If I Was a Student Now: My Favourite Organisation Hacks
If I Was a Student Now: My Favourite Organisation Hacks
A quick list of my favourite methods to stay on top things and make study life a whole lot easier!
In case you missed last week’s post, January is Organisation Month at Cram Lab.
We’re starting the year on a more organised foot to make school and studying that much easier for your teen.
That’s what Cram Lab is all about. Taking the sting out of studying. Helping your teen realise that it doesn’t need to be so hard and stressful.
And it really doesn’t. One thing that I have realised over the years is that none of my study tips are particularly difficult or complex. They are simple, practical and achievable techniques that any student can adopt for themselves.
So here is a quick list of some of my most favourite organisation hacks that helped me get consistently good results which you can share with your teen.
TL;DR: Here’s the very quick list:
1 folder or exercise book for each subject
Keep on top of school work
Just a little bit of study a few times a week
Don’t just put stuff down, put it away
If it takes less than 2 minutes just do it
Start with worst task and get it out of the way
Here’s the fuller run-down..
One folder or exercise book for each subject
Despite being in the digital hellscape age of Tik Tok, I — as I’m sure you are too — am still a huge fan of actually writing stuff.
Class notes, study notes, diagrams — there is something so effective about putting pen to paper to help us understand and remember stuff that typing simply cannot replicate.
Plus your teen presumably sometimes gets given bits of paper they need to keep hold of.
They will make life much easier for themselves if they keep all of their notes and printouts for each subject in one exercise book. No more hunting for lost pits of paper. No more random notes in different places. Everything safely in once place.
Keep on top of school work
When the time for exam study arrives, it’s time to for your teen to develop a comprehensive understanding of what they’ve learnt at school.
It is NOT the time to be teaching themselves what they should know already.
During the year, too many teens make the mistake of thinking they don’t need to pay too much attention to what’s going on in class because they will have time to ‘catch up’ later on. Unfortunately not.
The best thing they can do for their understanding, their results, and their stress levels, is to do little bits of study consistently throughout the year.
It could be that all your teen does is keep on top of their homework. That’s a million times better than nothing. This will allow them to keep up with what’s going on class, stop them from falling behind, and allow them to put their exam study time to productive use.
Just a little bit of study a few times a week
Following on from the previous point, if your teen wants to arrive at their exam study on the front foot, setting aside just a little bit of time each week to going over their class notes and doing a few practice problems will pay HUGE dividends when exams come around.
During term time, a small amount of study goes a very long way. Even 30 minutes once or twice a week can help your teen make huge strides.
Those small study sessions will compound over the course of year, and your teen will arrive at their exam study already well-prepared.
Don’t just put stuff down, put it away
This is one of my absolute favourites, not just for studying but for life in general.
Now that I have three kids it is a constant battle to keep on top of mess. You know how it is. So I do my best not to add to it, by putting things away when I am done with them.
Bills, school newsletters, keys, hairbrush, cards — the temptation to dump stuff on the kitchen bench is strong, but if I do that I’ll lose stuff. Not know where important bits of paper are when I need them.
So I tell myself, just put it away now and then it’s done.
I strongly recommend your teen does the same with their stuff, particularly their study stuff. It makes such a difference for keeping your space tidy and organised, and that organised physical space makes your mental space feel way better too.
If it takes less than 2 minutes just do it
If you have an annoying / boring task that just needs to be done, like tidying something up, cleaning an annoying frying pan, organising your notes for the day, reading the terms of reference of an assignment, then the rule is this:
If it’s going to take you less than 2 minutes, just do it now.
There’s no excuse for not doing a task that will take you less than 2 minutes, and it feels SO GOOD once it’s done. You make mental space for getting on with the rest of your day, without the weight of an annoying task hanging over you. Highly recommend.
Start with worst task and get it out of the way
Okay so these all kind of have a theme — get annoying stuff out of the way and then you can move on guilt free.
This is so true when it comes to studying. It’s awful knowing you have a tough task ahead of you. Maybe it’s maths. Maybe it’s starting an assignment. Maybe it’s starting exam study. Maybe it’s writing an essay.
Whatever the worst thing on your to-do list is, just get it over and done with.
I was a big fan of this when I was in the depths of exam study. A full day of study is a daunting enough thought, but having a horrid task looming over you makes it even worse.
The best thing to do is to get the horrid task out of the way first. It feels so good to get it done, and now you get on with the tasks that you find more enjoyable.
And that’s it folks. Once again you can see that the techniques that I used to get consistently good results at high school, uni and law school, were not particularly mysterious or complex!
These are simple, practical techniques that any student can utilise. It just takes a bit of practice and discipline until it all becomes second nature.
Can you recall any organisation hacks that helped you at school or uni? Is organisation something your teen is struggling with? Let’s talk it out in the comments.
Thanks so much for reading,
Clare x