how should you keep track of assignments

How to Stay on Top of Assignments: Tips and Strategies

Jack Wright

Staying on top of your assignments can be a challenge. It requires organization, discipline, and time management skills. Fortunately, there are a number of strategies you can use to stay organized and on top of your tasks. Read on to learn more about how to stay on top of assignments.

Breaking Down Assignments into Manageable Tasks

The first step in staying on top of assignments is breaking them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will help you break large tasks down into smaller chunks that are easier to tackle. It will also help you keep track of what needs to be done and when. You can use a task list to keep track of the different components of each assignment and make sure you stay on track.

When breaking down assignments into smaller tasks, it is important to prioritize the tasks. Start with the most important tasks first and work your way down the list. This will help you stay focused and ensure that you are completing the most important tasks first. Additionally, it is important to set realistic deadlines for each task. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you are completing the assignment on time.

Prioritizing Your Assignments

Once you’ve broken down your assignments into more manageable tasks, it’s important to prioritize them. This will help you determine which tasks are most important and need to be done first. You can prioritize tasks based on importance, urgency, due date, or any other criteria you deem necessary. Make sure to take into account any deadlines or other time constraints when ordering tasks. This will help you stay on top of when assignments are due and which tasks should be completed first.

When prioritizing your tasks, it’s important to be realistic about how much time you have to complete them. If you have a lot of tasks that need to be done in a short amount of time, it’s important to prioritize the most important tasks first. This will help you ensure that you are able to complete the most important tasks before the deadline. Additionally, it’s important to take breaks in between tasks to help you stay focused and motivated. Taking breaks will help you stay productive and on track with your assignments.

Setting Deadlines and Sticking to Them

An effective way to stay on top of assignments is to set deadlines for yourself and stick to them. This will help ensure that you are meeting your deadlines and completing tasks on time. Setting realistic deadlines is key – if you set unrealistic goals for yourself it can be difficult to stay motivated and make progress. When setting deadlines for yourself, make sure to allow enough time for any unexpected delays or other factors that could affect your progress.

It is also important to break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. This will help you to stay focused and motivated, as well as make it easier to track your progress. Additionally, it is important to reward yourself for meeting your deadlines. This could be something as simple as taking a break or treating yourself to something special. This will help to reinforce the positive behavior of meeting your deadlines and staying on top of your tasks.

Working Ahead of Schedule

Whenever possible, try to work ahead of schedule. This is a great way to stay ahead of deadlines and make sure you don’t get caught up in last-minute scrambling. Working ahead can also help alleviate the stress that comes with having a lot of assignments due at once. It can also help you manage your time more efficiently, as you can spread out your work over a longer period of time.

Additionally, working ahead of schedule can help you to identify any potential problems or issues with your work before it is due. This can help you to make any necessary changes or adjustments before the deadline, ensuring that you submit the best possible work. Working ahead of schedule can also help you to stay organized and on top of your tasks, allowing you to focus on the quality of your work.

Taking Breaks to Recharge and Refresh

It’s important to take breaks while working on assignments to recharge and refresh. Working too long without taking a break can lead to burnout and fatigue, making it harder to stay focused on your tasks. Taking regular breaks can help boost productivity and focus, as well as helping maintain your motivation levels. Breaks don’t have to be long – even a 10-minute break can be beneficial.

Utilizing Technology to Stay Organized and On Track

There are a number of tools and technologies available that can help you stay organized and on top of your assignments. These include apps like Google Calendar, which allow you to organize your tasks and set reminders for yourself. There are also project management tools such as Trello and Asana, which help you plan out projects and keep track of progress. Utilizing these tools can make it easier to manage your tasks and assignments.

Delegating Tasks When Necessary

When faced with a large number of assignments or tasks, it can be helpful to delegate some of the work. Delegating tasks can help make sure that everything gets done in a timely manner and that no tasks are forgotten or overlooked. It can also help take some of the pressure off of you as you don’t have to do everything yourself. When delegating tasks make sure the person is capable of completing the task in the allotted timeframe.

Getting Help When Needed

If you’re struggling with an assignment or task, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s always better to get help sooner rather than later, as this will help ensure that the task gets done correctly and on time. You can seek help from friends, family, teachers, or even online sources like forums and chatrooms. If you’re having trouble with an assignment, don’t hesitate to ask for assistance.

Developing Good Habits for Long-Term Success

Finally, developing good habits is key for long-term success when it comes to staying on top of assignments. This includes things like creating a daily schedule and sticking to it, taking regular breaks, setting realistic deadlines, and asking for help when needed. Developing these habits can make it easier to stay organized and on top of your assignments in the long run.

By following these tips, you can stay organized and on top of your assignments. It takes practice and dedication, but with the right strategies in place, it is possible to stay organized and make progress on your tasks. Staying on top of assignments is a crucial part of academic success – use the strategies outlined here to ensure that you stay on track!

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5 ways to organize your college assignments.

BY JANE HURST

Weekly assignments, midterms, final papers… all piling up each day, making every year of your college life seem more difficult than the previous one. But it doesn’t have to be this hard.

There are several different ways to help you sort out your assignments and actually get started with completing them. Whether you prefer putting all your notes and ideas on paper or would rather reduce your carbon footprint and go all in for tech, here are 5 ways to organize your student assignments:

• Assignment binders and planners

Perhaps the most accessible method for organizing your student assignments is creating a binder to hold all your papers, reminders, and auxiliary materials. You can either create one for each class or a separate binder for your assignments only. Alternatively, you can put together an up-to-date semester agenda with assignments and their due dates so you can check it out each week to see what’s next for you to prepare and if you’re on track with college work.

These two options are strong organization tools you can reach out to at any time. Try color-coding or sorting them in a specific order of your choice to find the files you need more easily. For instance, you can divide your assignments binder into 3 parts: a red folder for assignments you have to complete, a yellow one for the ones you’re working on, and a green folder for any papers you’ve already delivered. Be careful here not to put an assignment you’re done with into the green folder until you’ve delivered it to your teacher.

• Digital Kanban boards

If you’d rather have a tool remind you when your assignments are due, try digital Kanban boards. A Kanban visual board is a practical method that lets you track all assignments and college work through 3 simple stages: To Do, In Progress, and Finished/Delivered.

You’ll receive email notifications or alerts whenever an assignment’s deadline is approaching. The best part is that these tools can also be used together with your classmates in case you’ve got group projects to work on.

Free project management software options like Paymo often offer a Kanban feature in addition to simple to-do lists that will also allow you to keep track of any other duties you have be they personal or college related.

• Consider a cloud-based file storage solution

If you’re always on the run going from one class to another, you probably won’t want to keep all your files, binders, and notes with you. Online file storage options like Dropbox or Google Drive help you store all of these in a single place.

This way, you’ll be able to access your assignments and class notes from anywhere whether you’re on your laptop, smartphone, or classroom computer. You can also become a power user of these digital solutions by learning how to organize your files into folders so you’ve got every structured according to your year of study, semester, and class.

• The classical desktop folders

For those of you who like taking their laptop to class and writing down all notes digitally, you might want to stick to organizing all files in your computer. This is an accessible and free method that will also allow you to get started with an assignment without having to download any external files.

An example for this filing system could be: Assignments -> Molecular Foundations -> Midterm Assignments -> To Do -> DNA recombination paper (file).

To make sure you don’t miss a deadline, just pair this method with a project management tool or your calendar app to send you regular reminders in time.

• The Big6 Organizer 

Now that you’ve got your files sorted, you need a strategy to get started with working on your assignments. The Big6 method is a 6-step process that helps you conduct your research through a series of clear stages. This way you’ll never be stuck again wondering what you’re supposed to do next.

The 6 stages are:

• Task definition – Define your information-related problem and find the facts and figures you need. 2. Information seeking strategies – Identify all potential information sources and establish the best ones. 3. Location and access – Locate these sources and find the info you need within them. 4. Use of information – Engage with the information you found by reading any written content, watching a video, or experimenting and extract only the information that is relevant to your research. 5. Synthesis – Organize the info you found in your multiple sources and present it in a structured manner. 6. Evaluation – Judge the effectiveness of your results and analyze if the research process was efficient and you’ve covered all of the assignment’s aspects.

Test a few of these methods for organizing your student assignments before you decide to rigorously follow one. Pay particular attention to how stress-free you feel when using one or another of these techniques. For example, if you’re feeling anxious at all times thinking you’ll forget to hand in an assignment, then perhaps it’s better for you to go for one of the digital methods that will notify you whenever a due date is approaching.

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot. Follow Jane on Twitter.

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Assignment notebook hack: How to keep track of homework so you don’t forget to do things

Katie Azevedo September 12, 2019 ADD/ADHD , executive function , good habits , homework , memory , organization , productivity , routines , time management

By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed.

Our brains are not meant for storing information; they are made for creating. We simply don’t have enough bandwidth (energy) to remember everything. How many times has someone introduced herself, but twenty seconds later you forget her name? Our brains have more important things to do than remember details like this. 

Similarly, our brains are not good at remembering homework assignments and due dates. We tell ourselves I’ll remember that, but it’s unlikely that we will. Even if we do remember something that’s due the next day, it often comes at the expense of forgetting something else. 

My point? All students – no matter the age or grade level – should write down every single assignment. Immediately. On paper. 

Yes. On paper. In an actual assignment notebook. Sure, I know there are excellent homework-tracking apps out there. They have bright colors and are fun. Like candy. But I argue that paper-based assignment notebooks are the better choice for nearly everyone. (So many reasons why.)

Assuming you are already using an assignment notebook because you’re a genius and have watched my awesome video on this topic , it’s time to level up. The following assignment notebook hack is a strategy that I’ve personally used for yearssssss, as well as taught to my students.

How to keep track of homework

My assignment notebook hack is simple. There are two parts: 

• First, use a coding system for identifying which tasks you’ve completed, which ones you are pushing off until tomorrow, and which ones you are pushing off for more than one day. 
• Second, always rewrite assignments you don’t get to.

When you use this system, you force yourself to address EVERY item on your list and make a decision about it. Nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

You can use any symbols, but personally I recommend the following:

? Check mark for tasks you’ve completed

⇩ Down-facing arrow for tasks you’re pushing off until tomorrow

? The first letter of the weekday that you’re pushing off the task to (example: M for Monday, or Th for Thursday)

Let’s say you write down an assignment on Monday’s list, and it’s due on Thursday. If you complete it on Monday, check it off and be done. But if you don’t get to it on Monday, put a downward arrow next to the task and REWRITE THE ASSIGNMENT on Tuesday’s list . Like this:

Or, if you don’t think you can get to it until Thursday, put “Th” next to the task and rewrite it on Thursday’s list. This is a key step . You must rewrite assignments that you don’t get to on another day’s list . Like this:

I know this assignment notebook hack might sound too simple to be effective, but the best systems really are the simplest. I challenge you to try it.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, staying organized: keeping track of college assignments.

Hey guys, I'm preparing for college and was wondering how y'all stay organized when it comes to keeping track of assignments. Do you use specific apps, planners, or something else?

Hey! It's great that you're thinking about staying organized in college. The key is to find a system that works best for you. Here are a few options that many students find helpful:

1. Physical planner: A traditional planner is perfect for those who prefer writing things down. You can use color-coded pens or highlighters to differentiate between courses or types of assignments. Plus, the act of physically crossing off completed tasks can be quite satisfying!

2. Google Calendar: If you're more of a digital person, Google Calendar can be a lifesaver. Create separate calendars for each course, and add your assignments as events with due dates and reminders. The ability to visualize your week or month can help you prioritize assignments and manage your time effectively.

3. Notion/OneNote/Evernote: These are note-taking apps that also work well for organizing assignments. You can create templates for each course and include due dates, assignment details, and attachments. The best part is that you can access these applications on multiple devices, so your assignments are always accessible.

4. To-do list apps: Todoist, Wunderlist, and Trello are popular to-do list apps that can help you keep track of assignments. You can create lists for each course, set priority levels, and add tags for easier sorting. Many to-do list apps also have built-in reminders, so you never miss a deadline.

5. Syllabus organization: Make a habit of transferring assignment due dates from each class syllabus to your chosen method of organization (planner or digital tool) at the beginning of the semester. This way, you'll have a clear overview of what's due and when.

Ultimately, it's essential to experiment with different methods until you find one that suits your preferences and workflow. Don't be afraid to adjust your system as your needs change throughout college. Good luck!

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