Getting Your Teen Organized, Does It Have to Be All or Nothing?

Getting Your Teen Organized, Does It Have to Be All or Nothing? kids and teens

 Often when you think of being organized, it is an all or nothing scenario. Everything is perfectly in place, or its chaos.

In elementary school, some teachers introduce the concept of organization by labeling baskets or stations, assuming the children will realize how organization works. Some students don't pick up on the cues and continue through their high school years frustrated and scattered. These are the ones that will continually forget homework, need to be reminded to put things in a certain place or follow along in a routine.
If you have a young adult in your life that is behind the curve when it comes to staying organized, there are two ways you can help:

Break it down. Breaking it down into smaller steps can be a significant help. Many organizing systems get carried away with so many categories that the user is overwhelmed and simply gives up. If they can't follow the entire system then they don't follow it at all.

One way to ease them into a system is to help them train their brain to do something as a habit. Simplify the steps to organization, such as one folder for anything that has to do with a car; the insurance papers, loan agreement, and maintenance receipts can all be stored together. While there is still some sorting to be done when accessing the folder, knowing they can find anything related to the vehicle in that one folder increases confidence. The same goes for organizing other important original documents, such as health insurance info, social security card, bank account information, and more.

Explain why it is important. As you help them set up their own organizing system, be sure to emphasize the importance of keeping personal and difficult-to-replace information secure. Training your teen to protect that information is a natural extension of teaching them to keep the papers organized. Explaining why it is important to keep the information secure and accessible may turn on that ah-ha moment for them.

Cultivating even a slight habit of organization can be a money saver: avoiding late fees or fines or paying for a replacement birth certificate. But the biggest savings will be that of frustration. There is nothing more aggravating that knowing that "It's around here somewhere" but not being able to find it.

Don't expect an organizing miracle overnight, but reinforce and compliment the beginnings of even a simple system. Even if it doesn't make sense to you, talk with your teen about why they chose to group things the way they did, or where they store it. Helping them talk through the process will help you understand them better and gives them a boost of self-confidence as they explain the logic behind their own thinking.

Susan M. Sparks is the mother of two college students and the author of "The Student Life Jacket, The Easy-to-Use Organizer and Guide to Staying Afloat in a Sea of Paperwork for Young Working Adults and College Students." She believes that one way to empower young adults is to give them the organizational skills and tools to master their finances, career path and social interactions for success.