The start of the school year is always both exciting and nerve-wracking. Old friends are ready to hang out again (if you didn’t spend all summer chillin’ together), new faces waiting for you to teach them the customs and traditions about the school, and teachers so thrilled to overload more information into everyone’s brains.
If you are anything like a normal student (or even a teacher, for that matter), then your room (or desk) can be described as systematic anarchy. Looking from a third party’s point of view, it may feel like, to borrow a quote, looking for a needle in a haystack. However, you can find anything you need without even thinking about it because you are the ruler of this special kingdom.
Sometimes, technology (tech for short) feels the same. The internet sometimes feels so overwhelming that you don’t know where to start. All the laptops available in the market so numerous they blur the lines between a school computer and a work machine. And don’t even get me started with social media, peer-to-peer networking, and cryptocurrencies (yes, they are actually real currency). Let me give you some help on how to be ready for the new school year.
1. What System?
Have a system for everything you do. From the way you arrange your desktop to the amount of time you do your projects to the method you use for group communication, there should be a system. No systems lead to disorder, which leads to chaos, which leads to mental breakdown; and no, we don’t want that to happen.
If you’re not used to organized and systematic methods of living, then it will be hard in the beginning. You will need to manage your time and learn to be on schedule. You will need to be accountable to someone or something (to-do list) for your daily routine. If you need help in the organization and systems world, there is undoubtedly someone in your sphere of friends that are obsessive-compulsive types? These are the best organizers. Learn from them.
2. Google It
Learning about modern technology is not a walk in the park. Ever heard of IoT (Internet of Things)? This is another term for Artificial Intelligence. This is not a futuristic thing, this is alive and well and working today. And you feel you’re somehow a modern person because you use Facebook and Twitter?
The good news is that you can always play catch up. That is the beauty of technology. It is for everyone. If you want to know anything about something, you can google it or you can search on Youtube; there’s a good chance someone has already made a tutorial video for what you want to learn.
3. That Special Place
We all have a comfort zone that helps us focus. A place that helps us shut out everything else when everything else is trying to make us crazy. A point of reference to gather our wits and help us be ready to face the world. Sounds too dramatic? Maybe, but hear me out.
When technology around us get too overpowering that we long for the old-school day, you’ll be happy you have that special place. This is not just a literal, physical location; this can also be a state of mind. Arguably, this should be the first thing you need to make sure you have because Murphy’s Law, “whatever can go wrong will go wrong.” Find your special place.
As you may have noticed, this is not a very comprehensive guide to modern technology. And it’s not supposed to be. This is simply to encourage you that whatever stage of life you are in, whatever your knowledge of advanced tech if you are willing to discover, the information is out there waiting for you.
These are good practices that anyone can use. The important thing is being intentional and purposeful in getting into the flow of these days. Whether you like it or not, and whether you admit it or not, modern technology is here, it’s here to stay, and we need to accept that. Have a great school year!
