Junior Ben Ruffer finds that proper management is essential to him when trying to keep track of his busy schedule consisting of his six classes, participating in the FHC wind ensemble, marching band, boy scouts, and the occasional parkour class.

“I think [organization] is [important] because if you don’t stay organized,” Ben said, “you’ll lose track of homework assignments, and your stress will increase greatly.”

Ben came to the realization of how prominent his organizational skills are in his life when the marching band season began. He is one of the few band students who is required to have two separate instruments; he has one for concert season and a separate one for marching band season. 

“Organization for the band is important,” Ben said. “If you don’t have everything organized, you’ll go to school, and [band director Laura] Zilhaver will tell you to pull out a piece, and you’ll think, ‘Shoot, that’s on my floor.’ Or, at 6 a.m, [you’ll] grab the wrong folder since you play two different instruments.”

Even with the small things, Ben is able to see how quintessential it is to keep things tidy; he has come to the conclusion that organization makes his life a lot easier in the long run.

One minor thing that Ben has recognized the predominance of is simple cable management.

“Cable management is important if you’re a techy person or have multiple instruments and need to keep them disentangled,” Ben said. “Having assigned colors [for each cable] helps.”

Similar to Ben, senior Sukhpreet Singh has quite a hectic schedule as well; organization and having a schedule keeps him organized and on track for his busy days.

“I think, generally, [organization] is important especially with how everything is all over the place [right now],” Sukhpreet said. “Going on and off with school isn’t good for mental health, and keeping a schedule helps lead to success for the future.”

Despite the chaotic school schedule that has resulted from this year, Sukhpreet still finds a way to keep himself on track for the day by keeping this schedule. Somewhat replicating his typical in-school schedule, his new one simultaneously allows him to be in a different environment while staying on track.

Alongside his schedule for school, Sukhpreet engages in a variety of extracurriculars, and from these, he found out that it can be tricky to keep track of all his commitments if he’s not organized.

“When involved in other activities, time management helps,” Sukhpreet said. “It helps keep things set so you don’t overwork yourself.” 

With everything Sukhpreet is involved in, he has learned how important it is to have proper time management to truly succeed.  And while Sukhpreet sees organization as the most important factor for succeeding, junior Alex Hillman has found his own way to keep track of his life.

“I consider myself [as] somewhat messy yet organized at the same time,” Alex said.

Alex may be organized at times as he claims, but when it comes to simple things such as his room, bed, and computer setup, he is far from having things in order.

“My backpack is fairly messy,” Alex said. “[But], thanks to my folders, I can keep track of my assignments better than usual.”

For school, Alex admits that he isn’t the most put-together person in regards to handwriting and turning assignments in on time. But aside from school, Alex finds organization to be crucial when it comes to working; in his day to day life, he typically doesn’t have a set-in-place schedule, but for his work life, he is able to keep everything situated.

“I don’t have a calendar or anything,” Alex said. “However, I do have screenshots of my work schedule to keep me on track for my shifts.” 

Unlike Alex, sophomore Kyra Thomas finds organization crucial for her everyday life beyond just work as she has to keep track of sports, school, and her job as well. Staying organized helps her manage her time.

Kyra has been an organized person for as long as she can remember. Writing out her entire day helps her stay more put together. 

“I’ve been an extremely organized person ever since I was a child,” Kyra said. “I [was] able to recognize that when I was organized and put together, life was much easier, and I made it into a habit of being organized ever since then.”

Thanks to a simple planner, Kyra is able to keep track of everything from assignments to work schedules. 

“Writing my assignments in a planner helps since I don’t have a great memory when it comes to assignments,” Kyra said. 

Kyra feels like she needs to do well in everything she does; she recognizes that her high standards present a nearly impossible task, but time management skills help her try to live up to perfection. 

“I have a lot to do,” Kyra said. “If I’m not organized or if I lose track of things, then there could be some negative consequences with school or sports due to poor time management skills.” 

Kyra is able to balance her time out extremely well, being able to keep track of all her commitments due to her incredible time management skills that she has acquired over time.

Similar to Kyra, Ben sees organization as a crucial step to success, and he attributes many of his accomplishments to his time management skills.

“Organization leads to a healthier lifestyle,” Ben said. ”And a healthier lifestyle leads to more efficient and high-quality school work and a less stressful environment as a whole.”