Special Education Philippines received wonderful tips from one of its favorite supplier of school materials, Post-it. Inside my bag, there are always post-its in different colors and sizes for everyday organization use. It is one of the must-haves for an organized school year.

This year as you go inside the bookstore to pick up your school materials, or get excited by the smell the fresh leaves of paper or become giddy with your differently colored pencils and pens – don’t forget one thing – FOCUS.

What is Focus?

What should a student focus on? Your “goals to attain” this school year. Once the homework and projects start to pile up, don’t let that rain on your parade.  Achieving number one may be a tough cookie to bite, but it is not impossible when you learn how to get there.  Fortunately, you don’t have to go unequipped, because with the right tools and mind set, you can surely succeed and you’ll find that school is that much more enjoyable.  Here are tips from Post-it on how you can make studying fun and getting those A’s more achievable:

1. Give yourself a heads up!

At the start of every school year, expect to get a course curriculum or course outline.  The course curriculum or outline will give you a schedule of what to expect per subject.  A tip to help you be on your toes as often as possible is to have a visual on hand. Try printing out a calendar of topics from your course outline which you may stick on your study table.

Post-It recommends sticking your course outlines using Scotch® Magic™ Tape that comes in a cute Rabbit Dispenser! It won’t damage your table unlike other adhesives so changing calendars every month is as easy as 1-2-3!

Remember: Being on track gives you a whole lot of edge!

2. Don’t forget to take your textbook to class and get familiar with it!

Taking notes during class is helpful in knowing what key points you need to remember and what the teacher wants to emphasize.  Often times, your teacher will expound on topics that are not in your textbook. These are key points that that you need to catch.

Post-it recommends that when there’s important points to remember catch them by jotting them down on Post-it® Original Notes. It even comes in variety of colors such as Canary Yellow, Lavander, Green, Pink, Blue, and Orange.

You may organize the key points by topic and write them in similar colors so you can easily distinguish which explanation goes with each topic being discussed. Then, post your key idea right next to the topic being discussed in the text book, this way you will be reminded when you backtrack at home or review for quizzes.

Post-it "Start of School Materials"

3. You’ll see what you need to remember by flagging textbooks

Highlighting keywords and definitions can be helpful when you’re reading through each section or chapter.  However, when you have too many highlighter marks, it can defeat the purpose of highlighting.

Post-it suggests that when you go through your textbook, rather than highlighting all the terms you see and things you need to review, mark them with Post-it® Flags.

Marking the things that you want to review can help prioritize what really needs to be highlighted from smaller ideas that add to the big picture.

4. Do more to understand the notes in your notebook!

Now that you’ve gone to class and marked all the important terms, keeping your lecture notes clean and organized is the next step.  Rewriting your notes into organized thoughts can help better organize the lectures into your head.  When you’re able to take notes from the lecture and textbook and reword it neatly, you help yourself understand the material better.

When you’re done with all of your notes, Post-it suggests that you keep them in order with Post-it® Page Markers.  You can easily write on Page Markers and place it on the edge of your notebook to make finding sections quickly and easily.

There are many ways to study, but the most important thing for a student like you is to find the best technique and use the best tools to excel in class. You may start up with the tips above to help you out.

With a determined mindset, developed study habits, and a dedication to learn without limits, you will definitely burn the midnight oil throughout your college years without burning yourself out!

Make each day count and enjoy your new start!

Scotch® Magic™ Tape, Post-it® Notes, Post-it® Flags, and Post-it® Page Markers are trademarks of 3M.

About 3M

3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

Note: These helpful start of the school year tips are brought to us by Post-It, Scotch and 3M.