3 Keys Thursday: 3 Key Tools for Getting Organized for the School Year (Kids)

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Every year, the back-to-school lists seem to get longer and more complicated. While I don't doubt that the things on the list are there for a reason, I also know that buying everything on the list can quickly get overwhelming -- and expensive. I'm not going to second guess a supply list issued by your child's school (or, even better, your child's teacher), but I am suspicious of the general, one size fits all lists created by stores. Then again, I'm suspicious of one size fits all anything.

Having spent 27 years in elementary schools, I know that what one teacher considers essential, another might consider optional -- or supply herself -- and that it's possible to successfully "go cheap" on some items. But, since this is "3 Keys Thursday," I'm going to focus on three basic, important items that are worth spending a little more on, since they're key tools for staying organized all year long.

A home for papers that need to be referenced. For many kids, this is a three-ring binder. It can also be an accordion folder (or one for each subject, for older kids), a skinny binder with a clamp closure (or one for each subject, for older kids), or a collection of folders color coded by subject. Whatever it is, it needs to be durable and expandable so that it can house everything from a single sheet of paper to several fat packets that cover entire units of study. These should live in the desk at school unless they're explicitly coming home so your child can study for a test.

A home for papers that need to be dealt with (homework, need signatures). For younger children, these are the papers that go in the "take home" pocket of a two-pocket folder. If for older students have demonstrated success with this system in years past, there's no need to come up with something new. If pocket folders don't work, try file folders, top-loading "backpack" folders, or an accordion file divided either by subject or by whether the paper stays home or goes back to school. Whatever you child chooses, it should be big enough to hold a stack of papers, but not so big that a single sheet of paper gets swallowed up, and it should be durable, as it will spend a lot of time traveling back and forth between home and school in your child's backpack. Many teachers have a required system for this, so before your child gets too excited, make sure his or her system will be acceptable to the teacher.

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A container to hold pencils, erasers and all the other little things that invariably end up in the desk. Possibilities here will vary widely based on your child's age, taste and styles, along with the teachers' requirements; some teachers specify not only the case, but what must go inside as well.Younger kids tend to gravitate to pencil boxes (and a pencil box may even be on the required supply list) or fancy pencil pouches. Size is the key feature here; what must be kept inside? Is more than one container allowed? Are kids allowed to keep a small basket of supplies on their desks, rather than hiding them away inside?

Older kids who travel between classrooms often like flat pencil holders designed to fit inside three-ring binders. They're typically carrying fewer supplies than younger kids and portability is more important than capacity.

Regardless of your child's age, make sure to take attributes like size, visibility (clear containers help I know I put it somewhere and I need to see it kids remember what's where), ease of use and durability. Again, this container will get a workout.

Finally, as you're making your purchases, consider how the three key container attributes (form, function and style) of the chosen supply interact with your child's personal and organizational styles. The closer the fit (and the more excited your child is about using the item), the more likely it will be used beyond the first month of school.

One last suggestion: If your child's school doesn't supply some sort of planner or assignment notebook, that should be at the top of your list as well. Your child may choose to integrate it into his or her home for papers that need to be dealt with, or carry it separately, depending up the tool he or she decides on for the papers that travel between home and school. When schools provide online assignments, many kids need a hard copy back up as well; actually transferring the assignment from the computer screen onto the page serves as a memory tool for some kids.

It's possible to spend endless hours (and nearly endless dollars) in the school supply section. As always, start with successes (what worked last year? what didn't?) and build from there, to make sure this school year starts and ends with STYLE.

3 Keys Thursday: Coping with Global Mindset

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about the zoom out/zoom in of global/detail-oriented thinkers and planners, and I promised to share strategies for making the global mindset work for you. So, as promised, here are three keys for planning when you're a big picture thinker, along with three keys for working with a global thinker when you deal in details.

Allow plenty of time. For global thinkers, procrastination is often the "default setting" when planning something big and/or important. Overwhelmed by the task, we vacillate from unrealistic, enormous plans to the bare bones basics, finally landing somewhere in the middle -- as long as we give ourselves enough time to work through the process.

Make lists -- incrementally, if necessary. As an I need to see it person, visually overwhelming lists feel insurmountable, so I often create lists by category. For my daughter's graduation party, for example, I made lists of decoration ideas, food to serve and grocery lists -- on three separate pages. My detail-oriented husband wasn't the least bit intimidated by putting it all on the same page, but for me to do so would have re-started the procrastination and slowed my forward movement.

Don't let the details get you down. Breathe. List. Act. Just take one detail at a time. Yes, there are lots of them, but, little by little, they'll line up just the way you want them to if you just take them one at a time.

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What if your house, like mine, is home to a big-picture thinker (me) and a detail-oriented person (my husband)? Planning the same event can become a battleground unless one person does it all, or both people learn to speak the lingo. Here are three things detail-oriented people can do to make the most of their partnership with a big-picture thinker.

Try to take in the whole picture. I know that's asking a lot. Detail-oriented people often have as much difficulty zooming out as global people have zooming in. If you can take a step back from the details long enough to imagine the finished product, you'll not only get a sense of where your global partner is coming from, but perhaps prioritize your own lists as well.

Avoid the impulse to offer a smorgasbord of details. Feed details to your global partner in bite-sized pieces, and preferably off just one page of the menu. When she's focusing on the food list, don't offer decoration ideas and vice versa. If she's already drowning in details for one area, offering details for another may just sink the ship. (And that's enough metaphors for this section).

Ask how you can help. My husband has become very, very good at this strategy, which allows the global person to relinquish one detail at a time. One caveat: be aware that you must choose your tone very carefully when asking this question of a stressed out global thinker who still thinks her overly optimistic plan is possible.

Unlike the personal and organizational styles, these planning styles actually complement one another, so, temporary complications aside, being partnered with someone whose style is the opposite of yours can be just the thing to ensure that your event comes together beautifully.

Down to the last detail.