Getting Organized: Keeping Track of Your Work

You have the space to do your work, now you have to consider how to keep the work itself organized. Looking through a stack of papers to find the one you need for an assignment wastes time. Forgetting to bring home a paper or book you need can hurt your grade on that assignment (or annoy your parents or roommates if you have to go back to school to get the assignment). The following sections describe some strategies for keeping your assignments, books, notes, and other information organized.

Usually, at the beginning of school, you get a list of school supplies and most often, this list includes the number of notebooks and folders you need. You’ll probably need one notebook for each subject, sometimes two. Label your notebooks and use the right notebook for the right class. If you have to take notes for a subject, do so neatly so that you can read them.

You also may keep papers related to each subject in a special folder. To start, label your folders, and when you get a handout, put it in the correct folder. This helps you find that paper when you need it. Periodically clean out your folders and get rid of old papers.

For example, suppose you’re doing a social studies project on Italy and have collected pictures and information from books and the Internet. Save all this information in a folder so that you can quickly find it when you need it.

Find a place at home to also store important papers that you want to save (for example, test scores or major assignments). You might purchase a storage box and save some of your favorite assignments. You may also want to save important graded assignments until after you receive your report card in case there are any discrepancies in the grades. You can save this information in some type of filing system: boxes, a filing cabinet, or some other means.

If you use a computer, keep your information organized on that as well...and back up your work for safekeeping.