High school can be stressful. With the social pressures, deadlines, and ultimately harder coursework, it can be overwhelming. The key to eliminating this stress is simple, preparation. DePaul Prep students share ways that they plan and track their assignments in ways that help eliminate some of that tension. 

With different people come different work ethics. Some can manage without organization, and some people thrive using it. Some people are born with it, but everyone can learn it. 

Senior Dylan Greene acknowledges that planning and preparation have always been strengths for her. 

“This is actually one of the things I pride myself on, I’ve always been someone that needs a plan,” Greene said. 

Greene mentions that this mindset is something that she’s incorporated into her school life. Maintaining her organization skills as she grows, Greene shares that she instills practices from an early age still today.

“I use an app called MyHomework, which I’ve used since I was in 6th grade. If you scroll down far enough you can see my vocab homework from 2017,” Greene noted. 

But this is not just something lying around her iPad, Greene shares that this method has effectively impacted her life. 

Greene adds, “ I’ve never missed an assignment and it’s become a part of my routine, it’s satisfying to cross off things I’ve completed.”

Tracking strategies are not always easy though, they take time and effort to learn. 

Junior Alexandra Brasovan shared her previous experience with tracking homework and how it has progressed over the years. 

“Freshman year I did none of my homework assignments but leading up to junior year I started to plan my assignments out better so that I can turn everything in on time,” Brasovan mentioned. 

Even though Greene and Brasovan are nearing the end of high school and have progressed in terms of preparation, many younger DePaul Prep students have also demonstrated diligent planning skills. 

Freshman Kiersten Lyons talked through some tracking strategies she has as a first-year student at DePaul Prep. 

“I usually just check the schoology calendar and see when each assignment is due,” she mentions, “I also use Bessy and Google Keep. Google Keep is an app where you can make sticky notes and checklists for all of your assignments.” 

Bessy is an app that students across all grade levels have been using. It links to a student’s schoology account and keeps track of their grades and posted assignments. 

Lyons mentions that she hasn’t always had these tracking habits and that stepping into high school allowed her to create better organizational strategies. 

“In 7th grade, I struggled with tracking and since then I just became more organized and done better on my assignments,” Lyons shared. 

Lyons expands on that idea, “In middle school, I had longer assignments so I was given more time to do them. Now I have more (assignments) with quantity instead of quality so I had to learn how to maintain that and stay on top of my assignments.” 

Having a tracking routine for assignments is not only beneficial in terms of developing management skills, but it also has other benefits such as reducing stress and keeping grades. 

Greene shares the importance of planning out your homework in terms of mental stability.

Greene states, “Good planning makes life infinitely easier because it allows you to set goals and accomplish them in a timely manner. Being disorganized, at least for me, would fuel my anxiety even more and probably make me less efficient.”

Brasovan adds to this and mentions, “I feel less stressed when I’m more organized. I try to plan designated times when I’m going to complete my assignments such as FRESH so that I don’t have to do assignments when I get home.” 

Not everyone though knows where to start. Brasovan mentions that by just using simple tracking resources you can begin to see improvement. 

“Although I don’t use a homeworking tracking app. I do use an app called Bessy. It informs me when teachers put in grades for assignments and helps me keep track of my grades and progression,” Brasovan states, “This helps me see where I need to dedicate my time and stay on top of grades that have been posted.”

Lyons adds to this comment, encouraging students to simply just check their Schoology consciously. 

Lyons states, “Use Schoology. Check the calendar. It’s simple but it has the specific dates of when everything is due so it’ll help you work out the dates. It’s also available to all students.”  

Greene builds on this idea and shares that there is always room for growth and a conscious effort is a step towards improvement. 

“My planning skills have definitely improved, especially with my course loads being more difficult as the years went on,” Greene mentions. 

Greene adds to this by mentioning her continuous efforts to convince other students to follow in her footsteps, especially some that may be new to it. 

Greene states, “I help out in freshman advisory as a senior advocate and am always trying to get them to download the app and try it.” 

Although a chunk of assignments can appear overwhelming, DePaul Prep students are living proof that any stressful workload can be turned into a piece of cake with a little preparation.