Back To School Tips: Tip #3 Getting Organized

It’s mid-August, which means some high school students have just started a new school-year, while their peers from other parts of the country are inching closer to doing the same. Over the past two weeks, we have shared some back to school tips in the Action Team blog, including tips from a few Major League baseball players.   This week’s back to school blog is written and supplied by New York Yankees pitcher, Chris Capuano, an active participant in the Action Team program for a number of years. He was the valedictorian of his class at Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts and he earned an economics degree from Duke University. Given his background, we turned to Chris to share his thoughts with you about today’s topic: Getting Organized. We’ll let Chris take it from here.   This week’s tip: Getting Organized  

Doing well in school was always the first priority for me. It gave me confidence and got me into a great university where I made connections and laid a solid foundation for my adult life. I can truly say that being organized was the reason I was able to succeed in school and as a baseball player.

My dad used to tell me to plan my work and then work my plan. I learned that if I took a few minutes each day to actually write out what I needed to get done, including blocks of time in which I would do each assignment or activity, it allowed me to relax and just follow my plan.

Sometimes things come up that you can’t predict, but don’t stress, just sit down for a moment and adjust or make a new plan for that day and week. They have all kinds of weekly/daily planners at office supply stores that cover the school year time frame, so pick one that fits your eye…or I imagine there’s an app for that now, too.

There is no secret to getting good grades or improving your skill at something, it simply takes being engaged and disciplined. Have big dreams and goals, set smaller attainable goals that will lead to the big ones, check and adjust your plan regularly, and you’ve got your road map. All that’s left is to follow it and be calm and confident in yourself–and enjoy the ride!

Good luck this year! Cap

  To view this blog entry, and others check out the Action Team website.