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How to Get Organized for Middle School
Get organized? How rude of me! What do I mean! Well there are a million and one things a parent needs to do before the start of term to make sure their little darlings don't fall foul of the school rules and turn up with the right clothes , books, pens and well prepared. And the problem that some parents experience is actually remembering everything that needs to be done. Of course unless you have a super photographic memory, and most of us do not, then there is really only one way you can guarantee not forgetting items and that is to write lists and cross off what you have done as you go. This usually entails lots of bits of paper floating around - not good if you open the front door and the draught takes the bits of paper , tosses them around a few times and drops them behind the sofa. So... yes you guessed it ... why not do it the easy way and put all the items to do on the computer in a list. In fact why not get some inexpensive software like EfficientPIM that will group all the things into their categories and let you set colour coded priorities to make is startlingly simple to check through and get everything done on time in the right order. So let's take a look at an example. We will first enter all the items on EPIM. The parent is sending Duncan to middle school in September and its now July and they have just come back from holiday. She enters them on the events or tasks module of EPIM in the order they come into her head.
Buy school clothes for Duncan
Get copy of school curriculum
Check with school what books he needs
Buy books on Amazon
Check what books I need to help him with homework
Buy my books on Amazon
Get Geometry instrument set for Duncan's
Get calculator
Get homework book
Get geometry set for me same as Duncan's
Get calculator for me same as Duncan's
Get Duncan a lunch box for sandwiches
Get satchel for homework books
Check bus timetable from home to school
Check if he has to pay and/or get him a 3 month bus pass
See what sports gear he needs
Buy sports gear
Get desk for Duncan's bedroom
Get reading light for bedroom
Check TV educational programs
I mean really! The things a Mum has to do! How on earth is she going to do all this in the most efficient way. Well she needn't despair because once it has all been entered then it is just so easy to shuffle it all around setting the priorities and grouping the items into categories. So then it would look like this:
Phone School
Get copy of school curriculum
Check with school what books he needs
Check what books I need to help him with homework
See what sports gear he needs
AMAZON
Buy books on Amazon
Buy my books on Amazon
Get Geometry instrument set for Duncan's
Get calculator
Get homework book
Get geometry set for me same as Duncan's
Get calculator for me same as Duncan's
Get Duncan a lunch box for sandwiches
Get satchel for homework books
Travel arrangements
Check bus timetable from home to school
Check if he has to pay and/or get him a 3 month bus pass
Check TV educational programs
Shopping in Town
Buy school clothes for Duncan
Get desk for Duncan's bedroom
Get reading light for bedroom
Buy sports gear
So now it's all reduced to just four activities
One phone call to the school,
One phone call to the bus company
One long session on Amazon
A trip into town to buy the rest
So as I said at the beginning: Get Organised for middle school but use the EPIM!