Tag Archive for: 4 rules for organized living

How to Keep Organized Until the End of School

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It’s the last quarter of the school year and summer is around the corner. It’s also the hardest time to keep motivated for students.  Regardless of whether your student had a successful school year or not, you want to help them end strong. Here are 4 tips to keep in mind as you keep organized until the end of school.

 

Keep organized with routines

As it stays lighter longer, it’s harder to keep your evening routines in place. It’s also hard to get up as daylight comes later.  Keep routines like homework time and evening wind down at the same hour as all year long. A good night’s rest makes it easier to get up in the dark. Starting homework and packing up the back pack at the same time makes sure that all homework is completed and returned to school.

 

Keep prioritizing organization

At this point if you look in your student’s backpack, there’s papers everywhere and no order in binders.  Get everything back in order with your student once a week to keep organization a priority.  Remove the papers that are not needed in school and place these in an accordion file that stays at home to use for semester exams.  Replace pens, pencils and other tools so the back pack is fully stocked for work.

 

Keep organized with visual reminders

Your student’s planner may not be used completely as they slip into the “why does it matter now” phase of school.  Use post it notes and dry erase boards to help reminder them why writing in their planner matters.  Use your family calendar and family meeting to share your own stories of why you write stuff down.  Most student’s hate being told what to do, so keep reminders visual.

 

Keep the end in mind as you move through the final phases of the school year.  It’s about keeping on keeping on!  A big finish makes the year as successful as can be.

 

More tips for student organizing here!

4 Rules for Organized Living

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organized living

My own personal mantra has always been “Keep it simple sweetie.”

No matter the situation or the conversation, my life works best when I keep it simple. What happens when it’s not simple? Stress from clutter, frustration from lack of time, or feelings of being overwhelmed are common when life is complicated. A focus on simplicity brings life into balance.

How do you keep it simple?

• Ruthlessly look for ways to cut down on clutter.

Set up a bag to drop in unused items to donate to our local philanthropies every week. Keep a shopping list of only what’s needed. When something new comes into your home, let go of something else. Simplify by letting go of MORE than you think you can.

• Prioritize you and your family’s commitments.

There are lots of “good” things we “should” do. Know what’s most important to you and your family and align your activities with these priorities. Keep up to date on your personal and family calendars to know what your commitments are.
• Know what papers to keep, what to shred and what to recycle. Set up a command center for papers that come in and triage paper daily. It’s a station in your home and office where paper is kept and categorized. Each day you go through paper and file, shred or recycle. Once a week have an administrative time to go through the remaining paper, pay bills, and do what’s needed.

• Host a weekly meeting for you and your family.

Building your team makes your efforts easier. Having everyone talk through upcoming activities and plans makes for good communication. Add time to your personal calendar for your own weekly planning as well where you consolidate information from papers, kids, email and more.
Have simple systems and routines in place to reinforce your new mantra. Your sense of efficiency, productivity and positivity will grow as a result too!

 

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