Annie Daggett:
Everyday, teachers are bombarded with assignments to grade, meetings to attend and lesson plans to create. Bearing the weight of innumerable tasks, it is often difficult for educators to remember all of the points on their constantly growing to-do lists. To mitigate this issue, many teachers turn to different organizational methods that suit their personalities and preferences.
“In my own personal drive, I have folders for literally everything,” social studies teacher Annie Daggett said. “I like having the fact that I can go back to previous years, and that I have all of my slide decks and notes from back to 2021.”
To juggle the work that comes with teaching her history classes, Daggett relies on Microsoft Outlook rather than a physical planner to keep track of meetings and events throughout the year.
“Honestly, with so many different appointments and meetings, it's just easier to use Outlook,” Dagget said. “I don't usually use the Google calendar because I get reminders and [there are] more helpful features connected to Outlook.”
In addition, Daggett has a legal pad at hand to create to-do lists. She keeps all her tasks organized in a linear fashion structured to restart each week.
“I used to [write my to-do lists] on bigger Post-it notes, but that wasn't enough space, so I switched to a legal pad,” Daggett said. “Being organized [has been] super helpful.”
Daggett’s love for organization first sparked as a high schooler. Now as a teacher, she encourages students in her classes to keep their many assignments organized as well.
“I've helped introduce students to different [methods] like using Excel sheets to help them organize deadlines for their classes,” Daggett said. “Another technique I always say to students is to make folders for your specific classes on your Google Drive. That way, you can look back at previous classes in future years.”
Aryan Rathour:
For students juggling academics, extracurriculars and personal responsibilities, finding an effective organizational tool is vital.
“I used to have a physical agenda, but then I'd always forget to write down any assignments at the end of class or I would just not have enough time,” junior Aryan Rathour said. “So I'd sometimes forget about them and just not end up doing it.”
Through much trial and error, Rathour has now found his preferred organizational technique.
“I use [an online web application called] Notion because it's really efficient,” Rathour said. “It's always an [open tab] on my computer.”
Rathour uses Notion to sort not only his academic tasks, but also his extracurricular responsibilities, harnessing many features to ensure that his work is completed on time.
“I use a calendar for everything ranging from extracurricular-related [events] like club meetings, but also just online and tangible assignments in general,” Rathour said. “I also use the to-do list option for my homework assignments, and I can add the due dates on each one too to make sure I do it on time.”
As checking Notion has become a key part of Rathour’s daily routine, the application has helped him overcome the tendency to forget important assignments or appointments.
“I'm a person that sometimes forgets to do their assignments, so I always check my calendars and my to-do list on Notion to make sure I don't miss an assignment,” Rathour said. “It's so convenient because you can use it on your laptop and you can download the app on your phone.”
