organize me

8/7/2019 Organize Me

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Organize Me

Teachers Notebook


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Table of Contents

How to Use this book 2

Hour One Checklist 3

Introduction 4Learning Styles/Abridged Intake 5

Organizing the Notebook 10

Taking Notes, Two Column, Others 11

Hour One Homework 13

Hour Two Checklist 14

The Importance of Control 15

Control in School 17

Control at Home 18

Methods of Self-Regulation, Calendars, Checklists, Time Maps 20

Hour Two Homework 22

Hour Three Checklist 23

Daily Planner 24

Success in School Overview 25

Active Listening 26

Active Reading 27

Methods of Studying: Smart cards 29

Hour Three Homework 30

Hour 4 Checklist 31

Terrible Teachers 32Writing Papers and Completing Projects 34

Hour Four Homework 36

Hour Five Checklist 37

Homework Review 38

Approaching Procrastination: Getting things done 39

The Daily Routine: Structure 40

The Small Step 41

Hour Five Homework 42

Hour Six Objective List 43

Keeping on Top of Things: Maintaining Success 44Knowing Your Resources 45

Introduction to Technology 46

Conclusion


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How to Use This Book

This is a complete guide to the Organize Me course.

What this book provides is an overview of each objective on each hour that a

student is meant to complete, and is designed to guide a person through the basics

of what that entails.

In order to best use this notebook, the instructor should be familiar with

organizational techniques mentioned in this binder. Examples are included, but

information is not comprehensive. In addition, the instructor should use the intakeform (abridged in this notebook), in order to cater the learning material to the

students difficulties and interests.

The organization of this notebook is designed as if the student were taking each of

the six hours on separate days. Homework review and sections are therefore placed

on each hour, and may not apply to each day. The goal of the course is to have

each checklist completed by the end of the course. While the order of the material

is a suggested order, it is by no means the only order in which to complete this

course.

As a final note, hour six includes a basic introduction to technology available to the

disorganized. The teacher should familiarize herself with the programs listed if she

wishes to give a demonstration of a programs use. This binder does not give a

walkthrough of these items.


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Hour One Checklist

C IntroductionC Learning Style WorksheetC IntakeC Organize NotebookC Note takingC Homework assignment


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Introduction

[To be written by Pat Wagner(?)]


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Learning Styles Worksheet

Name: ______________________

Personal Styles: Whats your receptive learning style?

Extrapolated from Feldmen (2002).Power Learning Strategies for Success in College and Life,2/e, New

York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

1 = Not at all useful

2 = Not very useful

3 = Neutral

4 = Somewhat useful

5 = Very useful

1 2 3 4 5

1 Studying alone2 Studying pictures and diagrams to understand complex ideas

3 Listening to class lectures

4 Performing a process myself rather than reading or hearing about

it

5 Learning a complex procedure by reading written directions

6 Watching and listening to film, computer, or video presentations

7 Listening to a book or lecture on tape

8 Doing lab work

9 Studying teachers hand-outs and lecture notes

10 Studying in a quiet room

11 Taking part in group discussions

12 Taking part in hands-on classroom demonstrations

13 Taking notes and studying them later

14 Creating flash cards and using them as a study and review tool

15 Memorizing and recalling how words are spelled by spelling them

out loud in my head

16 Writing key facts and important points down as a tool for

remembering them

17 Recalling how to spell a word by seeing it in my head

18 Underlining or highlighting important facts or passages in my

reading

19 Saying things out loud when Im studying

20 Recalling how to spell a word by writing it invisibly in the air or

on a surface

21 Learning new information by reading about it in a textbook

22 Using a map to find an unknown place

23 Working in a study group

24 Finding a place Ive been to once by just going there without

directions


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Scoring: The statements cycle through the four receptive learning styles in this order (1) visual/verbal,

(2) visual/nonverbal, (3) auditory/verbal, and (4) tactile/kinesthetic.

To find your primary learning style, disregard your 1,2, and 3 ratings, add up your 4 and five ratings for

each learning style. Use the following chart to link the statements to the learning styles, and to write

down your summed ratings.

Learning Style

Learning Style Statements Total Sum of Rating Points

Visual/verbal 1,5, 9, 13, 17, and 21

Visual/nonverbal 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22Auditory/verbal 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23

Tactile/kinesthetic 4, 8, 12, 16,20, and 24

What do each of these mean?

A visual/verbal learner will:

A visual/nonverbal learner will

An auditory/verbal learner will

A tactile/kinesthetic learner will


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Intake

Note: This intake is not the complete intake form originally created for this course.

The one in this notebook is designed to be completed quickly, especially by a

substitute teacher, in order to best ascertain problem areas, and effectively use this

course. Questions are in approximate order of relevance to each hour, though there

is much overlap. Space is also left for additional notes.

Why are you in the Organize Me program? (Indicates willingness to participate,

and self knowledge of problem areas)

What do you seek in gaining through the material of this course? [e.g., skills,

knowledge, etc.]

How successful do you feel in school? Could you be getting better grades?

Where are your difficulties (if any) in the classroom?

[Anxiety, how do you act when others (adults) try to help you,

Using a scale from one to five, one being not a problem, five being a big problem,

indicate which problem areas applicable to you:

y Paying attention in class . 1 2 3 4 5y Handing in homework on time 1 2 3 4 5y Handing in projects on time 1 2 3 4 5y Completing projects in a timely fashion 1 2 3 4 5y Taking and keeping good notes 1 2 3 4 5y Starting tasks (such as homework) 1 2 3 4 5


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y Using daily planner or assign. pad 1 2 3 4 5y Losing homework/leaving it at home 1 2 3 4 5y Forgetting to complete assignments 1 2 3 4 5y Keeping desk at school clean 1 2 3 4 5y Keeping room at home clean 1 2 3 4 5y Completing interesting tasks 1 2 3 4 5y Completing tasks when subject is boring 1 2 3 4 5y Starting tasks which are interesting 1 2 3 4 5y Starting boring tasks 1 2 3 4 5y Keeping notebook/backpack organized 1 2 3 4 5y Studying effectively (does it work) 1 2 3 4 5y Study habits (do you study to begin with) 1 2 3 4 5

What subjects are you interested at school?

What subjects do you find difficult or boring?

What are your hobbies? Do you participate in any sports or activities?

Where do you typically get your homework done? [Is there an effective work area

at home or elsewhere?] Are there distractions in this area?

When do you usually get your homework done? (Days of week and time of day)

When do you usually start projects, and finish them? (It may be a good idea to ask

for a walk through of a typical 3 page paper process from research to final draft).


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What materials do you use for classes? [For instance: do you use separate binders

for each class, different spirals for math or science.] Are these neat and organized?

When you forget to do something, what is usually the cause? ( Follow ups: Do you

write things down, or keep mental notes?)

Do you encounter difficulties when writing papers or doing projects? If so, what do

you feel they are?

What kind of study methods do you use? Flashcards, reading textbook and notes,

etc.?

Do you use any tools to keep on task or organized? [Whiteboards, timers, etc.]

Do you have trouble with procrastination? What do you typically do while

procrastinating? (Example: sit there and do nothing, or play games or other tasks.)

Are there any problem areas you feel you have that were not mentioned?

Additional Notes:


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Note Taking, Two column Notes

Note taking should be an active process in school, and should be kept up with the

teacher. As of this point, the student should take notes on what he/she finds

important in the course.

The format of each page is as follows for two column notes:

Name Date

Subject of Notes

Topic One Detail One

Detail Two

Topic Two Detail One (of topic two)

The benefits of two column notes include their simplicity, their ease of use, andthat they work for most subjects (even math). By being simple, two column notes

make it easier to keep up with a teacher when he is speaking or writing on the

board

Details shouldnt be complete sentences, but shorthand details. For instance

John Jacob 9/12/02

American history

America Populated by Asia

Land bridge

Land bridge Corner of Alaska


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Other note taking styles:

Paragraph form: Too long to write out, students often fall behind in class.

Outlines: an effective style, but can become difficult to follow detail after sub-

detail when studying

Web maps/mind maps: Useful for visual learners, however, for long notes, these

become very large and complex. (See mind map on Wikipedia, the image is an

excellent example of how these can become confusing.

Using Two column notes may be difficult in math classes. A useful thing to do in

math classes is to box all important facts, and keep them in the center of the page.

Two column notes is a suggestion and what well practice here. Find what works

best for you.

Exercise:

Read the following passage, and have the student take two column notes on it.

Leif Erikson was a Norse Explorer famous for visiting North America. He wasborn in 970, and died in 1020. His father, Erik Thorvaldsson, better known as Erik

the Red, was an outlaw, the son of an outlaw, and also an explorer. Lief was born

in Greenland, and explored lands west of Greenland.

Bjarni Herjlfsson, the son of a friend of Eric the Red, was an explorer who, on his

way to visit his father in Greenland, was blown off course by a storm, and had seen

lands west of Greenland.

Lief purchased Bjarnis boat, and proceeded to explore Canada, and established acolony in the land he called Vinland (wine-land). On his return trip, he picked up a

castaway and his crew, and was rewarded with their rich cargo, earning Lief the

nickname Lief the Lucky. Erics father disagreed with this nickname, because

along with the castaways, Lief brought a Catholic priest to Greenland.


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Homework Assignment

The student should practice two column notes, and the art of listening and writingdown what he hears.

1)The student should watch a TV program he or she enjoys and take two column

notes on the episode, including plot development, facts, and characters.

2) If the student has a reading assignment for a class (other than English) they

should take two column notes instead of their normal note taking while reading for

this subject. (For instance, history, read pages 53-64, take notes on the pages this

time.)

If the student does not have a current reading assignment, they should find a

magazine article, or other subject they are interested in, and do two column notes

(approximately 2 pages, they are very quick) on the reading they choose.


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Hour Two Checklist

C Review HomeworkC Review two column notesC Importance of ControlC Control in the SchoolC Control at HomeC Your WorkspaceC Self Regulation


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The Importance of Control

When working at home or in school, it is difficult to say to oneself stop

procrastinating and simply to stop procrastinating. There are external and internal

factors that cannot be controlled by yourself. Internally, some examples are

influences of procrastination, and your likes and dislikes. Externally, for instance,

in the classroom, things you cannot necessarily change are who else is in a class

with you, or who your teacher is.

In other words, you cannot control whether or not you have a bad teacher, or if you

are naturally easily distracted. What you can do is control yourself and your

environment enough to change how much these factors affect you. Basically: *the

more you control, the more you are in control*.

Success in home and school will come from exercising as much control as possible

over your environment and stimuli. The notebook is an example of an external

factor, your organization outside of your mind and body, that you control. It helps

organize you.

We will explore three areas where you will take control:

y Control at school. (reacting to teachers, desk)y Control at home (study areas)y Self regulation (Self control through external factors)


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Control in School

Sitting in a classroom, how well you can pay attention, or how prepared you are for

class comes from your external factors, most often.

Have the student try the exercise Control in School with you.

If the student is confused, offer alternative approaches to the question. For

instance, for paying attention, you can ask why would you not be paying

attention and ask how they would fix that. E.g.,: Im tired. So being well rested

works.

Answers will vary, but the following approaches are important to touch upon:

Paying attention:

y Where you sit in the classroomy Taking notes, asking questions, anything with *active participation*y Having your materials for classy Being well restedy A neat desky Wearing a watch (if their distraction is the clock on the wall)

Understanding a teacher better:

y Asking questions


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Name ________________

Control in School

Sitting in a classroom, how well you function varies from class to class. You canturn each class into a more positive experience by exercising control over yourself

and environment.

Task: Come up with two things you (yourself) can change in a classroom to pay

attention more readily:

1) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Write one way you can change your experience with a teacher:

1) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Write three ways you can be more prepared for class: (Organization counts!)

1) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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Control at Home

This is the same exercise as before, but more important to the students ability to

function. Most homework, studying, and preparation goes on at home.

Control at home includes the use of time maps, calendars, other reminder tools,

staying well fed (something that is important to note here is that with low blood

sugar, you cannot effectively interact with the world).

One way of approaching disorganization and procrastination is the use of routines.

This type of external control is extremely important, and will be covered in Hour 5,

alongside food, exercise, and sleep. All of these factors are types of control you

can have at home.

Most important of all, however is the workspace. Work with the student on the

following exercise on workspace. Help him analyze the negative elements of his

workspace, and fix it.

A workspace should be free of distractions. A computer may be present, but should

be used only for work. It should be a place you use ONLY for work. Introducing

the aspect of play to a workspace makes it no longer exclusively for work. If a

place is only for work, it is easier to work in it.

The workspace should not be in an active part of the house where others can

distract you. It should have a surface to work on (some people do work well on the

floor!) and should be near all the supplies you need.

Primarily, improving a workspace involves common sense.


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Name ________________

My Work Space

Where you work is important to how effectively you work. In this exercise, youdescribe your current work space, list some of the distractions, and make

suggestions on how to make it better.

Describe your current workspace:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

What are some of the things that distract you in this space?

1) _____________________________________________________________2) _____________________________________________________________3) _____________________________________________________________4) _____________________________________________________________

What is youridealworkspace?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

What can you do to your current workspace in order to make it more like your

ideal workspace?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________


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Methods of Self-Regulation, Calendars, Checklists,

Time Maps

Self regulation is the control of a person by his or her own actions. Self regulationisnt always the answer when it comes to procrastination and disorganization;

external tools tend to be much more effective in helping a person be self aware.

Metacognition: thinking about thinking.

When you procrastinate, you dont think, usually, Im procrastinating, putting this

off is a goodidea..

Tools help you self regulate, help you monitor your own thinking and own process.

A reminder helps you not forget. There are tools to help you stay on task. Our goal

here in this program is, again, to help you find what works for you.

Three effective methods of self regulation are Calendars, Checklists, and time

maps. As you describe each, have the student sketch an example for their own use.

Calendars: For long term projects usually, help you keep track of deadlines by

writing tasks into each day.

Post-It Calendars allow you to make lists for each day, and to use the calendar as a

checklist.

Checklists: a simple to do list you can update and cross off or erase. Very effective

on whiteboards. Even checklists with homework dont need to be limited to

academic tasks.

The advantage to checklists is that they leave a sense of fulfillment as each task is

completed, and do not add as much stress as time maps. You can also arrange tasks

in the order you wish to complete them, if it helps you to accomplish your tasks.

Sample:

C Finish Organize Me HomeworkC Walk the dogC Clip toenailsC Finish history work


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Time maps:

Time maps are like checklists, with the addition of an approximate time slot of

when you are going to do a task. These should be erasable. By updating your time

map as tasks take less, or more time, you gain awareness

Sample:

3:00 Field Hockey

3:30 Field Hockey

4:00 Math homework

4:30 History homework

5:00 History homework

5:30 Break- dinner6:00 Dinner

Other time map formats do exist. Do what works for you!

3:00-4:00 Field Hockey

4:00-4:30 Math Homework

4:30-5 History homework

-5:30 Break (starting time is missing, ending time is concrete)

5:30 20 minute break, help with dinner6-7 Dinner

7:15 English homework

Note in the above with different times, theres an open slot from 7-715. Leaving

open spots in a time map can allow for tasks taking more or less time.

Keep a time map updated! Add in breaks when you need it, change orders of tasks,

move things around if something is taking too long. Time maps are malleabletools, and help you keep track of yourself. They are not necessarily something you

have to follow exactly, like a schedule.

Also, like checklists, they do not need to be just academic tasks.

We will get into the technological aspect of self regulation in hour six.


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Hour Two Homework

1) Start to work on your ideal work space. Change your area to make it better forstudying and work.

2) Two column notes on a television show (again!)3) Create, and use at least one of each of a time map, checklist, and calendar to

help you accomplish tasks, or keep track of information. Bring these to the next

meeting.


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Daily PlannerThe daily planner is an important part of organization. You have done time maps,

checklists, and a calendar, and all can be used in a good daily planner.

A good daily planner is different for each person. It should have enough space,

should be portable, and should have a calendar built in. They can be electronic, but

should help you keep track of what tasks you have left to do. I

The student probably uses an assignment pad. These usually have far too little

room to write long assignments. In addition teachers often place the homework

online. This is actually both helpful and hurtful to people with organizational

issues: you become reliant on the online service.

To that end: always write down your assignments, even if you only get them online

after class. Physically writing down assignments reinforces them in the brain.


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Success in School Overview

The overall goal of this course is to help a student succeed in his or her life to a

greater extent. In the area of school, staying on top of your work is the best way to

approach classes. There are a few areas that we will focus on:

Being prepared for class; reading the textbook beforehand makes it easier to follow

a teacher, and can allow you to learn fun facts that make a subject more interesting.

Listening in class: taking effective notes during class, and reviewing said notes is

key to doing well in any class.

Studying: staying on top of studying, and not leaving studying for the night beforea test makes studying much less of a pain. It also makes studying less of a huge

project come the exam, and therefore is less stressful.

Hour three and four are dedicated to making these areas easier to handle.


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Active Listening

When you were taking notes on a T.V. show, you were practicing the art of

listening, and taking notes at the same time. Sometimes you can fall behind. In a

classroom, unlike the T.V. you can ask the teacher to repeat herself, or even ask a

question about the subject to fill out the empty spots. Taking these notes while a

teacher is lecturing, copying what is on the board, and asking questions are all part

of a task called active listening.

Exercise: Read the following textbook excerpt to the student, and have her take

notes on it. Encourage asking questions, or repetition, so the notes are complete.

Source: McDougall Littells World History: Patterns of Interaction

When listening to a teacher, anything she says is important, be sure to write down.

Diagrams and examples are great to focus on, and make sure anything underlined

or emphasized is something you pay note to: if they find it important, its probably

going to be on a test!


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Active Reading

Before each class, you are often asked to read sections in the textbook. Reading

and taking notes on your reading is called active reading.

Because notes are clarified in the class, teachers do not expect you to memorize all

of the material, and, unless otherwise told, only expect you to get a general idea of

the material.

In MOST textbooks, you do NOT need to read every word. The following formula

works to get an overview through the important bits:

1) The first paragraph of each section2) The last paragraph of each section3) The first sentence of each paragraph4) The last sentence of each paragraph5) Bold, italicized or underlined words6) Diagrams7) Anything in boxes- often the most interesting tidbits are in the side boxes!

For math and science, also read and take notes on any theorems, look at the

examples, and any laws introduced.

Have the student actively read the next reading, also from McDougall Littells

World History.


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Actively Read the following:


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Methods of Studying: Smart cards


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Homework Hour 3:

1) Do smart cards for a school reading you have (at least 5)2) Actively read a reading you have for school (or one supplied)3) Do active listening for a t.v. show (again!)


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Hour Four Checklist

C Homework ReviewC Terrible TeachersMaking things interesting

C Writing papersC Hour Four Homework


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Terrible Teachers Activity


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Writing Papers

As part of your school curriculum, you have probably had to do outlines for

papers, and edit papers. When you write a paper, generally, it can be difficult to

find the right words to use while writing it, or to write it in a timely manner. The

following is a sample schedule to approach a week long paper, day by day: This is

a sample guideline, you dont need to follow it fully! The detailed outline is a good

tool to use, however, and should be kept.

Day 1: Right after receiving the overall topic of a paper, decide what area of said

topic to write about. E.g., if it is Nazi Germany, and you have to write about one

aspect of it, decide right then that you are going to write about the rise of Fascism,

or about Germanys weaponry. This prevents later pains during research in

deciding what to write about.

Night 1: Wikipedia the topic. Do not do research from Wikipedia, but you can look

at the article to see the topics, which can point you in the right direction of what to

write about, and can give you a general idea of what to research. You know have

an idea of what to look for while researching.

Day 2: Go to the library or research the articles online. In the case of books, look

for the specific topics you are researching in the index. A generic book on a topic

may not address the specific issue you are looking for. Read through the books,

and take notes on notable quotes or ideas you want to use.

Day 3: Outline/Detailed Outline. Create an outline for your paper. As you write the

outline, you will most likely have ideas for specific sentences you want to use, and

will want to tie in quotes in specific parts of the paper. Do not wait! Instead of a

simple outline, go the distance and write out these entire sentences and quotes

(remember to note where you got them from!) into the outline. This will make the

rough draft easier.


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Day 4: Rough draft. Using your detailed outline, you have a very good idea of

what you are going to write, so simply write it! Dont try to make it perfect, but do

the best you can.

Day 5: After waiting some time, edit your draft. Do not edit it immediately, or youwont catch as many errors. Proofread, edit, and revise your paper. Now it is your

final draft.

If you get stuck during a paper, go do another assignment. Sometimes, its good to

take a break until a flash of insight hits you.

When writing rough drafts, it is often a good idea to write how you speak. Youhave time to change it into a formal paper after you get your ideas out. Struggling

to find the right words when writing a paper hinders the writing process, and lends

itself to procrastination, or getting stuck.


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Hour Four Homework

Think back to a teacher you had that you did not work well with, and/or a subject

you hated. Apply making things interesting and Terrible Teachers in order to

decide how you would best approach this class if you were to take it again. You

may need to do research to find what is interesting about a particular subject.

Using the method of writing papers, pre-prewriting, pre-writing, detailed outline

for this project, as if you were going to write a paper on it. (Hence the research!)

You do NOT need to write the paper.


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Hour Five Checklist- add

more!C Homework ReviewC Approaching Procrastination:Getting things done

C The Daily Routine: StructureC The Small StepC Hour Five Homework (optional)


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Homework Review

Unlike the earlier homeworks, which were self explanatory to look over, hour five

should look over and analyze the earlier homeworks all at once.

1) Test the effectiveness of smart cards by using unit 3s homework and quizzingthem on a few of the smart cards (which they have not studied!) This should

show that, while they need extra studying, the very act of making them is a big

step to knowing information.

2) Time maps, calendars, and checklists: the use of these is important in hour five,and should be looked back on. What works for the student best?

3) The idea of workspace should be revisited. Have they worked at all on wherethey work?


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Approaching Procrastination:Getting things doneWe have approached several methods in the course of organizing oneself,

exercising control, and how to accomplish tasks more effectively. However, the

impediment to implementing all of this often is an issue called activation.

When there is an issue in activation, the brain does not go from point A to point B,

even if you want it to. It is the same problem as when you forget a word that is on

the tip of your tongue, and by thinking about related items, (such as where you

heard the word, what it means), you then recall it.

Procrastination derives from the inability to start a task. The previous strategies,

time maps and checklists, help you to start thinking more about a task, but there are

other factors that can aid in helping you focus and work, and aid in getting started.

Food: Blood sugar levels must be kept up in order for your body to function at an

optimal level. Regular meals are wonderful, but they are not enough to keep you

functioning at full steam. Even junk food is better than no food.

Sleep: Having a regular sleep schedule is more effective than staying up late and

sleeping late in order to make up time in order to focus. Staying up late before

classes the next day also can cause you to pay less attention in the class (let alone

activate on your work). In addition, staying up late means you work less effectivelyboth at night, and when you are working the next day in class.

Exercise: Exercise has a positive effect on learning. [John Ratey is most famous

for this research]. When you come home after school, and find yourself not willing

to work, sometimes fifteen minutes of good exercise can put you in a good mood,

and help focus your brain. In addition, exercise improves memory, so youll study

more effectively.

Physical motivation:Reward yourself for accomplishing difficult or long tasks.Combining this with food (a chocolate for every five math problems done) can

double as keeping your blood sugar up. Larger tasks, such as final projects,

finishing final exams with straight As, should yield larger rewards. Rewarding

yourself with computer games or other distractions in between assignments isnt

a good idea, though!


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The Daily Routine: Structure

Metacognition is the strongest tool against procrastination. Realizing you are

procrastinating, and asking yourself why, can help you take control of a situation

where you would otherwise get nothing done.

Even stronger than this, perhaps, is the act of having a routine. If you come home

each day, exercise for fifteen minutes, review your class notes for thirty minutes

and make smart cards, then start your homework, you will be likely to do that each

day.

For instance: people rarely consciously decide to brush their teeth. It is ingrained

as a ritual and habit into their daily life, so that you rarely forget. The same can

apply to work and study habits, so long as you keep them up.

Doing your homework at a regular time (for instance, right after school or an

activity), will make it so you automatically start to be in the homework mood at

that time.

Negative habits, such as staying up late, can also come from routines. So try to

adopt positive habits.

Having a routine, or structure, makes it significantly easier to start tasks. Aside

from time, we have spoken about specific places (your work area) being associated

with work. Other habits (e.g., putting on a specific playlist of music, only wearing

your glasses while you work, or making a checklist just as you start to work) can

all be used to keep your structure.

Best of all, routines become self-maintaining. After you begin a routine, you keep

that routine. This will be touched upon in hour six as a maintenance method for

strategies.


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The Small Step

Sometimes, people just do not want to work. Unfortunately, there is no solve all

solution for motivation, or just getting started on tasks. Motivational speakers

make gratuitous amounts of money to selling partial solutions to large

corporations.

When it comes down to it, if you need to get something done and dont feel like it,

the only solution is to just do it. Sometimes, just doing it is the exact problem

that we cannot solve. In this instance, there is a simple mental process that allows

us to better handle the situation, and get started.

When feeling overwhelmed, separating large amounts of tasks into many smaller

tasks can seem easier to handle. Solving steps a through z is easier than tacklingthe whole alphabet. This process is often referred to as chunking.

Another way to tackle the small step is possibly the only continuous solution the

author of this program has found: just five minutes.

We often, when procrastinating, say just five more minutes. This happens to

everyone. Just five more minutes in bed. Just five more minutes of T.V. Just until I

beat this level in a video game.

The idea with The Small Step is to *reverse* this. Just five minutes of work,

then Ill stop.

If you can get yourself to work for five minutes, what often happens is you do

*not* end up only working for five minutes, instead, getting everything you want

done. If you apply the just five more minutes to tasks you dont want to handle,

not only will they get accomplished, they will seem to take less time, and be less

painful.

So: if you are unable to start work, just start it for five minutes, then go watch T.V.

Chances are youll finish the paper you dont want to do before you go have fun.


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Hour Five Homework (optional)

If the student is running on a six day program, or has broken somehow, the

following homework can be asked to be accomplished for hour five:

1) Try to start a new healthy routine of exercise or work habits. Limit it to fifteenminutes a day, and make it as enjoyable as possible. Do Wii Fit, or perhaps start

reading each night on a new series you enjoy.

2) Write down a few ways (at least five) that you could motivate yourselfeffectively, without negative stimuli (such as video games, tv at a certain hour,

etc.). Try using them to accomplish something youve been putting off!


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Hour Six Objectives

CHomework ReviewCKeeping on Top of Things:

Maintaining Success

CKnowing Your ResourcesCIntroduction to Technology

CConclusion


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Keeping on Top of Things: Maintaining SuccessThrough this course we have gone through many strategies to start work, to study

well, to write, to do well in classes, even when you dislike them, and even keep

your notebook neat. The final key to success is in maintaining these strategies.

The first step is to not wait to organize or try things. Putting organizing your

notebook off a few times results in a bigger project you are less likely to handle.

REMEMBER: THE EASIER THE SYSTEM IS TO USE, THE MORE LIKELY

YOU ARE TO KEEP USING IT.

The second step is to know what to do when things fall apart. Bumps in life

occur; your computer can crash losing a large paper, you can forget an assignment

and have to make it up, or another unexpected hiccup could occur in your life.

You cannot avoid hiccups. Instead, know what to do when they happen: Reset.

What many people do is press forward in spite of failure. They keep stacking onto

the pile of makeup assignments by not chunking: turning a lot of projects into

small steps other than a lot of work. College students often start pulling all night

work session after all night work session, until their subconscious takes over their

mind and starts writing their paper for them.

The author has been there. He has written a paper on motivation while half asleep,and ended up, mid sentence, typing out his daydream. Motivation can sometimes

cause Jabba the Hutt in PJs which in turn allows people to start tasks.

By taking a step back when feeling overwhelmed, and taking things on piece by

piece, you turn large problems into small ones, which can be accomplished,

resulting in a cycle of success, rather than perpetuating failure.

If you find yourself not sticking to routines, not studying, or putting things off,

STOP. Take a step back, and start from square one, reforming your positive habitsconsciously.


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Knowing Your Resources

For the majority of this course, we have spoken about external items, or

procedures, with which to aid in issues. There are also living beings who can, and

want, to help you.

Parents often can feel overwhelming, but can help you study for a test, or can help

you remember things. Above all, they are the ones who most want you to succeed.

Sometimes they can feel overwhelming, when helping you organize directly,

digging through your things to clean a notebook, or room. However, they wish to

help, and are a strong emotional resource. (restricting parents to a guideline)

Teachers: if you are having trouble in a class, or dont understand something, or

even just want advice on a paper, there is no better person to ask than the teacherof the class youre having trouble in. Teachers are there to help you, and most

often wish to help students. If you ask for advice, they will help! In addition, it

certainly helps to have a positive relationship with your teachers.

Counselor: A school counselor, or your class dean can often provide advice, or

point you to the right person to ask for help. They can offer advice for dealing with

stress, or can help you find services at school (such as a quiet room) that you can

use to be more effective. The key with these people is that you have to go and take

the step to ask.

Special Education Office: even if you do not have ADHD or some learning

disability, there are very few people who know more about strategies or help

offered in an educational facility. If you ask someone in this office for some advice

regarding procrastination, or disorganization, they are probably willing to help you.

Outside of the special education office there are other people, such as

organizational coaches, cognitive behavioral therapists, pediatric neurologists, who

you can hire in order to help you. The bonus about the aforementioned people isthat theyre all free, and fairly easy to reach.


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Introduction to Technology

There are many electronic or mundane devices that can be used to aid in

organization. The following is a list of suggested programs and devices that can

help you stay on task, or be more organized.

Post its: a great way to remind yourself of something, particularly for in the

morning, so you can see it.

Post it calendars: calendars with squares the size of Post Its made by the company,

which can be used as a dual checklist/calendar. Color coded post its add to the

bonus, so you can use different colors for different types, or different important

classes.

Computerized Post-Its: The Post-It website has a program you can use in order to

keep Post-its on your desktop window. There also are third party programs (a

particularly excellent one is the notepad for windows sidebar) that you can use to

remember things, write them down, or keep track of them.

Laptops: a great tool in the classroom, so long as you keep a binder still for hand

outs and assignments. Printing out notes is also a must. Laptops, (provided you

dont get distracted by them) offer neat notes for those with terrible handwriting, as

well as access to all the organizational electronic programs you could want.

Cell phone: cell phones often come with voice recording, note keeping, AND

calendar software. All three can be used (to your liking) as electronic copies or

electronic reminders. Many of the calendar programs also have the bonus of

ringing at particular times to remind you of appointments or tasks.

Google Services: online document saving and sharing (even presentations), and a

very good calendar program, alongside other programs that allow you to keep a

directory, or create a free Google site on which to jot down notes, make Googleservices a great tool to use. Plus, you can access them from anywhere.

Dragon Naturally Speaking & Kurtzweil: programs like these two can do text to

speech and speech to text in order to write papers simply by talking, or read papers

out to you if youre having difficulty with reading.


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organize me

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