(StatePoint) School-related stress is common among multi-tasking students. But smart organization can make it easier to dash from class to study hall to after-school activities. It all starts with the right supplies. Gear up for a successful, low-stress school year with these handy tips.

Consult the List

Give your students the tools they’ll need to hit the ground running, and alleviate their stress of being unprepared, by referencing the supply list the school sends home. Then spend some time before the first day of school doing something fun together that’s also educational, like visiting a museum or reading books. This will get brains active and alert before the first bell rings, ensuring a smooth transition to classroom learning.

Work Smarter

A lot of information is thrown at students during a lesson, but even the quickest notetaker can run into trouble sorting it all out when it comes time to study. The right school supplies will allow students to learn in a meaningful way.

New alternatives to traditional notetaking can make finding relevant information a cinch during study sessions. For example, the Five Star College Ruled Interactive Notebook includes a table of contents with a spot for the date, topic descriptions and page numbers to help students quickly find specific information. Side margins and page number blocks allow for page customization and organization, while the grid ruled quick reference guide is a handy tool for periodic tables, multiplication tables and a glossary of terms. Students can stress less with organizational tools such as these.

Likewise, the Five Star Flex Hybrid NoteBinder, which acts like a notebook and works like a binder, is adaptable to meet the needs of all types of learners. On the inside, pocket dividers provide built-in organization and paper storage to which students can add paper and dividers as needed.

Reduce Your Haul

It’s practical to maintain two sets of certain school supplies — one for a student’s home workstation and the other in his or her locker. Pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters, extra paper, sticky notes and rulers are great examples of supplies to store in both places. Doing so will save students the stress of remembering everything before leaving for school or home and can also reduce some weight in heavy backpacks.

Seek Durability

Stuffed into backpacks, stored at the bottom of lockers, and shuttled between school and home, school supplies take a beating. This can mean ripping and even losing important papers. Seek out items durable enough to store materials for multiple classrooms and functional enough to withstand multiple locker visits, such as the Five Star 3-Inch Binder with Removable Padded Case. It comes with an expanding file for quick access to papers and a padded pouch for storing tech gear. Double the strength of competition, Five Star College Ruled Reinforced Filler Paper is a must-have for schoolwork and pairs well with binders.

 Five Star aims to be an ally and champion for students looking for creative and expressive ways to manage the stress of their daily routines. More tips to reduce school-related stress can be found at strengthenotstress.com or join the conversation using #StrengthNotStress.

“Stress is a common challenge for students,” says Jessica Hodges, vice president of marketing at ACCO Brands, which builds school supplies based on evolving student needs. “Knowing you can channel stress into something more positive is empowering.”

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