20 High School Hacks You Will Love!

If you’re a high school student looking for some awesome hacks keep reading this post all about my top 20 high school hacks plus a free weekly schedule! I learned so many awesome high school tips that I can’t wait to share with you.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.

1. Keep a planner:

This is my biggest high school hack. Using a planner helped me so much in high school because it kept me organized and allowed me to manage my time a lot better.

This was really helpful because I needed to be able to juggle all the different areas of my life including my job, school work, volunteer work, and athletics while still having time to spend with my friends.

I just got this 5 x 8 planner which people rave about! It is a Day Designer knock off by Blue Sky and is really good for people who have a lot to do and aren’t the best at planning out their time.

This one is a daily/monthly planner and gives you an entire page for each day of the month which allows you to time-block your schedule for the day. Time-blocking can really help you to stay on task and use your time wisely.

I also love these planner stickers that will make your planner even more organized and creative. Here are pictures of the sticker packs that I have and what they look like inside. I also put these stickers on my laptop and it looks so cute!

2. Use colored pens:

I find that it is so much easier to stay organized and keep up with my planner and notes when I have fun and happy colors to write with.

I also LOVE to doodle which is much easier to do with fun colored pens.

My absolute favorite pen brands are the Zebra Mildliner double-ended pens and Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens.

I love Mildliner pens because they have two sides. One side is a skinnier marker and the other side is like a highlighter.

Staedtler pens are my favorite colored pens because they don’t bleed through paper so they are perfect for writing and doodling in my planner!

You can check out all of these amazing pen brands on Amazon below.

3. Make a weekly schedule:

Creating a weekly schedule is the best! Make sure to check out the free scheduling printables in my free resource library. There is a weekly schedule included in these printables which is super helpful!

There are two ways that you can use a weekly schedule. Both are super helpful!

1. You can make a schedule of the things that are consistent in your life every week. This can include class times, extracurriculars, job shifts, sports practices, etc.

I love making schedules like this and putting them at the beginning of my planner. It helps me remember the times I am free and the times I am busy during the week.

Here is an example of how I used this scheduling technique last semester.

2. You can also create a weekly schedule for each week. This will allow you to include the things in your life that aren’t consistent each week.

I usually use my planner for this however, if you prefer to use the weekly schedule printable for this as well you totally can!!

4. Color-coded materials:

I learned this hack in middle school but it was so helpful I used it all throughout High School as well.

The idea is to assign a different color to each class and match your materials for each class to that color.

For example, math was always red in my mind so all of my supplies for math class were red.

This helped me to keep track of my materials for each class and stay more organized.

5. Get a good backpack:

Make sure to get a quality backpack for college! I like spacious backpacks because they have room for school supplies and have a ton of pockets to keep your materials organized.

Having a spacious backpack is especially important if you go to a school where you don’t use lockers.

If you are carrying all of your books around the whole day you will want a backpack with a lot of room.

6. Take neat/organized notes:

Taking neat and organized notes will help you so much in high school!

Taking neat and organized notes will make you concentrate on the material better than if you were taking sloppy notes.

Neat notes will also be so much easier to study because you won’t have to spend time translating sloppy handwriting.

7. Stay after with teachers:

Staying after with your teachers can be very beneficial in high school!

Your teachers will be able to clarify anything you did not fully understand in class which will make your life 100 times easier.

Staying after also allows you to create a better relationship with your teacher which never hurts!

8. Make study guides:

Making good study guides is a great way to study for a quiz or test.

I usually make my study guides on a google doc but you can also handwrite them if you prefer writing.

9. Quizlet or flashcards:

Making flashcards is a great study tool because they allow you to quiz yourself and reinforce the information you are learning.

I prefer making my flashcards through Quizlet.

Quizlet is a FREE app/website that allows you to make flashcards online. Quizlet will also create games/activities to help you study your flashcards.

I have over 200 Quizlet sets (Crazy, right?) and could not have gotten through school without them. You can also send them to your friends and they will be so thankful!

Quizlet also allows you to print your deck in a convenient and organized list if you prefer a physical list to study from.

10. Study with friends:

Studying with friends is a really good way to be productive while having fun and enjoying each other’s company- as long as you are able to work together without getting too distracted.

11. Do your homework somewhere productive:

It can be very helpful to find a place to work in your home or town where you are the most productive.

In my house, I like working at the dining room table because it gives me a lot of space to work on.

12. Get enough sleep (So important, can’t stress this enough)

Getting enough sleep is so important and I definitely did not realize how essential it was when I was in high school.

Studies show that most teenagers need 9 and ½ hours of sleep to function best.

The best way to make sure you’re consistently getting enough sleep is to create a bedtime for yourself (during the school week) that you stick to.

You can even add your bedtime to your weekly schedule.

13. Don’t procrastinate

Getting assignments done ahead of time will help you to not fall behind.

A good way to do this is to spend a little time on a project or assignment each day so that you don’t have the whole assignment to do at the last minute.

14. Read the material

I know it can be tempting to “save time” by using Shmoop or SparkNotes to “read” a book for your classes.

Although this may seem easier it is most likely going to waste more time because you won’t truly understand the material and it will make assignments a lot harder.

With that said, Shmoop and Sparknotes can still be a great way to reinforce the material and help you to better understand the books you are reading.

15. Review your notes

Reviewing your notes for each class throughout the week is a great way to reinforce the material you are learning at school.

It will also help make completing your homework and studying for tests much easier because you will be studying and actually learning the material a little bit every day without even realizing it.

16. Discover your learning style:

Everyone learns differently and knowing what kind of learner you are will help you study in the most effective way for you.

The three main learning styles are auditory learners, visual learners, and tactile/kinesthetic learners.

Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening.
Study tips include:
-Speaking the material you are trying to learn out loud to yourself
-Discuss the material out loud with other people
-Record yourself speaking the information and then listen to it over and over

Visual Learners prefer to learn by seeing.
Study tips include:
– Using colors (bright colors work the best for me) in your notes
-Draw diagrams and pictures to emphasize key points- this will help you remember ideas as images
-make flashcards with pictures

Tactile/kinesthetic learners prefer to learn by doing.
Study Tips:
– Hands-on activities: for examples labs during science class
– Build models to remember key points

17. Take breaks

It is really important to take breaks so that you don’t get overwhelmed with everything going on in your life.

You can schedule breaks in your weekly schedule so that it is consistent every week.

Another method I find helpful is working on something for 20 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. You can set timers on your phone so you know when it is time for a break.

18. Pick your outfit out the night before:

Picking out your outfit the night before is such a great high school hack.

I am the queen of pressing snooze on my alarm clock and was always running late in the morning.

Having my outfit already picked out saved me so much time and helped me make it to school on time.

19. Volunteer

Volunteering will allow you to be an active member in your community while helping to make a difference in the lives of others.

My service through high school taught me so many things and introduced me to so many wonderful people.

I definitely recommend looking into ways you can get involved in your community and make a difference.

20. Join Clubs!

Clubs were such a big part of my high school experience.

My favorite club is the Best Buddies club which creates friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Joining a club that you are interested in will allow you to spend time doing what you love. It will also give you the opportunity to meet people who may share your interests.

These 20 hacks helped me so much in high school! I wanted to share them with all of you because I wish someone would have told me these hacks when I was in high school.

If you try any of these hacks and they help you, let me know in the comments below! I love hearing from my readers. 🙂

If you liked this post on 20 High School Hacks check out my post on 15 online school tips!