Organize Your Homework With Color Coded Supplies

Organize Homework with Color Coded Supplies
Mark Romanelli/Blend Images / Getty Images

Whether you are in high school, college, or beyond, organization is key to academic success. Did you know that you can actually improve your grades if you can organize your homework and study time effectively? One way to do this is to incorporate a color coding system into your homework routine.

Here's how it works.

1. Gather a Set of Inexpensive, Colored Supplies

You may want to start with a pack of colored highlighters, then find folders, notes, and stickers to match them.

  • Sticky notes
  • Folders
  • Highlighters
  • Colored labels, flags, or round stickers (for sale items)

2. Select a Color for Each Class

For example, you may want to use the following colors with a system like this:

  • Orange=World History
  • Green=Math
  • Red=Biology
  • Yellow=Health or PE
  • Blue=Geography
  • Pink=Literature

3. Make a Mental Connection Between the Color and the Class

For instance, you might relate the color green to money—to make you think of math.

You may have to play around with the color system to make each color makes sense for each class. This is just to get you started. The color connection will be clear in your mind after a few days.

4. Folders 

Obviously, you'll use each folder to keep track of homework for each class. The type of folder isn't important; just use the type that is best for you or the type that your teacher requires.

5. Sticky Notes 

Sticky notes are useful when doing library research, writing down book and article titles, quotes, brief passages to use in your paper, bibliographical citations, and reminders. If you can’t carry around several packs of sticky notes, then keep white notes and use colored pens.

6. Colored Flags 

These handy markers are for marking pages or reading assignments in books. When your teacher gives a reading assignment, just place a colored flag at the beginning and ending points.

Another use for colored flags is marking a date in your organizer. If you carry around a calendar, always place a flag marker on a date when an important assignment is due. That way, you'll have a constant reminder that a due date is approaching.

7. Highlighters

Highlighters should be used when reading over your notes. In class, take notes as normal—and be sure to date them. Then, at home, read over and highlight in an appropriate color.

If papers get separated from your folder (or never make it into your folder) you can easily recognize them by the colored highlights.

8. Labels or Round Stickers 

Stickers or labels are great for keeping your wall calendar organized. Keep a calendar in your room or office, and place a color-coded sticker on the day that an assignment is due.

For instance, on the day you receive a research paper assignment in history class, you should place an orange sticker on the due date. This way, everyone can see an important day approaching, even at a glance.

Why Use Color Coding?

Color coding can come in useful in a number of ways, even for a very disorganized student. Just think: if you see a random paper floating around you’ll be able to know at a glance if it’s a history note, research paper note, or math paper.

Organizing your notes and paperwork isn’t the only part of a good homework system. You need a space designated for the time spent studying and working that is also well kept and organized.

Ideally, you should have a desk in a well-lit, comfortable, and quiet area. Keeping your workspace organized is just as important as your work. Even though you may keep a planner with you, a wall calendar can be exceptionally useful. School isn’t your whole life and sometimes you have a lot of clubs and engagements to keep track of. Having all that information in one spot will help you organize everything in your life, to make sure you never have conflicting obligations.

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Fleming, Grace. "Organize Your Homework With Color Coded Supplies." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/organize-your-homework-1857102. Fleming, Grace. (2023, April 5). Organize Your Homework With Color Coded Supplies. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/organize-your-homework-1857102 Fleming, Grace. "Organize Your Homework With Color Coded Supplies." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/organize-your-homework-1857102 (accessed March 19, 2024).