help improve grades. The psychology theories behind this fall under the basic idea that a clutter free environment leads to a clear mind. A clearer mind will aide in retention and concentration while reducing distractions. Organization skills can help ensure that it is easier for kids to keep their room clean. One of the most important elements is to not let the clutter and mess to get out of control. Once things get out of control, it makes cleaning it up a bigger and more daunting task.  Getting an organized routine will help kids while in school, but also give them a great foundation for the rest of their lives, especially when they begin the college prep process.

A+ for Organization

For many kids, making a schedule for a cleaning routine can really help keep their room neat and organized. Breaking tasks down into small, easy projects makes cleaning easier for students with short attentions spans and busy schedules. We have 5 easy ways (other than nagging) to help your kids use organization and cleaning and get better studying habits.

5 Tips for Organizing and Keeping Rooms Clean for Studying Success

  1. Make a list or schedule of what to clean when. Keep tasks short so kids do not get overwhelmed with cleaning chores. Keep a calendar of daily and weekly chores that only take a few minutes and will not be a big burden. Something as simple as emptying the garbage can each night can help reduce clutter and keep chores quick and easy.
  2. Reduce room clutter as much as possible. Only keep what you need in your room. Put seasonal items and anything not being used regularly in storage. Clutter causes confusion and stress!
  3. Utilize space saving furniture and tricks wherever possible. Loft beds and under bed storage create a big space savings, as do ottomans with storage and vacuum bags.
  4. Recycle papers you no longer need on a regular basis. Do not keep papers around that you do not need. Scan them if they need to be archived and save them on your computer. This reduces the need to file.
  5. Do not let your room get messy. Fighting a mess is never a winning battle. The first and last step in keeping things organized is making sure that it never gets out of control.

Keeping clutter free and organized will help the school year fly by. The reduced stress that is a result of an organized room will help students get through their school year with success and great grades.  It will also help students as they proceed on to college. Get that Diploma Display ready!

 

Organize, Prioritize and Maximize your College Prep

 

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staying organizedSchool is back in session. College prep is (or should be) in full swing. If you and your student haven’t started thinking about college prep yet, you’re lagging behind. With so many tasks to do and just a few years to complete them, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. Before you tear your hair out and scream in frustration, take a deep breath.

Here are just a few tips to help you start the year off right and stay ahead of the game.

Organize

Organization is your friend. Being disorganized during college prep will cause your student to miss deadlines, neglect to send follow-up emails, and forget who they met at which college. Start the school year by helping your student start a system that keeps them organized. Their bedroom floor is NOT the place to store those important papers and notices. This is the part of the process that you can help them with. After all, haven’t you been doing this for years?

Prioritize

With a myriad of activities going on during school, it’s in your student’s best interest to prioritize their tasks. College prep involves more than test prep and college applications. It’s best to make a list of tasks and do the ones that need to be done first. Which tasks are important? Depending on the grade level there will be various tasks during different times during the school year: test registration, essay prep, scholarship applications and more.

Maximize

Maximize your resources and get help if needed. During the prep process it’s critical to find the best information from the best resources. Read books. Research online. Ask other parents. Talk to high school counselors. Go to information sessions. An informed parent is ready to help when needed, willing to encourage when necessary, and able to guide their student throughout the college prep process.

Keep these three tasks in mind as the school year progresses. Burying your head in the sand isn’t going to help and denial is never a solution.

Remember my motto: Preparation Prevents Panic!

Back to School Resources for parents and students

My favorite lines from “You’ve Got Mail” are:

“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”

Newly sharpened pencils always remind me of back to school days. And when fall comes around, I think about that movie (mostly wishing I were in New York in the fall!); but it also reminds of the promise and expectation of a new school year.

Armed with the right online tools, parents and students can face the new year with anticipation and promise. Having the right tools can mean the difference between organization and frustration. These tools would help students succeed as they enter college. Here are some excellent links that I shared with my newsletter subscribers today that I thought you might find helpful:

42 digital resources for students and parents

http://mashable.com/2011/08/16/back-to-school-student-tech/

7 Great online resources for students

http://www.jobacle.com/blog/7-great-online-resources-for-students.html

Coolest Free Online Resources for Students

http://www.radicalparenting.com/2008/04/17/coolest-free-online-resources-for-students/

9 Hot Web Tools for Students

http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/497

Educational Quiz Games, Homework Help

http://quizhub.com/quiz/quizhub.cfm

How to find great apps

http://theonlinemom.com/secondary.asp?id=1952&t=how-to-find-great-apps

How to get free books online

http://theonlinemom.com/secondary.asp?id=1949&t=how-to-get-free-books-online

25 Amazing web tools students can’t live without

http://listofonlinecolleges.org/2011/25-amazing-web-tools-online-college-students-cant-live-without/

 

Here’s hoping you and your student have a fabulous school year as you look toward college preparation and the future.

 

Information overload




Here’s a great article for your college-bound teen about STAYING ORGANIZED in college. This is one of my favorite topics for parent college coaches as well. It’s the only way to avoid feeling overwhelmed!

By Corey Bobco for The Real College Guide

Getting to school means … being slapped in the face with a semester’s worth of work. Stacks of syllabi have you overwhelmed? Breathe. We show you how to manage.

overloadYou’ve been on the college scene for a few weeks, having the time of your life and wondering what all the university hype is about. So far, all you’ve had to do for your grades’ sake is skim some course readings and listen to a few professors babble in the lecture hall. But then … BAM! After an enlightening series of classes one fine Monday, you realize you’ve got a biology exam and two 1,000-word essays on Homer and Joyce due — all by the end of the week.

Uh-huh. This scenario is all too common, even among seasoned students.
Sure, you can survive it, even if it means pulling a few all-nighters. But if you always let everything pile up until crunch time, your grades will eventually suffer. And so will you.

So how can you avoid epic battles with tests and deadlines so you don’t become a scholastic casualty? Stop stressing. Now. You can tackle time management and stay organized so your course work doesn’t get the better of you. Here’s how:

•    Stay on top of things! May sound like a no-brainer, but no kidding: If you don’t want schoolwork to pile up, you need to actively be aware of when it’s due. Pick up a portable planner — or if you’re computer-oriented, try an app like Google Calendar, which also conveniently syncs with your Gmail account — and copy the entire semester’s worth of assignments, exams and due dates into it from each class’s syllabus. And while we’re on the subject, be sure to carefully read all your syllabi. You may find sneaky stuff hidden in there, like “one full letter-grade drop for every unexcused absence” (true story). It’s better to know sooner rather than later.

•    Got notes? When you’re trying to figure out what’s crucial to know for a test or how to arrange course content into a viable essay, having good notes can be a real lifesaver, so pick up a few loose-leaf notebooks for jotting down info. We don’t recommend taking notes on your laptop — you risk getting distracted by the Internet and missing most of what’s said. Besides, paper provides a much more harmless way of keeping you entertained during idle moments (i.e., doodling).

•    Beating writer’s block When it comes to writing essays, getting those first couple of sentences down — or even just making an outline — can be a challenge, especially if it’s your first assignment. David Uskovich, a writing consultant at the University of Texas-Austin’s writing center stresses the importance of research: “It can put you in conversation with the material you’re trying to cover, which will help you make some connections so you’ll have something to start from when you actually sit down to write the paper.”

Freelance writer Lauren Brown, whose first young-adult novel is due out in the fall of 2010, offers this useful tip: “When I was in college at University of South Florida and had a paper due, there was nothing worse than staring at a blank computer screen and feeling like I had no thoughts in my head. The secret is to slowly condition your brain to start flowing by simply taking a few minutes to write via stream of consciousness. Just write down anything that comes to mind, even if you literally keep writing over and over, ‘Nothing is coming to mind.’ Eventually, your brain will warm up and more fluid sentences will emerge. After maybe 15 minutes or so of doing this, try again to start your paper. You’ll notice that you feel a bit more focused, way more relaxed, a little more creative and a lot less overwhelmed. Anytime you get stuck, just take a break and repeat this exercise.”

•    Outwit exams College tests come in many shapes and sizes, but as a general rule, liberal arts classes usually stick to short-answer and essay-oriented exams, while math and sciences often lean toward a multiple-choice format. For essay exams, it helps to find out beforehand from your professor or T.A. what the test will cover. It never hurts to ask them point-blank a couple of days before the test.

Third-year UT-Austin biology major Ben Cox points out that you can sometimes find many multiple-choice test questions from homework of previous years: “Math and science professors often take the basic idea of homework questions, even optional homework, and tweak only a few figures, leaving the concepts tested by the question intact.”

If you can get your hands on exams from previous semesters, these can also be helpful. Just ask around to find out who’s taken the class before you, or find out if your professor posts old exams on the course Web site. (Note: As long as you’re not memorizing answers, we don’t count this as cheating, but check out your school’s policy to avoid things like, duh, expulsion.)

“While the questions and even content might vary some from year to year, knowing the way your professors format their tests will do wonders for your preparedness,” says Cox.

So there you have it. Just by being organized and putting forth the effort to adequately prep for tests and assignments, you’ll be able to get more z’s … and more A’s — which is sure to put you on good terms with the parentals. And that always comes in handy, of course, whenever you want an “extra something.”

Back to School: Time to get Organized

back to schoolSchool has begun for most of the country and parents are getting back in the routine: morning breakfasts, packing lunches, dropping off at school, chauffeuring their kids for after-school activities, and attending teacher conferences and  PTA meetings in the evening.  Believe it or not, I miss those days. But what I don’t miss is all the chaos. And with teenagers, there is always chaos.

The only way to survive that chaos is to formulate an organization plan. Start by making a resolution to streamline the paperwork the minute it comes home: student guidelines, school manuals, meeting announcements, homework assignments, and any papers that require a parent signature.

There are several “landing” places that we all use: the kitchen table, our teen’s bedroom floor, our kids backpacks, and somewhere  in our car.  These all cause us much heartache later as we scramble around at 7:30 am for the required permission slip  as we are running out the door.

Resolve NOW to have a place for every school related piece of paper that makes its way into your home.

  1. Create a simple filing system using a crate, a box, or file cabinet with school related tabs and folders.
  2. Get yourself a large write on calendar for school activities.
  3. Set up a special “landing” place with a magnet board or bulletin board to keep the papers requiring parent signatures visible.
  4. Encourage your teen to participate in the process by emptying their backpack every afternoon of all important papers.

Before you know it they will be receiving notices of college fairs, booklets with SAT/ACT information, announcements from counselors about scholarship opportunities, and notices of college information nights at PTA meetings. Starting the process early when school begins will get you moving in a positive direction and prevent chaos in the mornings as you walk out the door.

And remember: Preparation Prevents Panic!