Baskets and file folders

Not to get carried away with this stuff, but there IS a place in your life for organization.

It's almost the end of the first semester, and stuff is really piling up in my world. Here's what's saving me from drowning in paper.

First,  a plastic basket about the size of notebook paper or a little bigger, for tossing all the completed work that can stay home - usually because it's been graded and returned, or it was for reference and you're done with that topic, etc.

What's great about this is if you do it right - which means staying on top of it most days - then it's sort of like an archeological dig:  the deeper you go, the older the material. Don't throw stuff away, but don't keep carrying it around with you. Put it in the basket and it will be there if you need it.

You want more organization? File folders. Just make one per course, and then after you close out a chapter (or whenever you feel like you want a little more o-r-d-e-r in your life) just sort whatever's in the basket into the folders. Put the folders in a file drawer of that otherwise empty desk. Then admire your empty basket.

See, doesn't that feel good? You are not drowning in a blizzard of paper afterall.

Relationships, or not

I know that  I learn better and work harder for a teacher I have a good relationship with. Duh, right?

But what I've realized this year is that if I DON'T have a good relationship with a teacher, I let that get in the way of my learning what I need to learn in a class. What I mean is that I don't go to tutoring to get extra help, or even ask questions in class.

The problem is that this hurts me, and has absolutely no effect on the teacher.

So I'm trying to remember that this is MY education, MY grade, MY high school years. And I'm trying on a new approach - that I'm not going to let it get in my way.

I'm also trying to understand why I have great relationships with some teachers, and not so great ones with others. For me, it's all about sarcasm, impatience and irritability. Some of these teachers just aren't very nice people, in class or after class, with me or anyone else as far as I can tell. Some of them don't seem to care much about teaching whatever it is they're here to teach, and some seem to like teaching just fine but not the students.

It makes the nice teachers who seem to care really stand out.

Sometimes this means I have to decide how bad I want the help. But sometimes it means getting a tutor outside of school. Or using online study websites.

Whatever it takes, is my point.

Grocery shopping for the rest of us

I am grocery shopping on my own for the first time these days, now that I can drive, and I've discovered you can wander around a grocery store for a LONG time if you're not careful, looking for what you want to buy. In fact, they're designed that way.

Which is fine, if that's what you have time for - Target is always good for a half hour.

But if you want to get in and get out, try making a list, and put the things on your list together if they're in the same area:  dairy with dairy, etc. And better get a basket, because there's a lot of stuff to try.

Breaks and something called diminishing return

Not to depress you, but have you ever thought about the average high school student's day? Seven hours, a short lunch, rushing around from class to class. Tutoring or clubs or practice or games or other things to do after school. Home by dinner time, then homework for like two or three or four hours. Homework assignments on weekends, and even on holiday breaks. It's like having a full time job and a part time job too.

The longer we work and the tired-er we get doing homework, the less we get done and the harder it is to do good work.

Breaks are the answer. The later it gets, the more breaks we need. Try taking 10 or 15 minute breaks every 30 or 45 minutes. It really makes a difference, even though what you probably want to do is just push through and get it over with.

Just make sure you get back to work after the break.

Be safe with a safe

Go to Target and look at what are called document safes. They come in different sizes, but the point is to have one you can lock.

So, obviously, someone could pick these safes up and walk out with them, but that's not the point. What you want is a place for the important stuff, so you can keep it in a special place and know where it is:  passport, blank checks, receipts, etc. Stuff you don't want laying around for just anyone to see. Maybe those notes from your first girlfriend in 5th grade. Whatever.

From Cleared to Cleared

This may be obvious to you already, but apparently I keep forgetting it and when I remember to do it my life is just so much easier.

Before you spread out all the papers and books from your backpack or notebook, make sure the desk is clear.

That way when you're done (or think you are) with everything you need to do, as you gather it all back up and organize it for the next day, it's harder to forget something.

You know, from cleared (surface) to cleared.

First, pile it all up

This is getting harder and harder to do, now that I have a multi-section backpack AND a 3-ring binder AND all these pockets AND a car.

Before I get started on my homework, the first thing I have to do is chase down all the various pieces of paper from that day:  folded, crumpled, misfiled, loose at the bottom of the backpack.

Pile it all up in one place, and sort it all out:  to do tonight, to do another time (tip: put the due date at the upper right corner), stay at home, file with the class section of the notebook for use at school, etc.

If I don't, once or twice a week I miss a deadline, or panic and rush to finish an assignment I forgot because I didn't find the paper until I was doing the laundry, or looking for something else, etc. Not a good feeling.

The alternative, of course, is to carefully organize these papers as I proceed through the day. Not going to happen.