Teen Academic Planner To Master Time Management

I have looked for a teen academic planner for years. I would get so frustrated because I couldn't find the right type to keep myself organized. So, when my kids started high school, I wanted them to take more control over their time. This academic planner did the trick! I am so relieved because I was sick of being their secretary and setting up their appointments. They can manage themselves. This teen academic planner is great for middle schoolers through high school.

***UPDATE 2026-2027***
This post was written when my kids were starting high school. They have graduated now, one is in medical school, and the other has their master's degree. There are now two versions of this planner: a larger 8 ½ x 11'' size and a smaller 8 ¼ x 8 ½'' version (which has been great for my college student). Both have the same interior, just with a smaller font.

Jump to:

• Key Takeaways
• Benefits of organizing your academic planner before school starts.
• Tips on How to Use the Order Out of Chaos Academic Planner from the Perspective of a Boy and a Girl
• Tip 1: Transfer your schedule to the academic planner.
• Buy the Best Academic Planner You Will Ever Use!
• Tip 2: Use a black Sharpie marker to write the subjects so they help them stand out.
• Tip 3: In the Year at a Glance section, mark the days off for the entire school year from the district's academic calendar.
• Tip 4: Don't forget to write about your after-school activities.
• Tip 5: Always have a pencil with an eraser attached to the planner.
• Tip 6: Have some sticky notes in your pencil case so you can jot down homework information.
• Additional Accessories To Accompany The Order Out Of Chaos' Academic Planner
• 2026 update additional accessories

Benefits of organizing your academic planner before school starts.

Middle and high school can be pretty stressful, especially during the first week or so, and especially if you are new to the school. Remembering everything was a major stressor for me, so I didn't want my kids to feel too stressed about things they couldn't control. After applying the tips below, we found the following benefits to be invaluable.

1. The kids didn't feel as anxious about where to go or what to do.
2. They took a moment to review their schedule and remember where everything was. They even plotted their plan to walk from one room to another. And, it empowered them.
3. They felt ready to start a new year. Coming off the summer, they would feel lost and out of the habit of doing structured schoolwork.

I was glad I could help them avoid the stress I experienced in school. Below are some tips on adding different things to planners to help kids feel empowered. Have a great school year.

Tips on How to Use the Order Out of Chaos Academic Planner from the Perspective of a Boy and a Girl

This post will provide you with tips on using this academic planner from my son's and my daughter's perspectives. Discover how they transformed their planner into their unique style. First, let's start with the layout and how they added their classes to the planner.

Tip 1: Transfer your schedule to the academic planner.

This step helps you memorize the order of your classes and their locations within the school. If possible, obtain a map of the entire school, including the locations of the classes, and mark the classes on it accordingly. This will help you determine where to go for each class, allowing you to plan your route effectively.

Buy the Best Academic Planner You Will Ever Use!

Order Out of Chaos® Academic Planners - Student Academic Planners

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If you want your class schedule to stand out a little more, you can color-code the different classes the way my daughter did below. Instead of writing A through F day, my daughter wrote ALL. She also put P.E and health on the same line since they were in the same period of the day.

Tip 2: Use a black Sharpie marker to write the subjects so they help them stand out.

My son liked to use a Sharpie (affiliate) marker, so the row for each class stood out a little more. He also included the room numbers to remind him of which classroom to go to next.

My daughter is into fonts and calligraphy, so she wanted to write each class in a different font style to make it her own. Here is what she did with her academic planner.

Tip 3: In the Year at a Glance section, mark the days off for the entire school year from the district's academic calendar.

If you have a year-at-a-glance section in your academic planner, color on the off days and other essential dates from the school's calendar for the entire year. They usually have it available on their website.

Tip 4: Don't forget to write about your after-school activities.

This will help you figure out when you are free to study and do homework. Block out those areas, and write what you will do in each block.

Tip 5: Always have a pencil with an eraser attached to the planner.

By keeping a pencil that hooks onto the planner at all times, you will always have a way to write something down quickly. Planners are intended to hold all your tasks, not just your school assignments, so get into the habit of writing down everything, and you will be ready for what comes your way.

Tip 6: Have some sticky notes in your pencil case so you can jot down homework information.

Some assignments are not due the next day. So, you can write them on a sticky note and move them from one day to the future to make it easier for you to transfer the task.

If you do not have time to place it in the right section, place the written sticky note on the front cover or inside the front cover of the planner. Then, when you have time, like at lunch or study hall, put the sticky notes (affiliate) inside the planner on the day you need to start the project or task.

In front of the academic planner, there is a Study Planning Guide as well as a Project Planning Guide to help you with future planning of tests and projects. Make copies of these pages to use in the future.

While this planner works well on its own, some additional accessories can enhance its effectiveness. Check it out below.

Additional Accessories To Accompany The Order Out Of Chaos' Academic Planner

You can easily use a paperclip or a binder (affiliate) clip to keep your page, but the hard plastic divider works nicely because it attaches to the spiral rings.

This page marker/divider is a separate cost but well worth the purchase. Click here to buy the page maker! (affiliate)

The monthly tabs (affiliate) also help keep the academic planner divided into monthly sections, so you can easily go to different sections of the planner. It looks like this after I added them to the planner.

These monthly tabs (affiliate) can be added to the beginning of the month, facing forward. Note that they are one-sided, so be sure to add them to the right side of the page. You can also attach them starting from the top and working your way down and lining them up next to each other while placing them on the corresponding monthly page. Doing it this way will let you flip forward or backward in the planner as needed. Be sure to place it exactly where you want it because removing it is difficult. Feel free to click here to purchase these monthly tabs (affiliate).

If you are a fan of stickers, you can buy stickers for the planner as well. It has a variety of words on the sheet, as you can see below.

The cost of the stickers is separate from the planner's cost as well. Feel free to click here to purchase these stickers as well.

2026 update additional accessories

There are some additional accessories you may want to use with this planner. Below are the newer items and the benefits.

Academic Planner Subject Labels (For 8.25x8.5 with ALL DAY PLANNING Size Planners)

It is a strip of labels (affiliate), custom-sized to fit perfectly over the individual subject boxes (affiliate). Each strip comes with 14 labels (affiliate).

Perfect for the planner to cover mistakes or write in the wrong area, especially if they used a pen. No White Out needed. Also great for students who switch classes in the middle of the year for a particular time of day.

Academic Planner Subject Labels (For 8.5x11 Size with AFTER SCHOOL Planning ONLY)

Does your student get out of school at 3 PM? Have an evening activity that lasts past 9 PM? These stickers are for kids who change their after-school activities mid-year or start earlier for their after school activities.

Gradient Jotter Pen Sets | 4 Pack

Great for kids who love to color their subjects and activities. These pens are great.

Calm Strips Sensory Stickers

Calm Strips are reusable, residue-free, textured sensory stickers designed to help regulate restless energy and promote mindfulness. Great for kids with anxiety or anyone who feels overwhelmed with what they need to do.

Feel free to visit all the products and courses for the Academic Planners and the accessories on this page.

I hope these tips help your kids keep their academic planners up-to-date and organized. Click on the image below to get your copy today!

Full disclosure: If you decide to purchase this academic planner or any of the products on Order Out Of Chaos's website, I will receive a small commission from your purchases.

Looking for more tips for back-to-school organizing? Feel free to check our other posts here!