Hey guys, so I’m nearing the end of my senior year, and it’s been great so far! I accomplished my academic tasks efficiently and didn’t 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 I’ve finally found the most effective methods.
Please remember that this isn’t 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, you’ll 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 Everything 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 don’t have to lug around six notebooks where I’m only going to use a few pages in each of them that day.
Subject Notebooks
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 teachers’ notes that they might not have elaborated on, as well as points in the syllabus (I’m 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; it’s more like they missed a few bullet points that should be in my notes but aren’t. An example would be if we’re learning about phenol reactions and the teacher forgot to mention the use of FeCl3 as a test for phenol.)
Revision Notebooks
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, I’ve opted for a revision notebook because they’re lighter and easier to carry around.)
Because my teachers don’t 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 hadn’t been filled in stage two.
When compiling material for my revision notebook, I use as many sources as possible: my own notes, my teachers’ 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. It’s 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. It’s 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 it’s 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 Everything Folder
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 don’t 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.
Subject Binders
At the end of the week, I’ll sort my papers into my subject binders. Sometimes I’ll keep some papers in the folder if I think I’ll be needing it the next week. This usually only applies to worksheets because all my teachers’ notes are available on Google Classroom, so I can access them even if I don’t 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, that’s the magazine file I’ll 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, I’ll 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 won’t waste time looking for your things at the bottom of an abyss.
Pencil Case
I don’t find it necessary to bring so much stationery to school unless I plan on making notes at school (usually during revision week).
Backpack
Because we’re already in the revision term, I don’t really carry a lot of things in my everyday backpack, just the following:
Pencil case
Everything Notebook
Everything Folder
Revision notebook
Kindle
Phone
Wallet
Earphones
Calculator
Speaker
Drinking bottle
A pouch with things like a hairbrush, pads, and lip balm
And that’s all for now! I hope this post will help you organize your school life (if you haven’t already) or at least provide some useful insights on some ways to stay organized as a high school student.
As I get older I’m finding that a lot of the “intellectuals” I used to admire are actually just condescending and pretentious. And also realizing how much more important it is to be present, considerate, and empathetic because nobody really knows what they’re talking about and anyone who claims to know everything about anything is feeding you bs.
A COLLECTION OF VARIOUS TUMBLR USERS’ FAVOURITE WORDS
absolution; act of absolving; a freeing from blame or guilt; release fromconsequences, obligations, or penalties.
acquiesce; accept something reluctantly but without protest.
asterismos;a rhetorical term for an introductory word or phrase that has the primary function of calling attention to what follows.
astronomy; the scientific study of matter and phenomena in the universe, especially in outer space, including the positions, dimensions, distribution, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects.
ataraxia; a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquillity.
aura;a distinctive and pervasive quality or character; atmosphere.
boisterous;noisy, energetic, and cheerful.
bling; a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious, or elaborate jewellery and ornamented accessories
brontide; a low muffled sound like distant thunder heard in certain seismic regions especially along seacoasts and over lakes and thought to be caused by feeble earth tremors.
burgundy; a deep red colour like that of burgundy wine.
cacophony; a harsh discordant mixture of sounds.
camaraderie; mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together.
capricious; guided by whim rather than reason.
cosmic; relating to the universe or cosmos, especially as distinct from the earth.
decadence; moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury.
defenestration; the action of throwing someone out of a window, or, the action or process of dismissing someone from a position of power or authority.
effervescent; vivacious and enthusiastic.
eloquence; fluent or persuasive speaking or writing.
ephemeral; lasting for a very short time.
epinephrine; another term for adrenaline.
epistemology; the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion.
ethereal; extremely delicate and light in a way that seems not to be of this world.
eunoia; comes from the Greek word εὔνοια, meaning “well mind” or “beautiful thinking.”
fantastical; based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal.
furtive; attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive.
gossamer; a light, thin, and insubstantial or delicate material or substance.
halcyon; denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.
ineffable;too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.
intoxication; the state of being intoxicated, especially by alcohol.
lactescere; (Latin) to turn to milk.
leonine; of or resembling a lion or lions.
loquacious; tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
machiavellian; cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics.
mischievous; causing or showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way.
momentum; the impetus gained by a moving object.
myriad; a countless or extremely great number of people or things.
nebulae; a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.
nefarious; (typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal.
nonchalant; feeling or appearing casually calm and relaxed; not displaying anxiety, interest, or enthusiasm.
opalescence; the quality of being opallike, or milkily iridescent.
obligatory; required by a legal, moral, or other rule; compulsory.
orphic; of or relating to Orpheus or Orphism.
parenthetical; relating to or inserted as a parenthesis (explains or qualifies something).
partial; existing only in part; incomplete.
pastiche; an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.
petrichor; a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
phosphenes; a sensation of a ring or spot of light produced by pressure on the eyeball or direct stimulation of the visual system other than by light.
plethora; a large or excessive amount of something.
pleasure; a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.
pretentious; attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.
prosaic; having or using the style or diction of prose as opposed to poetry; lacking imaginativeness or originality, commonplace; unromantic.
resilience; the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
ricochet; a bullet or other projectile rebound off a surface.
sempiternal; eternal and unchanging; everlasting.
serendipitous; occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
sphere; a round solid figure, or its surface, with every point on its surface equidistant from its centre.
soliloquy; an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.
sonorous; (of a person’s voice or other sound) imposingly deep and full.
tenebrific; causing gloom or darkness.
twilight; the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the reflection of the sun’s rays from the atmosphere.
vespertide; the period of vespers; evening.
vicissitude; a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
waltz; a ballroom dance in triple time performed by a couple or to act casually, confidently, or inconsiderately.
