1. Have a place for everything! If you keep all your school supplies in one box, then you will have everything you need before you begin your assignment and your work will not be interrupted to get the necessary items. Just make sure that you put things back where they belong when you are finished so that they will be there the next time you need it.
2. Keep your book bag and locker organized on a daily basis. Separate the items into one of three groups: 1) things that should be in the book bag/ locker, 2) things that should be stored elsewhere, and 3) things that should be thrown out. Then take action! First throw out the trash. Put the things that go elsewhere in a folder of the appropriate subject, etc. Organize the things that belong in the book bag/ locker. For example, instead of having pens, markers, and pencils rolling around, put them in a pencil case.
3. Organize your work area. It should be in a place where there is a hard surface to write on, plenty of space for you to spread out your materials, plenty of light, and no distractions (such as television, phone, brothers and sisters, etc.). Find one place that you will use on a consistent basis only for studying. That way, when you are there it will be clear that you are there for one purpose only—to study and complete your homework! Tell your family about your study place, and ask them to help you by not interrupting you when you are studying.
4. Complete your assignment notebook as soon as a teacher assigns any work to be done. That way if you have a question about what the assignment is, you can easily find out by referring to it! It will also let you know what materials you will need to bring home to complete the assignment.
5. Color code all your subjects. For example, use a red folder for math, blue for English, etc. This will really help get all the necessary materials to and from class (and you won’t accidentally grab the wrong book or folder).
6. Keep a pad of post-it notes handy. After each class, attach a self-stick note to a book if you need to bring it home to complete an assignment. At the end of the day, you just need to grab the books and folders with the post-it notes on them!