Get Ready by Getting Organized

Next week we will start a new school year and it is important to put yourself in the best position possible to be successful.

The first step (whichis easy to skip) is to set your goals for the year.  What are you hoping to accomplish?  What do you need to do to reach these goals?  It is often easier to dream big and, quite honestly, most of you could achieve any goal that you set your mind to, but it will take dedication and commitment.

Many of you are also out searching for new school supplies.  As you buy your folders, binders, and notebooks, pause for a moment to think about what organization system tends to work best for you.  Are you a "stuffer" who just stuffs papers into whatever happens to be available?  If so, folders are probably best for you.  If you are the type of person who wants to be able to combine notes from class with notes that you take from the book, you might gravitate toward a binder with loose-leaf paper rather than a spiral notebook. Whatever system you select, make sure it is one that will work for YOU. And, along those lines, if you're thinking about school supplies, go to your backpack and look at what all you still have left over from last year before you start buying new supplies.  It is also helpful to try to think back over the previous year and reflect on what you ran out of part way through the year.  I feel like students were constantly looking for a pencil or pen (depending on what they prefer) and so if that was you, perhaps buying an extra package of pencils or pens would be a smart decision.

Preparing for success is probably most closely connected to having an organization system for tracking your assignments.  Perhaps you bought a planner or maybe you're hoping to use an app.  It doesn't matter to me what type of an organization system you have selected, but it is essential that you pick something and commit yourself to using it and then ACTUALLY USE IT!

This will be a great year!  I hope you are looking forward to getting started (even though it means that summer is over) and if you need help with setting reasonable goals or with organization, please don't hesitate to stop in and see me.