Hey guys, so Iโm nearing the end of my senior year, and itโs been great so far! I accomplished my academic tasks efficiently and didnโt burn myself out, and I think the main contributor to my success as a student is my organization system. This system has been refined throughout my high school years, but I think now Iโve finally found the most effective methods.
Please remember that this isnโt the only organization system you can adopt; this is just the one that works the best for me, and I hope that by sharing it with you, youโll gain a new perspective on how to stay organized as a high school student.
The first thing I wanna talk about is my notebook system, which I briefly mentioned in my Guide to Note-Taking.
My notebook system comprises three types of notebooks: the Everything Notebook, the subject notebook, and the revision notebook.
The first stage is in-class notes. I only bring one notebook to school every day. I call it my Everything Notebook, and this is where I write down all of the notes I take in class. This way, I donโt have to lug around six notebooks where Iโm only going to use a few pages in each of them that day.
At the end of the day, I would revise my notes and compare them to the syllabus so I know where we are in the learning process. I would then transfer my class notes from my Everything Notebook to my different subject notebooks. This is stage two. I also start to jazz up my notes because I use the notes in my subject notebooks to study for tests.
In addition to my class notes, I include material from my teachersโ notes that they might not have elaborated on, as well as points in the syllabus (Iโm currently taking A2) that were only glazed over briefly, or not at all, in some cases. (Note: this does not mean they completely skip a chapter or topic; itโs more like they missed a few bullet points that should be in my notes but arenโt. An example would be if weโre learning about phenol reactions and the teacher forgot to mention the use of FeCl3 as a test for phenol.)
Stage three comes a little later, when exam week is just around the corner. Essentially, I rewrite and improve my notes from my five different subject notebooks into a single revision notebook or binder. (Recently, Iโve opted for a revision notebook because theyโre lighter and easier to carry around.)
Because my teachers donโt always teach in the order of the syllabus, the first thing I do is organize my notes according to the syllabus. I would then fill in any other missing gaps in the material that hadnโt been filled in stage two.
When compiling material for my revision notebook, I use as many sources as possible: my own notes, my teachersโ notes, youtube videos, online sites, and my favorite, the mark scheme! I add in some answers from past papers (explanations only, so no calculations) mainly to secure marks. Itโs safer to memorize definitions straight from the mark scheme than from the textbook or from handouts. I also do this to ease my memorization, especially for topics that require lengthy explanations. Itโs a lot easier to remember the 6 points I need to explain the principles of NMRI than to remember everything in the four-page handout my teacher gave me.
Folders and binders are essential to organizing your papers. Some people keep a single accordion folder for all their papers, but for me itโs just too heavy to carry around all the time. The same goes for subject folders that are brought to school every day.
Instead, my binder/folder system comprises my Everything Folder and my subject binders.
The folder I carry with me to school every day is this A4 folder I got from Tokyu Hands. It has 5 pockets, one for each day of the week, so all the papers I receive on Monday will go behind the first divider, and so on.
Some people also keep blank papers in their folders; I donโt because my school has its own lined paper and graphing pads that I keep under my desk that I use if a teacher asks us to do an assignment on those papers. If I do work at home, I prefer to just use a plain A4 paper or a legal pad.
At the end of the week, Iโll sort my papers into my subject binders. Sometimes Iโll keep some papers in the folder if I think Iโll be needing it the next week. This usually only applies to worksheets because all my teachersโ notes are available on Google Classroom, so I can access them even if I donโt physically have them.
Each of these binders have sections inside them:
Physics: 1 for handouts, notes, and tests, 1 for Paper 4 (Theory), 1 for Paper 5 (Practical Planning). I included extra tabs to mark the different topics in the handouts section.
Chemistry: same as Physics.
Economics: 1 for Paper 3 (MCQ), 1 for Paper 4 (Case Study and Essay). A lot of my Economics material is online, though.
English: 1 for Paper 3 (Text and Discourse analysis), and 2 for Paper 4 (Language Topics, which includes 1 for Child Language Acquisition, 1 for World Englishes). Past papers, handouts, and notes all go under their respective topics.
Mathematics: I just keep everything together because I never revise math and just constantly do past papers.
This makes it easier for me to revise each subject because I can just take one binder with me instead of a messy folder with everything just shoved in there.
I keep a magazine file for each of my A-Level subjects (English and Mathematics are combined). All my textbooks, revision guides, and subject notebooks are kept here, so if I need to revise one subject, thatโs the magazine file Iโll take out.
These magazine files prevent any small things (like my book of flashcards) from being shoved to the back of my bookshelf, or materials from different subjects from getting mixed up.
In my senior year, I mostly plan using this app called Edo Agenda. It syncs across all my devices for free and has all the features I need: a to do list to organize tasks, monthly and weekly calendars to organize events, a journal to organize notes and memos.
I used to bullet journal regularly, but it takes too much time during weekdays, so now I just bullet journal for the therapeutic effects it gives me, and I use an app for organizing tasks and events. Sometimes at the end of each week, Iโll transfer my tasks to my bullet journal and then decorate the page, but again, this is just for its therapy.
Organizing your school supplies is just as important as organizing your papers and notes. With a more organized backpack and pencil case, you wonโt waste time looking for your things at the bottom of an abyss.
I donโt find it necessary to bring so much stationery to schoolย unless I plan on making notes at school (usually during revision week).
Because weโre already in the revision term, I donโt really carry a lot of things in my everyday backpack, just the following:
A pouch with things like a hairbrush, pads, and lip balm
And thatโs all for now! I hope this post will help you organize your school life (if you havenโt already) or at least provide some useful insights on some ways to stay organized as a high school student.
gracieabrams
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
