The COVID-19 global pandemic has created many uncertainties for the foreseeable future. For students and teachers, this will be a particularly unique year. Between returning to classrooms, virtual learning, or a combination of the two, staying organized is more important than ever.
Our mission is to help you stay organized and focused for this upcoming school year. We want you to stay inspired and on track with your Academic Planner.
1. Start the year with a plan.
Once you have received your planner, flip open to the 2020-2021 Road Map. Our Academic Planner offers a two-page spread to help you map out and set goals for the year ahead. Think of what you would like to accomplish for the year ahead personally, academically, financially and health-wise – write down the goals and a plan to achieve these. Note down your priorities for the year, self-care activities, positive thoughts, things to avoid, bucket list, and one positive message to yourself for the year ahead.
2. Visualize your year or future plan.
Sometimes it’s difficult to put your future plan in writing. Use the space under A Look Ahead to use images, words, symbols, or anything else to create a visual of your ideal future. Remember, this isn’t set in stone, this is the vision you want to work towards. This could be for the next year, 5 years, or even 10 years!
3. Find Motivation.
It’s tough to stay motivated when there’s so much uncertainty in the world. Come back to the Motivate Me page whenever you need some positivity or encouragement. The word search contains 20 motivational words for whenever you need a little pick-me-up!
4. Note down course details, important dates and deadlines, and keep track of your grades.
Keep a record of courses and important dates. Whether you’re taking one course or six, note down your course name, teacher name, and location for the course. Also keep a list of assignment deadlines and exam dates, along with the percent allocation for the course. This will help you prioritize your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules. Consider colour-coding your classes to differentiate between personal and academic schedules.
Keep a track of the marks you received on assignments and exams as well. By knowing how you’re performing in a course can also help prioritize where to put more of your focus when it comes to preparing for exams.
5. Set an intention for the month ahead.
Each month is different than the one before. Some months have more assignments, while others are packed with exams. Look through your dates and deadlines to plan out where to focus for the month ahead. Use the colour-coding you determined earlier to create a to-do list, highlight important dates & deadlines, what you’re looking forward to, and list down all your goals
6. Record everything.
Plan the week ahead by setting priorities, goals, deadlines, and anything you don’t want to forget.
The Academic Planner's weekly view provides space for to-do lists and notes for each day of the week. Note down any new things that come up in the left column of each day. Identify your daily to-dos and check them off as you go!
And remember to have gratitude for anything positive for the week! One positive thought daily or weekly can help uplift spirits greatly.
7. Reflect on the month passed.
Setting goals and planning ahead are a great starting point. It’s also important to look back to see what worked, what didn’t work, and how to improve for the future. The Academic Planner Wrap Up page helps do just that. Take a moment once the month has passed to reflect and plan for the month ahead.
8. Remember to take a breath.
Lastly, just remember to breathe! We all feel stressed or overwhelmed from time-to-time, that’s why all our planners include a unique mandala to colour at the end of each month. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, turn to this page and lose yourself in your colouring. Colouring mandalas provides great stress relief, refreshes the brain, sparks creativity, and helps you connect with your inner child.
While the upcoming school year will be different than any other, by staying organized and planning ahead, we know you can stay on track! Best of luck and share with us how you’re staying organized this year.
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