If you're a middle school student, you know how easy it is to lose count of scattered papers and homework. Follow the instructions in the article to reorder them by subject and avoid leafing through dozens of disorganized pages. If you manage to collect all the papers in one or two binders, it will be much more difficult to forget the notebook at home.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Tidy the Binder
Step 1. Sort your sheets by subject
If your binder or notebook is full of scattered notes from different subjects, start by dividing them into separate piles. Arrange these piles in a row based on the order in which you attend the subjects.
Step 2. Go through each pile and remove the oldest sheets
Take out the correct homework and older homework, and put it in a separate binder or folder to leave at home, which can be useful in preparing for classwork. Put aside your classwork from previous years, homework, and papers that have nothing to do with school. Keep everything you think will be useful to you in your study, as well as any homework you or your parents want to keep for your satisfaction. Throw the rest away.
Keep the binder "at home", or the folder, in a discounted place, so as not to lose it in the clutter, like a shelf in your room
Step 3. Arrange the remaining sheets in a binder
Keep a single binder for all subjects, to be more orderly and to avoid confusion between one binder and another. If you have too many sheets, try dividing them into two binders, using one of the following systems.
- Try to use one binder for morning subjects and one for afternoon subjects. If you have a locker at school, you will only need to carry one of the binders around at a time, but remember to grab both of them before you go home.
- If your school has pre-set subjects for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and others for Tuesday and Thursday, divide the sheets into two binders. This way, you will only be able to take one binder to school. In the evening, before going to school, remember to pack the right binder in your backpack.
Step 4. Insert colored dividers for each subject in the binder
The dividers are simply colored sheets, which usually have a small label on which to write the name of the material. Put the colored dividers in the binder according to the order in which the materials are followed. For example, if your first subject is math and your second is English, put a blue divider labeled "math" as soon as you open the binder, followed by a red divider labeled "English".
Step 5. Put a folder with holes for each subject
If you use the folders in the binder, you will avoid constantly opening and closing the rings to pull out and put in the sheets. Do not use the folders for all the scattered papers, but only for the homework that are to be taken to school the next day, because they will not have to stay in the binder for long.
Step 6. Use a plastic sleeve to protect all important papers
Most subjects have a syllabus, homework list, and other papers that you need to check during the semester. For each subject, find a plastic case or protective "sheet" with holes in it, and place it in the binder for each subject. Keep each important sheet in a different case to protect it from tearing.
Step 7. Put the other sheets in order and check if you need the white dividers
Before putting the rest of the sheets in your binder, sort them by subject from oldest to newest. If you have more than fifteen scattered sheets, to organize them into categories, use white dividers, which are white sheets with labels, similar to the colored plastic dividers you already put in the binder. However, being the same color, they remind you that they divide sheets of the same material, instead of different materials. Here are some examples of how you could divide the sheets into many sections:
- For all subjects, you could use the white divider sheets labeled: "Notes", "Assignments" and "Notes".
- If a teacher gives you an assignment on a specific topic, organize the notes of the subject according to that particular topic, so that it is easier to study. For example, tag the English dividers in: "Reading Work" and "Vocabulary".
Step 8. Insert the remaining sheets
Once you have decided how to divide them, place each sheet after the corresponding colored divider by subject and after the white divider by category, if you are using them. Arrange each sheet in each section, from the most recent to the oldest, to find them more easily.
Step 9. Add lined papers to take notes
Put about twenty lined papers for each subject. Sure you'll need a lot of more sheets throughout the semester, but you won't have to add all of them now. Keep as few sheets as possible in your binder, to find them faster and reduce the weight you will have to carry around every day.
Add the squared sheets for math and science, if requested by the teacher
Method 2 of 2: Keeping the Order
Step 1. Tidy up your binder every night before school
Take some time each day to check your backpack, sheets and supplies. Put your old works and papers in a folder to leave at home, to make it easier for you to study later. Check that all your homework is placed in the right folder in your binder.
Some people remember to do this more often if they fix the binder as soon as they get home. Waiting too long can make you reluctant to go into "school mode"
Step 2. Use a diary
A daily diary or a portable calendar make organizing tasks easier. Many people write their homework reminder on the day's delivery page. However, if you keep forgetting to check your homework, you can try a different system, which allows you to mark all the tasks to be done on the same page.
- Whenever you have a new task to do, write it in your journal on the page of the day they assign it to you. Write the due date next to the assignment name.
- Every night after school, check your diary for the page from the day before. Go through all the assignments you have done and rewrite the names of any incomplete assignments on today's page.
Step 3. Keep all home supplies in a special place
Notebooks, binders, and all the correct homework, once left at home, can easily get lost in a pile of clutter. You can avoid this by clearing the space on your shelf or desk and always leaving your notebooks in the same place. Leave all the sheets in the folders divided by subject, separate from the binder.
Step 4. Use the color code for the notebooks according to your binder
Theoretically, you shouldn't need any more notebooks, however teachers may ask for them. If they do, it may be easier to remember what material the notebook is, keeping the same color code as the binder. For example, if you keep your math notes after a blue divider, then choose a blue math notebook.
