It’s known to all that planners help people be more organized, but some students at Longfellow, even when given planners for free, abandon them and tell themselves they can remember all of their assignments. They don’t realize the true power of these simple pieces of paper, but a planner can change someone’s life completely around.

Planners improve organization, track achievements, and enhance student responsibility. With planners, you can easily remember all of your assignments and test dates and even set goals. At the end of every week, you can easily look back and see all that you have achieved, and make new goals for the next week.

“Planners are your best friend because they always keep you in line,” said science teacher Shelby Hill, who uses her planner daily. “They give you a sense of accomplishment and show off all your hard work throughout the week. They help you stay organized so you have time to worry about other things that are more fun,” she said.  Hill also teaches about organization in Avid.

One trick is trying to find the right planner that works best for you. Some people prefer weekly planners that you have a lot of space to write on, while others prefer planners that can help you see the whole month, which lets you plan ahead.

“Planners showing the whole month is helpful so I can see a wide span, but it is kind of hard to write in the small spaces,” said 7th grader Aysa N.

Another reason you may not feel motivated to write in and check your planner is because you find your planner boring, or don’t have a planning process. You need to make sure you check your planner every day and remember to write down everything you have to do. To motivate you to do this every day, you could get a planner with fun designs that you like, and also add additional decorations with stickers, washi tape, sticky notes, stamps, and different colored pens. 

For some people, digital planners work great, too. You can make your own template on Google Slides, PowerPoint, Canva, or the tool of your choice. Or, you could just open Google Tasks, which you can find on the side panel of any Google site such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive. With a digital planner, you can access it on your phone or computer, and easily edit it anywhere. With digital planners, you can also get notifications for events so you don’t miss them.

There are so many different types of planners, and some may not work for you, but you can always find one that does. Find the right planner, use it, and watch your organization skyrocket.