4 Great Ways to Organize Your Time in High School

San Diego Tutoring Tips: 4 Great Ways to Organize Your Time in High School

Once in high school students will have a lot more things to do than they did as a middle school student. 9th graders will have a big adjustment in the amount of homework they have and what’s expected of them from the teacher and, once they get into the college prep years, students will also be working on advanced placement courses and test prep. Time management becomes more and more important as students progress towards graduation and can also make a big difference in a student’s stress level. Check out these four great ways students can organize their time during High School – book your high school San Diego private tutor today.

1. Make a plan for the month.

It’s important for students to know what’s going on in the next 30 days in regards to due dates and assignments. Students might have one week where they think they don’t have anything going on at all but forgot that they have two papers due in three weeks time. They could have easily spent their free afternoons writing outlines and formulating a thesis if they had looked ahead in their syllabus. By sitting down and getting organized at the beginning of each month, students can better organize and start preparing for long-term due dates, something that will become especially important once they start taking AP classes (Irvine AP Tutor Tips: 4 Ways to Prep for AP Exams).

2. Prioritize

It’s also important for high school students to start prioritizing the amount of time they spend on a particular assignment and which one gets done first. Students can start by looking at due dates and finish assignments with earlier due dates first. They should also look at their assignments regarding points. For instance, if an extra credit assignment is worth two points and a research paper is worth 20, students are encouraged to work on the research paper first. Students can also think about which assignments they can complete when their mind is a little bit tired and which ones will require undivided focus.

3. Take adequate breaks

Part of planning a study session is scheduling time for breaks. Students don’t work efficiently if they are mentally fatigued, hungry, or have not yet had a chance to exercise. Students may also need mental breaks when switching from one subject to another. It can be a challenge to switch from an algebra assignment to analyzing literature without taking a few minutes to shake off one subject and prepare for the other. Students should avoid spending time online during their break because this is still draining their brain of valuable concentration. Rather, students should get up from their desk and walk around, get some fresh air, a healthy snack, or a drink of water.

4. Avoid unnecessary distractions

When students are distracted, they tend to draw out their study sessions much longer than is necessary. A student who is 100% focused on the task at hand might get an assignment done in an hour while another student working on the same assignment might take an hour and a half or two hours if they are distracted by social media, their phones, friends, or excessive noise. The biggest distraction for students these days is social media. High school students are encouraged to stay off Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter when they are working on important assignments. If students have pop-up notifications, they should turn these off before sitting down to complete an important assignment. Some students can work in a group and still maintain a high level of focus, but others may need to work solo when it comes to challenging homework.

Our in-home San Diego tutoring will help you succeed in high school. Call us today for more information.

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