10 Tips to Keep Your Teen Organized and Focused

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It’s officially started here ya’ll!  Yesterday the teens started back to school. This is a big year around our house. Declan is a senior this year, and Danny is a Sophmore. So many things going on, events, activities. All of the normal fun that comes with two active high school boys. It can be very easy to get off track and lose focus quickly. That is why a night time and morning routine is so important. If you start them early enough, it will become natural and habitual to stay on track. If you are just starting to put your routine into place, don’t worry. We have come up with our 10 Best Tips to Keep Your Teen Organized and Focused.

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If you have been around here for a while. you already know I am the most UN organized person on the planet. I try very hard, but I am always a mess! I have made it a personal mission to make sure my boys are nothing like me when it comes to being organized if I can help it at all. Creating and following a routine certainly helps. A good daily routine always starts with the right actions the night before. Followed by good habits in the morning, make for a pretty successful day.

10 Tips to Keep Your Teen Organized and Focused

The night before:

1. Keep things clean and put them back where they belong – Pick up your dirty laundry, papers, toys/gaming systems and put them away. Waking up to a clean space decreases stress and gives you a chance to focus on what is important the next day.
2. Set out your attire for the next day – This is something I use to do as a child, and still do as an adult. Having your clothes, accessories, backpacks, gym bags, and any other items you may need for the next day ready and waiting on you not only gives you more time in the morning, but it is also a part of cleaning up. If all of you homework and important papers are cleaned up and in your bag, you won’t waste time in the morning gathering or looking for your work.
3. Set your alarm and place it on the other side of the room – If you have to get up out of bed, 9 times out of 10 you will wake up faster and more alert.
4. Set a bedtime and stick to it – Pick a time that is reasonable for your teenagers age and your lifestyle and stick to it. Let’s say 10 pm (just picking a number here) is the best time for your family and your teen. Be in bed, electronics off and asleep by 10 pm every night. Once your body gets use to this everyday schedule, it will be easier and easier as time goes on. Our bodies like routine, and it can be easily trained to sleep and wake up at a certain time if it is done on a consistent basis.
5. Prep your meals and snacks the night before – If you take your lunch to school, make it after dinner. If you have this done ahead of time, it gives you more time in the morning for other things, or even for sleeping in a few extra minutes if that’s what you need. When you prepare snacks ahead of time, you are more likely to make better choices. When you snack on a whim, you tend to go more for the junk food.

When I do our grocery shopping each week, I fill a box with “better for you” choices. Since I try to prep produce as I buy it, it’s super easy to package it up into individual portions. Some great ideas for better for you snacks are …

Fresh fruit and vegetables – grapes, sliced strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, celery etc..

Low-fat cheese and crackers – string cheese, whole grain or multi grain crackers

Something sweet – If we choose the right things, sweets are ok. The teens around here are big fans of Horizon™ Organic Chocolate Protein Plus Milk ( 15 grams of protein per bottle, great chocolate taste, portable and shelf stable, which means they are great for the lunch box too!) , Horizon Apple Fruit Crunchers (Organic dried apples in individual pouches. no additives or preservatives),  and Apple Clusters (apples, cinnamon, and juice in bite size clusters. Individually wrapped for convenience).

You can find all of the Horizon products at your local Walmart. Now these are snacks mom’s can feel good about giving to their kids!

Package up all of your snacks in individual bags, this makes it easy to grab on the go, or simply for portion control. If you keep them all in a small storage basket, it will fit neatly into your fridge.

Morning Routine: 

1.  Make your bed as soon as you get up – Studies show that if you make your bed as soon as you are out of it, you won’t want to climb back into it and go back to sleep. (This is totally something I need to start doing!!- haha)
2. Eat a healthy breakfast – Whole grains, fiber, and protein are a great way to fuel up for the day. Another great reason to drink Horizon Chocolate Protein Plus milk!

1. Get in a little exercise – go for a quick run, get some stretching in, take a walk on the treadmill. Get your body warmed up and ready for the day.
2. Shower/Bath in the morning instead of before bed – Taking a shower in the morning will wake you up and get you moving. Everyone feels refreshed and more awake after a morning shower.
3. Relax – If you follow your routine, you will have time to relax a bit before starting your day. Read a chapter or 2 of your favorite book, catch up on the news for the day, check your e-mails. You will have time for those extra activities before your day begins if you stick to your routine.

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I sure hope these 10 Tips to Keep Your Teen Organized and Focused has helped you prepare for the upcoming school year. As I am writing this post, I just said good night to my 2 favorite teens. Tomorrow is their first day of school. After I said good night, I started weeping just a little. Declan is starting his Senior year, this will be the last night before the first day of school for him … Wahhhhh! Where did my babies go? Maybe I will keep the youngest home forever! Then again….. maybe not 🙂

How do you stay organized? Do you stick to a strict routine, or are you a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person?

If you are reading this post, odds are you may have a teen yourself. You can also keep them organized online with our 8 Must-Have Apps & Extensions for High Schoolers! 

Until next time! And if you need something to do, check our recent post on file folding, your ultimate laundry hack.