Organizational Skills for High School Students

Being organized is not their strong point.

Is this only a nightmare or a daily reality for your child in high school?

Your child wakes up about half an hour before they’re due in their homeroom. They have the time to make it, except they can’t remember where they put their homework.

In addition, their phone is out of charge, and there’s nothing quick to eat for breakfast except the tantalizing aroma of the coffee you had before you left for work.

So, they are late for class without their homework or anything in their stomach.

Lack of executive skills makes high school challenging.

This scenario is familiar to first-year students in high school and students struggling with executive skills.

Lack of executive skills can cause a painful semester or year for students facing challenges of more complex classes, more tests, and getting ready for their college search.

As a parent, you are aware of the need for organizational skills. If your child demonstrates organizational problems, this can become a reason to get them tested. There is no reason for teens to feel less than capable because they aren’t successful in dealing with details and the level of intensity expected for a high school student.

Learning to think ahead, write things down, and learn to anticipate needs instead of playing catch up is a better way to be successful in high school.

Developing organizational skills isn’t a school assignment.

I help teens become aware of what’s happening in their daily lives, prioritize how they spend their time, and find the organizational tools that work best for them. Then, they realize the benefits of using those tools.

Here’s a comment from one of my clients. “I finally figured out why it’s a good idea to write things down. My parents, especially my mom, have nagged me to write down my school assignments since middle school. I never did because I don’t particularly appreciate getting nagged at constantly. Now, I say write everything down – no excuses! There’s too much going on to keep everything in my head!

Being organized is a fundamental life skill. When teens have made it part of the fabric of their daily lives in high school, it will improve their satisfaction and success in high school, college, and beyond.

Let’s work with your teen to improve their organizational skills. Performance in school will be less challenging, and you, as the parent, will be happier. Additionally, your teen will learn valuable life skills.