Staying Organized: How Organization Helps Students Flourish
I put it right here! Oh wait…no…I think it’s there?
For Beth, staying organized was never easy for her. She would remind herself in her head all day to clean out her backpack for the next day, and when she got home to do it, she realized her room needed to be cleaned too. Instead of organizing one and then the other, she tried to do both at the same time. This then caused her to misplace the school stuff in her room before forgetting where she had put it, causing her to rip it apart, undoing whatever organization she had done before.
Beth did this with more than just her room and backpack. She would try to make plans with her friends, causing her to schedule two events in the same day, and with her after school clubs. She would commit to one thing and forget she had already committed to another because she had trouble keeping things organized. This then caused her to be asked less and less to events and other things because people would worry, she would have to cancel last minute like usual. As time went on, Beth felt as if she was becoming more and more isolated, and when she expressed that to her parents, they reached out to the Support for Students growth Center for help.
There, Beth met with a coach weekly to try and avoid having her underdeveloped organizational skills prevent her from enjoying things in her life. She learned different strategies such as utilizing a color-coded planner, timers, and reminders. With these skills and a level of accountability, Beth was able to start taking control of her life again.
Organization is more than just a chore. It helps students be able to focus on multiple things at once without having to worry about what comes next, how much time they have, or where they put something. It can aid them when moving from one task to another, feel confident in initiating that task, and not feel as if they are drowning in all their responsibilities. Being unorganized can cause a lot of stress. They may feel as if suddenly everything is too much all at once, causing them to shut down, fall behind academically, as well as struggle with emotional regulation because they may believe no matter what they do, it is just too overwhelming. This can then not only affect their academics, but their personal and social life.
Frustration, emotional outburst, social isolation and more can all be a result of their poor organization skills because of the stress that comes with it. They may focus so much of their time on trying to figure out how to find what they lost and/or organize a task to be able to complete it properly that they do not have time for themselves or their friends. However, if they can get ahead of this issue, then they will be able to feel not only confident in whatever they are doing but, in their ability, to execute it because they know exactly how and when to do it because they organized that task properly. Keeping a planner, learning a routine, separating homework into different folders, setting reminders, and more are all things students can use and do to stay organized, and at the Support for Students Growth Center, we help teach them these skills and more to ensure they are able to not only get things organized, but keep them that way as well.
At the Support for Students Growth Center, we provide social, behavioral, educational, emotional, and executive functioning skills services children, teens, young adults, and their families need for a happy and successful life in and out of school settings. Our team of professionals offers individualized and family coaching/counseling and social skills groups to help teach skills such as how to remain organized to ensure parents do not have to worry that their kids will be unable to make and maintain a functioning independent life on their own. So, if your child is struggling with skills like the ones listed above and much more, the SSGC is equipped with the tools to help.
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Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the Support for Students Growth Center and College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of children, teens, young adults and college students and those high school students preparing for college
