The Organized Life

 August is here and summer is coming to a close.  Nearly all campus leaders are back at work and teachers will soon return as well. One of the most important things to do as you prepare for a new year is to organize your life.
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The weekend before I returned after a 2-week vacation, I organized my house and as soon as I returned to work, I organized my office.  I realized that after many years in education, I do this each time I return to work after a long vacation… Christmas break and summer break.  The reflection also made me realize how much this one act makes me feel ready for the challenges of the months ahead.  Not only does de-cluttering help you be prepare for what’s to come, it also can help with time management.  If things are well-organized, you’ll save time.  Who doesn’t want to gain time back since it seems like we never have enough of it.  
Read below for tips on how to organize your life before the school year gets underway.
 
Home
Clear off those countertops that have become overly cluttered from the hectic lives most of us live.  The kitchen counter that accumulates the junk mail.  The breakfast table that may accumulate the opened mail that has not found a home.  The living room that may have accumulated the throw blankets used for those cozy days/nights on the couch vegging out.  The bedroom nightstands that accumulate any and everything.  Clear all counters and find homes for everything that seems to be out of place.  Designate a home for these things and create a habit to put all things in their places each day.
 
Work
Clear off all paperwork from visible areas (even those in nice, neat piles!).  JAs you are cleaning, place the papers in piles for filing.  Make files for each category and file the papers away.  Consider getting two bins (in and out bins) for your desk.  Designate one for mail that is coming in to you.  Make an effort each day to clear out the “in” box and place in the “out” box.  Try to minimize paperwork.  When people offer to give you documents, ask them to mail you the electronic copy. When you receive it electronically, save it to a file on your computer.
 
Classroom
Follow office directions above for your desk.  In addition to office de-cluttering, designate a place in your classroom for the following items:

• Assignment submissions
  • I’ve seen many different ways to do this.  You might consider buying small bins and designating one for each class period. Train students to turn their homework or class assignments in the bins on the due date.  For a quick way to check if everyone has turned in their assignments, you can give each student a number in their classroom.  Quickly order the papers in numerical order.  You’ll be able to see who did not turn in an assignment quickly.
• Student Attendance
  • You might consider a chart of some type with names of students on cards.  The cards should have a different color on each side with a place for the student’s name on each side.  For instance, one side may be red and the other side green.  The green side means the student is present. The red side means the student is absent.  Each morning, make sure all cards are on the red side.  Train students to turn their cards over when they walk in the classroom so you can take attendance quickly.  When taking attendance, look at your chart, count how many red cards are not turned over and look at those names.  Scan the room for those students… if you don’t see them, then you know to count them as absent.  For secondary classes where students might think it’s funny to turn someone’s card over saying they are present when they are not, you might want to count how many students are in the classroom and make sure that’s how many green cards you see.
• Work spaces
  • Designate an area for students to work in small groups.  Although small groups are a given in elementary classrooms, they can be highly effective in secondary classrooms as well.  For elementary teachers, place your small group table in an area of the room where you can quickly and seamlessly scan the room and monitor that every student is on task at work stations.  For secondary teachers, designate an area or identify how you’ll have students turn their desks to make a small group.
• Materials 
  • “All of my students always have their necessary supplies everyday”, says no teacher ever. Since we know our students don’t always have their materials, designate an area in the classroom where they can quickly access pencils, pens, paper, etc.  Train students to get the supplies they need each day as they walk in the room to minimize distractions during instructional time.

This is just a beginning of how to organize every area of your life.  Start here and then find ways to take your organization to another level. Get organized and have an awesome start to the new school year!