Back To School: Things to do BEFORE school starts

It's that time of year again, time to start thinking about going back to school. This time is often full of excitement, but can also be very stressful at times. But waiting until the very last minute to make any kind of preparations can make it even more tiring and stressful when the first day rolls around. I like to take care of a few things before school actually starts, and make a few adjustments while it's still summer time and I have some flexibility. Having plans, and making these adjustments can make it a lot less stressful and a lot more fun (well, if you find this stuff at all fun, LOL) to go back to a fresh start. Since I start school 3 weeks from now on August 21, the same week that many others start, I think it's time to start working on my back to school checklist. 

So everyone has slightly different ways of preparing for back to school, and different tricks to beat the back to school stress. (Feel free to leave you back to school checklist in the comments!) Today I'd like to share the things that I do around this time of year, and things that I have done in the past to make this time of year easier. A few of these things are very much optional, and just depend on the person, but I feel that a few of them are very important, and should at least be given a try. :)

Most Importantly:

♥ Really get to work on that back to school homework!- I mentioned this in a past post, but if you haven't already started on your summer assignments, you really need to start on them now. You want to be able to put the most thought you can into them that you can. You don't want to start off the year with a low mark because you didn't do it, or didn't do it right. While many teachers may not grade this so critically, some might.  Make a good impression to you teachers! The weeks are flying by... and you don't want to be stuck the last week or the day before with a big book to read, or a huge packet of papers to do.

♥ Get your sleep schedule back on track- I may make a post on this sometime this week. But since many of us love to go to bed late (more like early in the morning for me, LOL), and get up way later then we normally would during the school year. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start trying to go to bed a little earlier each night, and waking up earlier each day. Otherwise you may not be able to sleep a whole lot, if at all, the night before (especially with all the excitement). This doesn't mean you HAVE to wake up at your usual school year wake up time (unless you want to, or feel the need to), or go to bed at your school year bedtime, but get within an hour or two of these times. You won't be following these exact times on the weekends anyways, but of course it is way easier to adjust from two days, than it is to adjust from almost 3 months!

♥ Do a practice run of your route to school- This is primarily for students who are going to a new school, or have moved to a different distance from the school (or bus stop), and don't know how long it will take for them to get there. Bring your phone, and make note of the time you walk out the door, and walk or drive (just don't look at your phone while you drive!) to your school or bus stop. Then make note of the time when you get there, and how long it took. (It would be amazing if your phone has a stopwatch!) Of course you should always add a few extra minutes (I'd go about 10-15 minutes), to the time it takes you to get there. Just because you never know what might happen:

      -remember that traffic will be more dense on school mornings

      -you'll need to drive slower in bad weather, and it may also slow you down as you walk

      -if you ride a bus, you're bus may come slightly earlier sometimes

      -you may need to ask a teacher a question in the morning

      -and of course some social time with friends is always nice!

♥ Go to registration/ orientations before school starts- Most school, if not all, will have these before school starts. You will often get your schedule as well as your locker number and combination at these. Do a rundown of your schedule and locate all of your classes in order so they'll be easier to find on the first day (even if your a upperclassman this still wouldn't be a bad idea). Also your should memorize your locker number and practice your locker combination a few times until you get comfortable with it. If you know you'll be getting your locker, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring the majority of your supplies to put in your locker, that way you won't have as heavy of a load the first day. 

♥ Memorize and share your schedule- If you can memorize your schedule before the first day, you wont have to keep pulling it out to look at it on the first day. If you share your schedule with your friends on Facebook, through text, or even in person you can find out what friends you'll have in your class. 

Other things (mostly can be done a week before):

♥ Pick your outfit at least a week before you go back- Everyone likes to wear a nice outfit on the first day. Try to pick out what you will wear (as well as how you'll do your make-up and hair), at least a week before school starts. That way you won't need to scramble to pick your outfit the night before or morning of! This also helps to build some excitement, as well as take away some stress. My outfit is usually picked after I'm done back to school shopping. You may also want to practice your hair and make- up a few times.

♥ Come up with an organization plan, and put your supplies together- I also like to do this at least a week before school starts. If you want to try a new organization plan for the year, you should think of it before you go shopping for supplies. Once you have everything put it all together and put it in your bag. If you plan to put your things in your locker on an orientation day, be sure to do this before you go. You should try to get all of your basic supplies when you go clothes shopping. (Pencils, Pens, Highlighters, paper, and your organization materials.)

♥ Do a rundown of your morning routine- Usually we all know how long our morning routine takes in the morning. But if you have changed or added anything (putting in hair extensions, starting to eat breakfast, make- up ect.) you might want to do a practice run when you wake up in the morning of your full morning routine. Keep track of time (including how long it took you to get out of bed) to come up with an appropriate wake-up time. I'll be doing a full post on how I manage my time in the morning.

♥ Add a few new songs to your iPod- This is VERY much optional,and also depends on your school. If you can usually listen to music in study hall, add a few new songs to your playlist so you'll have some new songs to listen to during study hall. :)

These are just a few basic things that I like to do before school actually starts. I will go into more detail on several of these things within the next 3 weeks, as well as a few extras. Depending on your needs, you can always take or add a few extra things. It's good to start preparing a little early. What do you like to do to prepare for back to school? And even as you prepare, you can still enjoy your last few weeks of summer freedom. :)