intellectus: so after a discussion in the hs2017 network chat, i thought i’d give you a brief

intellectus:

so after a discussion in the hs2017 network chat, i thought i’d give you a brief outline of/ instructions on how to use the system i’ve worked out to keep my binders tidy and also ensure that i’m not breaking my back when i carry my backpack to school each day!

1. have binders for every subject you’re taking, and then one more! you’ll need a binder for every subject, and then dividers for each. since i’m taking six AP classes and band, i’m using six 1.5″ binders and a single 1″ binder! all of these stay at home in my cupboard, and none comes with me to school. each binder is organized slightly differently– as the classes vary– but most follow a similar format, which is as follows:

1. plastic page protector at the front for the syllabus
   
2. dividers for homework, tests, notes, and graded work, but this varies
1. ex: physics has homework, tests, notes, and labs
2. ex: english has essays, notes, and dividers for each book 
   
3. a section in the back for extra graph/ruled paper

2.set up the extra binder! for me, it’s the one pictured above, which is a casemate 1″ d-ring binder from walmart. it’s really important that this has inside pockets in case you receive non-hole punched sheets! the binder covers all my classes, and includes:

1. a plastic page protector at the front for my schedule (not pictured)
   
2. 6 numbered dividers, one for each class
3. extra paper (graph, plain, and lined) at the back
4. a sheet of hole reinforcements and a sheet of colour coding labels

3. actually using the system!! i carry with me the one inch binder and leave all the others at home, chiefly so i don’t destroy my back. in the one inch binder, i assign each subject a number (usually in order of my class periods), and store the relevant information from the current chapter i’m covering in class so i don’t have anything more than what i need with me. when i’m finished with that chapter, i bring the relevant pages home and properly file them in the subject binder.

it really helps to keep you organized, since you have to stay on top of your work and know what you’ll need and when! it also saves your back, since you only bring exactly what you need that’s relevant for the current unit, and nothing else. obviously, this won’t work for everyone, but i’ve been doing it since sophomore year and it has yet to fail me.

good luck with this school year, and i hope my tiny tutorial helps you to stay organized!