As students progress through the grades, they usually find themselves with more and more unstructured time. On the surface, this seems great. More free time means more time for them to finally do what they want! But once homework starts piling up, it is their responsibility to decide when they complete it, in what order, and how much attention and thought goes into each assignment. Organization can be challenging, and is not always directly taught. They might forget about the paper they have due on Monday when they make plans with friends on Sunday night. With a little support, students can quickly learn effective time management strategies.
Use monthly, weekly, and daily overviews
Use the right tool for the job! Write general and long-term commitments on a monthly calendar. Use a weekly calendar to plan out more specific obligations, and save to-do lists and more detailed assignments for a daily planner.
Color code or use symbols
Keep track of different types of events, assignments, or appointments with different colors or symbols. Use one to track social events, another for family obligations, and a third for school assignments. You can even use different colors or symbols for different school subjects. This makes it really easy to get a quick visual overview of the day or week.
Write in work time on the calendar
In order to ensure that enough time is left for work, include it on the calendar. Once you’ve taken stock of all of your assignments, estimate how long each will take, and schedule your work time accordingly. Make sure your work time gets scheduled before any social or free time gets added to the calendar. And allow more work time than you expect you’ll need–it’s better to finish early than to run out of time! This is key to successful time management.
Keep work times consistent (when possible)
Establishing a schoolwork routine makes it more likely that students will follow through on their assignments and do everything that needs to get done. When possible, try to schedule work time around the same time each day, and adapt to what works best. On school nights, usually that’s after a quick break and snack or any extracurriculars. Weekends are a bit more flexible, but try to stick to roughly the same time. If a student works more productively first thing in the morning, schedule work time for mornings. If late afternoon works best, try to reserve that time for school assignments.
Schedule breaks
Work can feel much more manageable and less overwhelming when we know a break is coming. Build breaks into the schedule to ensure time for much-needed rest. Breaks should be at least 5 minutes, but no more than 15. If a student isn’t sure what to do during a break, suggest something relaxing yet mindful. Go for a quick walk, do some stretching or yoga, have a snack, play with a pet, doodle while listening to music, read for pleasure, or have a quick chat with a friend.
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