I was wondering how to work well with students who are very muddled with their work.
A student who is very “muddled” or messy can be helped by been shown some organisation tactics. Students who are disorganised have a hard time keeping track of their materials and using their time efficiently. They tend to have very messy workplaces and also forget to complete tasks (sometimes because they’re switching too quickly from one task to the other). There are a few things which can help a student to organise themselves and manager their responsibilities.


1. Organising the workplace helps to organise the mind

  • Disorganised students tend to have very cluttered desks and they will rarely clean them, thus a lot of useful information gets lost or forgotten about. Helping the student to clean their workplace will help them to maintain an organised routine and monitor their work schedule more efficiently.

2. Establish a routine

  • Creating a habit of work helps students to organise their work more effectively and gives them a sense of structure. Having a routine will help to minimise confusion and also wasted time. This could also be a good time to encourage setting goals for time required for time completion.

3. Ask the parents to help

  • Parent-tutor communication is essential to dealing with a student who naturally isn’t very organised. Make sure they are in the loop with monitoring that their child is doing tasks and adhering to their routine. Having parental support will also help the student to improve a lot faster as there is more people helping them to become self-sufficient.

4. Create a to-do list

  • Clearly define the expectations of each day by creating a ‘To-Do’ list in a ‘Check-list’ type fashion. This helps the student to visually see what they need to accomplish and remain on track. As they write out their ‘To-do’ list, they’re given an opportunity to reflect upon their own work and what needs to be done, which minimises forgotten work. Show students to prioritise their check lists and to tick off items as they complete them. This also helps the student to gain skills in time management and consider making time for the more important tasks.

5. Label academic materials

  • Students who have to manage to keep up with work from several subjects would greatly benefit with a folder for each subject (or at least one main folder with dividers). You could then label and colour code certain subjects or how important the work is, as well as dating the work. This makes studying and revising a lot easier, as well as the student being able to monitor the work which they’re doing on a regular basis. Having a folder (or section in a folder) helps the student to find certain parts of work quickly.

These are a few ideas to help students to manage their lives without too much muddling with inefficient work habits. The ideas give students the tools and skills they need to manage their obligations and lead a more organised life.

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