Notebook Planner
Notebook Planner
Topic: Planning For Organization
Empowerment Lesson Video: Work Life Balance
Supplies:
- Small blank spiralbound notebooks, one per student
- Glue
- Scissors
- Rulers
- Fine tip writing utensils such as colored pens and pencils
- Additional flat craft supplies such as colored construction paper, stickers, glitter, and foil paper
Video Discussion:
Ask, “What does it mean to have healthy work life balance?”
Direct students to turn and talk to a partner. Then, call the class together to share student ideas.
Guide students to understand that a healthy work life balance means having a good, sustainable mixture of work or career tasks and personal time.
After watching the video Work Life Balance, use some or all of the following questions to discuss the video content:
- What advice did the role models give to maintain a healthy work life balance?
- What might happen if someone has an unhealthy work life balance?
- What types of activities or tasks do you like to do in your personal time?
- As students, you probably don’t go to work. What is your “work”?
- How can you make sure that you have a healthy work life balance? What steps could you take?
Activity Instructions:
Students will be creating a planner to help track their daily and weekly activities and tasks.
Planning is an important part of achieving and maintaining a healthy work life balance. Being aware of each of your work tasks and personal activities (and planning when you will complete them!) can help set you up for success.
- Using a pen or marker, write your name and other identifying information such as your grade or student ID number on the inside cover of your notebook. This information should help someone return your planner to you if it gets lost.
- Think about how you would like to decorate the cover of your planner. Maybe you want a collage of stickers and glitter, or perhaps you’d prefer to draw some of your favorite comic book characters. It’s totally up to you! This is your planner, and you should love the way it looks.
- Get whatever art supplies you need to decorate your cover and go for it! Remember, if you are gluing something to the cover, use plenty of glue. Because you will use your planner daily, you’ll want the cover to be sturdy.
- Get whatever art supplies you need to decorate your cover and go for it! Remember, if you are gluing something to the cover, use plenty of glue. Because you will use your planner daily, you’ll want the cover to be sturdy.
- On the top half of the page, write the dates for the week and the title “Priorities”. Then, list any priorities you have for the week. For example, you might write:
- Science test on Tuesday!
- Help mom cook dinner on Friday.
- Finish drawing my new comic book character.
- Using your ruler, divide the bottom half of the page into three columns. Title the first column “Homework”. Title the second column “Notes”. And title the third column “Due Date”.
- Fill in any homework you already know you have along with the due date and any important notes about the assignment. Then, as more homework is assigned during the week, you’ll come back to this page to add it.
- As you complete tasks or homework, cross them out or check them off.
- Then, each week, you’ll repeat Steps 4-7 on a new blank page.
- Put your planner in your desk or backpack and remember to update it each day. Using a planner is one great way to ensure you are completing all of your “work” tasks and also making room for the personal activities and tasks you want to accomplish!
