Getting Organized
Being disorganized can make anyone uncomfortable. For a student with learning disabilities, disorganization can mean disaster. Searching for lost assignments or course handouts can take up valuable time, and it's almost impossible to study and learn when your notes from different subjects are jumbled together.
There's no "right" way to get organized. You'll need to be creative and flexible until you discover what works best for you. Here are some tips and suggestions from successful students and adults to serve as a starting point.
Tips for Organizing
- If you love technology, use a computer software program, electronic calendar, or wrist watch with organizer programs.
- Retype your notes and save them on a disk marked with the dates and the courses titles.
- Place different colored self-stick notepads around your room, in your notebooks, or even by your bedside to write down things you want to remember.
- Put handouts or assignments in the appropriate notebook section. Be sure to use dividers, and consider using different colors for each subject.
- Create a helpful system for keeping papers, books, and other possessions. Try using a cardboard box large enough for file folders. Then make a folder for each subject, and every time you get a handout that doesn't fit into your notebook, put it in the appropriate file folder.
- Be sure to put all your note-taker notes and tapes with the other material for that course. Date all your notes and tapes immediately.
- Keep keys on a big ring so that you can find them easily, or use a brightly-colored key chain.
- Keep extra coins for laundry machines, parking meters, buses, and vending machines.
- Make a list of everything you need for classes, labs or meetings. Include reminders for money, transportation and food. Check the list in the morning before leaving your room so that nothing is forgotten.
Taken from National Center for Disabilities. For more information visit www.nacld.org.