Remembering to Get Organized

Time and again, I see one of the biggest issues teens have in the classroom is a lack of organization. This is especially true for boys who often seem reluctant to recognize that organization is a critical component of success in the classroom and in developing into an effective adult.


Here, when I say organization I’m really referring to the physical organization of things as well as the scheduling of time. A lack of organization in a student’s physical belongings leaves them unable to locate something and when they don’t keep track of the time of their commitments, they forget they are happening as well. So, in both cases the reliance on memory is kind of the crux of the problem.


I think where many teens fall down on organization is that they just don’t believe it’s necessary. After all, in the moment as I’m shoving this loose but important paper into my book bag, surely I’ll remember it’s between my gym shirt and that other blue piece of paper that’s been in my bag for three months. And, you’re telling me right now that the meeting for parents is Monday the 23rd at 6, how can I possibly forget that in the next three weeks. Well, it’s because a lot can come and go in a young person’s mind to erase those pieces of information within our short term memory. It’s difficult for young people to accept that life is getting so complicated that they must have a better way than memory alone to track what is going on. There is too much for any effective person to remember on their own and young people must track things another way.


When a lack of organization starts to impact things like a student’s grades or their involvement in extracurricular activities, it’s time for a parent to intervene. Teachers usually create systems in their class that are meant to instill good habits of organization (notebook checks, use of planners, etc.) but there is not often direct instruction in organization and when students are not forming the habits the teachers present to them, it’s critical that parents pick up the slack.


If that means requiring your child to clean out their book bag or folder every single night and sorting out what's important from what’s not, and figuring out what information goes where, then so be it. If it means, requiring your student to use a planner that better have something written for every class at the end of the day (even if it’s just “no homework”), then so be it. If teens don’t like you rooting through their book bag or if they don't like whatever consequence you impose when they don’t plan and schedule their time, then there is a really quick way to avoid those things--become organized on their own.


Consequences are crucial in the parents’ efforts to teach organization. Ultimately, the goal is to create an environment where it is more convenient for the child to develop good habits of organization than not. If you’re able to do that, your teen will slowly become an organized person, which hopefully will lead to more positive outcomes, which will reinforce the organized behaviors, and the whole effort can snowball. Make an effort to get your teen organized. It can make a big difference in their success.