Blue backpack with blue and yellow school supplies sticking out of all pockets

How to Get Organized and Manage Your Time as a High School Student

Struggling to get it together? These simple tips can help you get organized, get homework done efficiently, and manage your time better in high school.

I am involved in about a million activities inside and outside of school. I take six classes, four of which are APs, and I also work at least four days a week. I am a figure skater, which means I wake up at 4:00 am and practice for two hours four times a week. I’m extensively involved in the music program at my school as a part of the wind ensemble, symphony orchestra, jazz band, marching band, pit ensemble, and other chamber ensembles. I also run a club that gives free music lessons to young students for two hours weekly. As a second-semester senior who has done it all, let me tell you—time management is important! No matter what your focus is, managing your time effectively is the key to being successful. Here are some easy tips for getting homework done quickly and for general time management in high school.

Tips for general time management

Before we get into the real stuff you want to know (how to get your homework done quickly and efficiently), you have to set yourself up for success by improving your time management and organization skills. Here are some sure-fire ways to stay on top of everything that will lead to you having an easier time getting your assignments done.

Use a planner

Before senior year, I had never used a planner to schedule my activities. I just figured they weren’t important and I didn’t do enough to need one. But trust me—whether you have one extracurricular a week or are the president of three clubs, in the school musical, and on the cheer team, a planner will save your lifeIn your planner, go through your calendar and write down all your activities. Even if you use your phone calendar, copy things down into your planner’s calendar. It is helpful to have everything in a tangible source. Then you can go through the week-by-week sections and write down what events you have. You should also write down your homework assignments, exam dates, and general to-do lists. This will help make sure you know exactly what is on your schedule and when.

Open green daily planner with quotes and blocked out events Open daily planner with quotes and blocked out events
📸: Rebecca Blyn

There are also creative ways to use a planner! Check out these pictures of my friend’s planner. You can personalize your organization and make things your own with colored pens, drawings, and even stickers. If you’re opposed to keeping a journal, you can buy weekly calendar-style sticky notes that allow you to organize your materials and mark when things should be done in a less permanent way.

Related: Why Every College Student Should Keep a Planner

Use Reminders on your phone

The Reminders app on my iPhone has been one of my main methods of organization. I don’t normally take my planner to school with me, so when I need to remember to do something when I get home, I put it in Reminders. This app is also great for small reminders that you don’t consider worthwhile to put in your planner. The alert notification only goes away when you mark the task as “completed,” so you can keep the alert on your lock screen until you finish your task to remind you that it needs to be done. There are various alternatives for Androids as well that accomplish the same function.

Stay organized

As my last tip, I want to remind you that organization cannot be a one-time hobby. It is something that you have to stay committed to. Getting started can be difficult, but once you get in the swing of organization, you will wonder why you waited so long! I promise it will be worth your while, and in the long run, it will teach you lots of skills that will be important when you leave school and get a job. For now, just take baby steps, and you’ll do great.

How to get homework done quickly and effectively 

Now that you’re armed with the information to manage your time and organize your materials, here’s how you can use those skills along with these tips on avoiding distractions to get your work done with ease.  

Turn off your phone

Hear me out! I know we all have a special relationship with our cellular devices, but putting it away for a bit is helpful in more ways than one. It’s so easy to pick up your phone to answer a text and get sucked into the vast web of games, social media, and communication. If you’ve ever told yourself that you would use your phone for two minutes and ended up in the same position 30 minutes later—trust me, I’ve been there too. Save yourself the trouble and just turn your phone off! Use a computer if you need the Internet, and tell your friends and family that you won’t be answering their texts or phone calls for the next few hours. You’ll be surprised how much work you can get done in a short amount of time without constantly checking your notifications.

Related: 6 Tips for Dealing With Distractions in Online Classes

Give yourself frequent breaks

This may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s important. If you want to get work done, you have to give yourself some time off. Sitting down and working straight for three hours will not be productive. So separate your studying and homework into 45-minute chunks, then take a five- to 10-minute break, making sure not to get distracted by your phone or TV. You have to go back to work after your break, or you’ll never get anything done. But you’ll get your work done more quickly and successfully by taking a few breaks every now and then.

Use a reward system for motivation

If you have trouble forcing yourself to sit down and study, use some motivation! For every 10 problems you finish, or for every 25 pages you read, you can give yourself snacks, regulated phone time, reading time, or anything else that would normally be a treat. This goes hand-in-hand with frequent breaks. Just make sure you don’t waste too much time on your prize! You can set a short timer so that you don’t get too carried away.

Clean your study space

For me, an unorganized study space makes it impossible to get work done effectively. It’s difficult to concentrate, and I get frustrated easily. Having things in your study space can also be distracting! It’s very easy to focus on the empty cereal box on the counter rather than your math equations. Take the extra time to ensure your study area is clean and organized. In the long run, by investing those extra few minutes, you’re saving yourself tons of time.

Utilize sound

Experts say that having music on while doing homework can actually be a good thing! Depending on the rigor of what you are working on, having sound in the background can help you concentrate. When it comes to difficult work such as tests and stressful papers, it’s best to turn the music off, but feel free to enjoy your tunes when doing your normal busy work. You can even try listening to instrumental music or songs in different languages (that you don’t speak) to avoid focusing on lyrics and becoming distracted.

Color code

This is a common study method to help save time, but it’s tried and true! It’s much easier to focus on your studying when you’re not staring at a white page with black blocks of writing. Introducing some color coding can help mix things up and keep your brain focused! You can also learn to associate certain facts and subjects with colors. This is great when you have to recall something from memory for a test. 

Related: Better Note-Taking Tips for High Schoolers to Take to College

Realize that if you finish your work, you can take time for yourself! Time management is about staying organized, but it’s also about doing it in your own way. Just do what makes sense for you, as everyone has different methods. I wish you the best of luck in your organizational journey!

Do you have friends who need help balancing everything on their plate? Recommend our video on organization and time management skills on YouTube!

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Rebecca Blyn

My name is Rebecca Blyn, and I am currently a senior at a public high school in California. I am so excited to be a part of CollegeXPress! Currently, I am extensively involved in the music program at my school, participating in the marching band, wind ensemble, symphony orchestra, jazz band, and pit orchestra. In college, I am planning on a Chemistry major, with a Music and/or Political Science minor. Outside of classes, I would love to take part in the student newspaper as well as undergraduate research at whichever college I choose to attend!

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Arcadia University

Glenside, PA


Victoria Fuss

Victoria Fuss

March Madness Scholarship Winner, Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has helped me dramatically. Moving on to the next level has been a dream of my mine since I was just a young kid, and the support and help CollegeXpress has given me will help me further my education. I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone at CollegeXpress!

Sonny Harris

Sonny Harris

College Student

For the entire year before college, I spent a lot of time deeply considering what major I wanted to go into and how to fund my higher education. After a lot of research, I came across CollegeXpress, which helped me ultimately find a ton of scholarships for which I could apply—and some of which I received! If it weren’t for CollegeXpress, I may not have found those scholarships as they didn't appear on any other scholarship search forum. Additionally, I learned more about the options I had been considering for my major through CollegeXpress’s resources. In the end, I chose to major in Computer Science, as it seemed best suited to me and the careers in the field seemed enjoyable, and I've never been more excited to move into my future! Ultimately, I want to thank CollegeXpress for offering their services. I received enough financial aid in scholarships to fund my entire freshman year of college and even got some money refunded which I used to purchase a new laptop, and I bought all of the books I needed for the semester!

Jenna

Jenna

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress has helped me greatly during my college search. I used their college search feature often and it helped in comparing schools I was looking at. Now that I’ve found a college the scholarship search feature is helping me find a way to find my college experience. CollegeXpress has many helpful features and resources for anyones college search, it truly is a wonderful tool for anyone entering college level!

Caio Matos

Caio Matos

High School Class of 2022

Starting the college admissions process as an international student was daunting. Thankfully, CollegeXpress was the first website I used for that cause and it helped me so much, from knowing where to start to deciding what my next move would be. I'll take a gap year, but I’m certainly using the website again when applying for fall 2023.

Priscilla Yeboah

Priscilla Yeboah

High School Student

I was afraid and timid throughout my search for colleges, but I finally found the college that was fit for me and luckily I got accepted. One of the most influential things that helped me was the articles and advice on CollegeXpress. They've helped me a lot and benefited me as a senior to make the right choices in life. Thank you!