As the new school year approaches, emotions fluctuate within all students. Some may feel excited and ready to conquer a new academic season. Others may feel anxious and fearful for the next ten months of nonstop work ahead of them.  

Negative emotions create a negative mindset, and therefore can impact student’s success negatively. A positive mindset comes from feelings of being prepared and organized. Although staying organized seems like a difficult task, at the end of the day it takes minimal effort and will help you put your best foot forward for this school year.   

Below are my steps to help you stay organized this school year: 

Step 1: Create attainable and sustainable goals 

The word attainable means possible and achievable. Realistic goals are better than non-achievable ones because students can balance and grow from those possible goals. These goals could be mainly focused on weak course areas or classes you struggle in. They may also be personal goals with extracurricular activities. Creating sustainable goals is important because it helps to pursue motivation within. Crossing off a line from a list, or writing a checkmark when you finish a task, is one of the most satisfying moments as a student.  

Step 2: Overachieve when you can!  

Overachieving includes extra studying, completing homework earlier than expected, and finding extra practice resources.  

This can also help students who tend to procrastinate. For example, if you have an assignment due in three days, try to complete it in two days. Overachieving helps to pace yourself with different course areas. For example, if you struggle with a certain class, you may want to focus more on it and overachieve studying for the class rather than a class you are confident in.  

Step 3: Take good notes 

The importance of notes is crucial because it is one of the best ways to learn and study. Writing good notes helps to understand material better. Two ways to create better notes is to annotate and write your notes in your own words. Copying words directly from the board or teacher is at times not beneficial because of unfamiliarity of the subject. That is why writing notes in your own way helps to understand the concept.  

“With self-discipline most anything is possible,” said Theodore Roosevelt. As a rising junior in high school, I’ve learned that staying organized and being timely is what determines how you enjoy your year. Being stressed and worried makes you feel unmotivated, and you also don’t appreciate the fun in school. Although you want to be studious, you want to enjoy the spirit and joy that school can bring. That feeling of peace comes from the magic of organization.