how does homework teach time management skills

teaching you to manage homework effectively

Importance of Time Management for Students: How Homework Helps

Time management is a critical skill that can make or break a student’s academic success. Whether in high school or college or just a graduate student working on a thesis, managing your time effectively can help you set your priorities straight and reach your full potential.

Homework, in particular, plays a crucial role in helping students develop good time management skills. With the right strategies and techniques, you can use homework to create a schedule, prioritize tasks, and stay on top of your workload.

This article will explore how homework helps with time management and provide tips and tricks for making the most of your time.

Time management importance for students: why should they take it seriously?

Before we examine how homework can help students with time management, let’s evaluate its importance.

As you might already know, time management is planning, organizing, and allocating time effectively to achieve specific goals or objectives. It typically involves developing priorities, creating a schedule, and manufacturing strategies for achieving tasks efficiently.

So why is time management important for students?

Time management is important for students because it helps them prioritize their tasks, meet deadlines, and balance their academic and personal responsibilities. Effective time management allows even the most average students to make the most of their time, reducing stress and improving their academic performance.

Additionally, good time management skills are essential for success in college and the workforce, as they help individuals become more productive and efficient in completing tasks.

How does homework help students with time management in their schoolwork?

Homework can help students with time management in several ways, some include:

• Prioritization

Homework assignments provide students with a clear list of tasks that need to be completed, which helps them prioritize their time and focus on what is most important.

Homework is typically given with due dates, encouraging students to plan and schedule their time accordingly.

• Accountability

Homework helps students develop a sense of responsibility for their learning and progress. It encourages students to take ownership of their time and use it effectively.

Homework allows students to practice time management skills such as planning, scheduling, and prioritizing. It also offers long-term benefits that will serve them well in college and the workforce.

It is important to note that homework alone is not enough to develop good time management skills; it should be combined with other techniques such as creating a schedule, setting goals, and breaking down large tasks into smaller manageable chunks.

School homework management software: what is it and how does it work?

A critical aspect of homework time management is using various educational software that supports organizational learning. Various types of homework management system or software are available to help students and teachers manage and organize homework assignments. Some popular options include:

• Google Classroom

This free platform allows teachers to assign and collect homework digitally, provide feedback, and communicate with students.

• Show My Homework

This web-based platform allows teachers to create, assign and track homework. It also offers a student calendar, which allows students to view and keep track of their homework assignments.

• My Study Life

This is a cross-platform planner for students, teachers, and lecturers, which helps them to manage their classes, homework, exams, and assignments.

• Microsoft Teams

It’s part of the Microsoft 365 suite, and it allows teachers to assign homework and communicate with students, and also students can collaborate and communicate with their peers for assignments.

• Blackboard Learn

It’s a Learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to create and manage homework assignments, and grades, and provide feedback to students. This software can help students to stay organized and keep track of their assignments, and also helps teachers to easily manage and monitor student progress, provide feedback, and communicate with students.

Bottom line

Now, if you’re ever asked how does homework help with time management? Time management is an essential skill for students, and it can be particularly helpful when managing homework. You can emphasize how they help create schedules, set goals, establish routines, and take care of students’ physical and mental well-being.

Developing good time management skills improves student performance in school and helps develop a sense of discipline and responsibility that will serve them well in their future endeavors.

The Case for Homework

• Posted September 29, 2016
• By Matt Weber

This fall, the start of the new school year seemingly brought with it a trend of teachers forgoing homework assignments in order to allow their students more time outside of school for family and play. A number of these announcements took off on social media, with many parents supporting the stance and wishing that their own child's teacher would follow suit. While few would dispute the importance of family and play time for young children, it may be shortsighted to believe that eliminating homework altogether is the answer.

"All children should be doing homework," says Duke University Professor Harris M. Cooper , who has researched and wrote on the topic for over 25 years. While Cooper acknowledges that an excess of homework is both unnecessary and potentially detrimental, the upside of homework is too great to ignore. Not only is it important in reinforcing skills learned during the school day, it also teaches time management, study skills, and independent learning, as well as keeps parents connected to their children's learning.

"Really good homework assignments" in subjects such as math and science, says Cooper, also highlight skills children use in other areas of their life — in sports, games, and everyday tasks like grocery shopping with their parents. "A really good teacher is one that takes the skills that [their students] are learning in the abstract — or more abstract — in their classroom, and uses homework to show them these are the skills they need to enjoy things they do even more," says Cooper.

In this edition of the Harvard EdCast, Cooper evaluates the dissatisfaction with homework practices and discusses all of the reasons why, for children, homework is essential.

About the Harvard EdCast

The Harvard EdCast is a weekly series of podcasts, available on the Harvard University iTunes U page, that features a 15-20 minute conversation with thought leaders in the field of education from across the country and around the world. Hosted by Matt Weber, the Harvard EdCast is a space for educational discourse and openness, focusing on the myriad issues and current events related to the field.

An education podcast that keeps the focus simple: what makes a difference for learners, educators, parents, and communities

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How Does Homework Help With Time Management

The motive behind the exercise of homework is to keep the student abreast with the daily goings-on of the class and through thorough practice improve the student’s foundation in a particular topic. Besides those, homework develops one’s researching capabilities since often it extends beyond what is just being taught at school; it is a furtherance of the student’s knowledge and for that the student often has to spend a quite an amount of time looking up the internet or the library for some kind of aid.

Time Management

In-time submission is a universal pre-requisite for any piece of work. Marks deduction, denying to consider the homework or other such penalties on failing to meet the deadline act as a form of driving force for students. Students, therefore, are forced into putting their priorities to check and order them accordingly. In future, when in employment, these students have to meet several such deadlines and then it will be this exercise of college homework that would come in handy.

In addition, college assignments help with time management by enabling us to order our priorities. In this way, we get clear up some time for ourselves and engage in things we love doing, have a hobby. We can binge-watch TV shows, have a movie-marathon, go on a long drive and what not. Yet all of it without compromising on the important stuff since we will learn, eventually where to draw the line.

Recruiting help

Not everybody can master the management task. After bouts of driving around with friends, social networking, binge watching TV shows there is not much energy nor enthusiasm that could drive some out of their bed or couches to invest the remainder of their time into a productive exercise of homework, not even if he is made to write down a million times, in order to ascertain, the numerous benefits of this exercise.

Besides the non-enthusiast, there are those who just could not make out time from numerous engagements. There are many who genuinely cannot do homework, some probable conceptual fault that has remained unclear. For such folks, expert advice and suggestions are advisable. But how does one know whom to trust? The internet is flooding with homework help websites that are made up of a bunch of fraudsters.

How are online homework services helpful?

Offline or online, homework services offer a great deal of relaxation to those with too much on their desk and those who always love to relax. Employing expert professionals, these services go to the core of the problem a student is facing with a particular topic that his/her homework deals with. They will not just write the answers to your questions but also improve your understanding of the topics so that you do not have to seek further assistance from such service providers. The services are reasonably priced and can be availed 24*7.

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How to Help Students Develop the Skills They Need to Complete Homework

Middle and high school students can learn to work more efficiently by using strategies that improve their executive function skills.

The effects of homework are mixed. While adolescents across middle and high school have an array of life situations that can make doing homework easier or harder, it’s well known that homework magnifies inequity . However, we also know that learning how to manage time and work independently outside of the school day is valuable for lifelong learning. From the homework wars  to students who have little time for homework to students who don’t even know where to begin, everyone can agree that kids who can self-regulate and engage in independent rehearsal are better positioned for whatever the future holds.

How can we empower students to overcome barriers to doing homework well?

Executive Functioning

Homework is partially an assessment of executive functioning. Executive functioning and self-regulation take time to develop. They depend on three types of critical brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-regulation .

Let’s break this down to consider how to improve their efficiency.

Working memory: Don’t hold everything in your head; it is not possible. When doing homework, students should write down their ideas, whether they are notes while reading, numbers when working through a math problem, or non-school-related reminders about chores, such as remembering to take the dog for a walk. Clearing working memory for the immediate task at hand allows the brain to focus as the strain is reduced.

Mental flexibility: As students build their independence and grow their homework routines, seeing an array of strategies, or more than one way to solve a problem, is important. Consider the results when a child gets stuck and doesn’t know what to do to get unstuck or when one keeps trying the same failed approach. Chunking homework helps simplify the process. When stuck, a student looks at a smaller piece, which makes it easier to see other solutions. More practice with mental flexibility happens when others model thinking in different ways, and students practice flexible thinking with partners by asking them: What is another way? Use this bubble map to chart out multiple ways.

Self-regulation: Learning how to prioritize work and stick with it by not giving in to impulses is a skill that students develop over time . One way to teach self-regulation is to have students practice control by concentrating for short periods of time with the goal of building up to longer, more sustained periods of time as the year progresses. For a child who struggles with reading for an extended time, start with five minutes and then build from there.

Another self-regulation tip is creating a plan to overcome distractions. What happens when the child stumbles? Three minutes into reading and a student is reaching for their cell phone. Recommend that they practice moving the cell phone away from the homework area, and summarize before returning to the reading. Stops and starts are frustrating and often result in lost homework time. Have students practice responses to distraction, and make this part of their homework. When a student struggles to stay on task, they should be encouraged to remove any distraction in order to regain focus.

Use classroom assessment as a tool to plan for and support student homework. Record the following information for students:

• Do they write, read, and/or solve problems in class? For how many minutes independently?
• What is the quality of their work? Are they actually learning, or are they just going through the motions?
• Do they know how to strategize on their own or get help from a peer when they’re stuck? Observe them and take notes, and/or have them reflect on this question.

We cannot expect that students will independently practice a skill they don’t engage with during class. If it doesn't happen in the classroom, it's not going to happen at home. The teacher should be able to realistically gauge how much and what students might achieve at home. A suggestion to build independence is to use task analysis . Here is a model . For students who struggle with getting homework done, at first they may not actually do homework; rather, they practice the routines of setting up and getting started.

Direct Instruction

The following are some techniques that help students with homework:

• Mindful meditation to gain focus
• Prioritizing and estimating time
• Filtering out distractions

Peers as Partners

Class partnership routines need practice. With strong partnerships, kids learn how to support and learn from each other. Access to teachers will never match the unlimited access to peers. The hours that students who achieve at high levels put in after class are often spent alone rehearsing the content or with peers who push each other to improve.

Class-to-Home Connection

While some students struggle with executive functioning, others rush through their homework. The most important step in having homework count is to make it seamless, not separate from class. Homework flows from classwork. Especially with a mix of synchronous and asynchronous work, now there is no homework, just work done for our classes. Consistent instructional goals with engaging and meaningful tasks help students see the value in working beyond the last bell.

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How to Teach Time Management- Blog for Teachers

Time management is crucial, especially for students juggling academic responsibilities alongside various extracurricular activities. Learning to manage their time effectively becomes imperative as coursework becomes more demanding and students engage in more diverse pursuits. As educators , you are fundamental in helping your students develop this skill. Let’s explore the importance of time management and how you can help teach this in your classroom.

Why is time management important for students?

The research is clear: students who effectively manage their time typically perform better in school and extracurricular activities and usually have more free time . Time management can not only help with planning activities but also help students focus and organize their thoughts. However, this must be learned and practiced, which can be challenging for students with executive function challenges like ADHD.

Time management is crucial for several reasons, including:

– Efficiently managing coursework across multiple classes

– Balancing academic and non-academic commitments

– Preparing students for higher education and the professional world

– Reducing stress and anxiety associated with disorganization and chaos

– Developing self-discipline and self-regulation

Despite its importance, many students struggle with time management. While it might not be obvious, there are many signs to look for to identify those who might need some extra assistance in developing this skill.

Frequently late or incomplete assignments, late arrival to school, and spending substantially more or less time with activities than others can all be indicators of poor time management skills. Even behaviors like forgetting tasks and commitments and “time blindness,” the inability to correctly estimate how long an assignment will take, can be signs that they are struggling.

How can you, as an educator, help your students improve their time management skills?

As an educator, you have the unique opportunity to guide your students in mastering the art of time management. In the classroom, you control the workflow and can implement strategies to help your students improve their time management . These can include the following techniques:

1. Break up big projects . Break down large assignments into manageable tasks or milestones. This approach prevents procrastination and helps them allocate time more effectively. Set multiple deadlines so students learn to pace themselves and reduce the last-minute rush.

2. Distribute assignments early . Provide students with assignments well in advance. This time allows them to plan and allocate time for each task. Early distribution fosters better preparation and lessens the chances of students feeling overwhelmed.

3. Establish a consistent schedule for class activities and homework deadlines . When students know what to expect and when to expect it, they can organize their time more efficiently. For example, regular due dates for specific assignments (e.g., Wednesday discussion posts, Friday essays) help students build a routine.

4. Give students regular reminders . Keep students informed about upcoming assignments, deadlines, and important events. Send out reminders through various channels such as announcements in class, emails, or a shared online platform.

5. Reflect and adjust. Periodically discuss time management as a class. Allow students to share their experiences and what strategies have worked for them. This reflective approach helps refine your methods and creates a learning environment where students can learn from each other’s successes and challenges.

By implementing these strategies, you equip your students with the foundation to build their time management skills. However, recognize that your students will have varying needs regarding time management and specific students that could use more individual support. When that happens, don’t forget to get guardians involved. Improving a student’s ability to manage their time is best served with participation (and collaboration) from both the student’s educator and parents!

Let’s look at a specific example of what this collaboration could look like.

Jack is a middle-school student who scores well on standardized tests, though he has low grades and difficulty keeping up with his schoolwork—especially in math. He consistently arrives 15 (or more) minutes late to school, frequently turns in assignments past their due dates, and often has missing or incomplete assignments. Outside of school, Jack is a competitive year-round athlete, takes piano and drum lessons, and volunteers with his family at a soup kitchen once a week. Some of his favorite hobbies include video games, trampolining, and playing basketball, and his parents report that these activities sometimes distract him from his schoolwork.

In Jack’s case, his good scores on standardized tests show that he’s high-performing academically, though his lower grades and difficulty keeping up with his work indicate that he may struggle with time management.

To help set Jack up for success at school, Jack’s math teacher changed the homework schedule so all assignments were due on Thursdays. The teacher also reminds students about the upcoming homework two or three days beforehand, approximates how long the work should take, and gives students 20 minutes of the class period to work on their homework. At the same time, it’s fresh in their minds.

At home, Jack and his parents make homework a clear priority by setting aside 60 minutes each night after practice to complete assignments before he gets to jump on the trampoline, play video games, or shoot some hoops. This schedule allows him to get his work done before he’s had a chance to get distracted by something more appealing to him. Additionally, Jack’s parents ask his educators at school to provide him access to assignments a few days earlier, allowing Jack to set personal deadlines at least two days before an assignment’s due date. Even if Jack doesn’t meet his deadline, this system helps him complete and turn in most of his homework by the official deadline.

You can build these time management skills early by incorporating these proven techniques and collaborating with guardians. Not only will this help your students succeed in your class, but you will also empower them to navigate the demands of their academic journey confidently.

As an educator, you work tirelessly to support your students’ growth and success. Thank you for all that you do. Let Untapped help your staff develop strategies to improve all students executive function skills.

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20 Effective Time Management Strategies and Tools for Students

Teachers can use these too!

One of the most important life skills for anyone to master is time management. Keeping track of everything that we have to do and carving out the time to get it all done can be a real struggle. Try these time management strategies and techniques, plus find helpful tools for staying on track.

General Time Management Strategies

Time management techniques, time management tools.

These time management strategies work for everyone, helping you set goals and prioritize, then set a schedule to get things done.

Visualize the big picture

Use a calendar of some type to lay out all your big-picture goals for a year, month, or week. Include major projects and assignments, as well as school and personal events. This is your place to get an overview of everything that’s on your plate. Keep items to broad descriptions: “History Project” or “Spring Play Opening Night.” You’ll get into the details next.

Break it down

The next step is to take major projects and assignments and break them down into smaller, more manageable parts. This is an incredibly effective way to overcome that feeling of “I’ll never get this all done!” It also prevents procrastinating on an entire project until the very last minute. Set smaller, more manageable goals with their own due dates in advance of a complete project or event.

For example, imagine your big-picture calendar says “History Project Due Feb. 23.” Breaking that down could look like this:

• Choose topic and presentation method: Jan. 9
• Initial research: Jan. 10-30
• Presentation outline: Jan. 31
• Write presentation script: Feb. 1-5
• Create visual aids: Feb. 6-12
• Rehearse presentation: Feb. 13
• Fine-tune presentation: Feb 14-16
• Final rehearsals: Feb. 17
• Give history presentation: Feb. 23

At first, this method might feel a little overwhelming, because it may make you feel like there’s too much to get done. But as you use it, you’ll see how it can actually make you feel more prepared and in control, and make your time easier to manage.

Determine priorities

Sometimes it’s simply true: You don’t have enough time in a day to get all the things done that you’d like to. That’s where setting priorities becomes vital. In the “Time Management Techniques” section below, you’ll find several different ideas for determining the priority of different items on your lists.

Once you’ve figured out which items are the most important, try a color-coding system to indicate which items get a higher priority. This will help you identify at a glance what you need to do now and what can wait until another day.

Make daily to-do lists

Make it a habit to start each day by creating a to-do list. (Not a morning person? You can do this the night before too.) Include high-priority items, as well as things you’d like to do but may not have to complete. Throughout the day, as you complete an item, revisit your list and check it off. It’s incredibly satisfying to cross things off, and checking in with your list a few times a day ensures you don’t forget important things.

Limit multitasking

Today’s world places a lot of value on multitasking (doing several things at once). But when you’re doing multiple things at the same time, you’re probably not doing any of them well. So keep your multitasking to a minimum. When it’s time to work on something, set your focus to that particular thing. Other stuff can wait.

But some multitasking is OK. For instance, you might throw your clothes in the washing machine, then work on your math homework while waiting for them to be ready for the dryer. Later on, you could fold and put away the laundry while practicing conjugating Spanish verbs out loud. This type of multitasking works because the physical tasks are ones that don’t require much concentration, leaving your brain free for academic subjects.

On the other hand, avoid something like trying to listen to a podcast for your history class while also doing your math homework. Your attention won’t be fully on each, and your learning will suffer.

Remove distractions

Some people are capable of deep focus no matter what’s going on around them. Most of us, though, need to find ways to remove distractions when it’s time to get down to work. Here are some examples to try:

• Turn off your phone, or set it to alert you only in case of emergencies.
• Wear noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs to block out distracting sounds. A white-noise machine or app can help with this too.
• Close miscellaneous tabs in your web browser (like social media or news sites), and use only the tabs you need for your work.
• Go into a quiet room and shut the door. Ask friends and family not to disturb you.
• Check your to-do list before you start to make sure you’re on track. Then, clear your mind of other projects or tasks, and focus on what’s at hand.

Do an end-of-day review

At the end of each day, sit down with your to-do list. Was there anything you didn’t get to? Move it to another day. Did you feel too rushed today? Think about how you might make tomorrow run a bit more smoothly. Where do you stand in terms of your big-picture goals? Take a few minutes to adjust any plans accordingly.

Try a time audit

It’s OK if you don’t get to everything on your list every day. But if you find that there’s never enough time to get things done, you might benefit from a time audit. Over the period of a week or two, write down exactly how you spend your time, hour by hour. Then, look it over and see if you can identify problem areas. You might need to cut down on some optional activities and give that time to high-priority items instead. Learn how to do a time audit here.

The time management strategies we’ve talked about so far are general ways to stay on track and get stuff done. But there are multiple ways to approach some of these strategies, especially when it comes to actually settling down to work. Check out these popular time management techniques and choose one or more that seem right for you.

Eisenhower Decision Matrix

President Eisenhower developed this matrix and used it to help him prioritize his tasks. He looked at each item to evaluate it by importance and urgency, then broke them into four categories:

• Do First: These are urgent, important tasks with high priority.
• Schedule: These are important tasks that aren’t quite as urgent.
• Delegate: You may be able to delegate less important but still urgent tasks to someone else.
• Don’t Do: These non-urgent, unimportant items can be eliminated entirely or postponed indefinitely.

Here are some possible student examples for each category:

• Do First: Homework that’s due tomorrow takes top priority, as might doing laundry if you’re out of clean clothes.
• Schedule: Set aside time (see Time Blocking) for smaller parts of long-term projects, such as research time or writing an outline. That could be today or one day in the near future.
• Delegate: Students aren’t always able to delegate their tasks, but they can ask for help. For example, if your schedule is incredibly tight, you could ask your dad if he’d be willing to throw your clothes in the dryer when the washer is done.
• Don’t Do: These are often bad habits you need to break, like surfing the web aimlessly instead of working, or texting your friends for hours instead of doing your chores.

Find out much more about the Eisenhower Matrix and how to use it for time management strategies here.

ABCDE Method

This is another time management strategy for prioritizing the tasks at hand. Assign each item a letter:

• A: Highest priority
• B: Should do soon, if not today
• C: Could do, but no serious consequences if not done
• D: Delegate or ask for help
• E: Eliminate from your list

This is very similar to the Eisenhower Matrix, with a little more flexibility around should-dos and could-dos. Learn more about the ABCDE method here.

Most Difficult First (Eat That Frog)

This method is based on a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

In other words, don’t put off the biggest, hardest tasks. Get them out of the way first. Then, everything else you have to do will seem easy in comparison.

For some people, though, this concept can be counterproductive. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, tackling something extremely difficult can be too much and cause you to shut down entirely. In that case, it’s just fine to choose smaller, simpler items. The key is to make progress, one step at a time.

Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a simple time management method: You work for 25 minutes at a time, then take a 5-minute break to rest and recharge. Simply set a timer for 25 minutes, and focus on one single task until it goes off. Then, you can spend 5 minutes stretching, resting your eyes, or checking your social media feeds. When the 5 minutes are up, set the timer for another 25 minutes, and get back to work. If you do four 25-minute sessions in a row, take a longer break afterwards. Learn more about the Pomodoro Technique here.

If 25 minutes seems too short and you’d like a little more uninterrupted time, try Flowtime instead. This stretches out both the work and break time proportionally. If you work for 25-50 minutes, take an 8-minute break. For 50-90 minutes, you get a 10-minute break. And if you’ve been at it for more than 90 minutes, take 15 minutes to recharge. Learn about Flowtime here.

Parkinson’s Law says that work will always expand to fill the amount of time available. Timeboxing seeks to shrink tasks back to the size they truly need to be. When you timebox, you set a specific amount of time for a task and complete it within that time.

In other words, you might look over your study planner and decide that you need one hour for tonight’s geometry and chemistry assignments, plus you’d like to spend another hour working on your English essay.

Set a timer and work on your geometry and chemistry for an hour, with no other distractions. When the timer goes off, reassess and adjust your goals as needed. Since you have to finish that homework tonight, you’ll probably need to add more time if you’re not finished.

Your English essay isn’t due for two weeks, though, so if you’ve boxed out one hour for working on it today, that’s all you need to do. Set a timer, determine your goals for day, and get to work. When the timer goes off, you’re done for today.

Here’s more on timeboxing.

Time Blocking

This method is similar to timeboxing, but it involves setting blocks of time aside on your calendar for specific tasks. For example, you might block out 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day for daily homework, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for working on your biology research paper, and 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for piano practice. Some people like to start each day by blocking time out on their calendar, figuring out how they’ll make the most of their time. Find out more about time blocking here.

Once you’ve selected some time management strategies to try, you’ll find plenty of tools to help make them work. Check out these top time management tools for students, from planners to timers and beyond.

Student Planners

Traditional paper planners come in a variety of styles, with some made especially for students. The most important thing is to choose one you’ll actually use, and keep it on hand at all times. See our selection of the top student planners here.

Planner Apps

Planner apps and online calendars are nice because you have access to them everywhere you go. For students, we really like:

• My Study Life

See more details on each of these here, plus more options.

Study Planners

Study planners are specific to academics, and they are a simple way to keep track of both short-term and long-term assignments, projects, and more. Check out these free printable options:

• Develop Good Habits: Study Planner
• Alex Marie: Weekly Assignments Due
• Sophia Lee: Homework Planner Pack

Time Management Apps

Planner apps are a good start, but other time management apps can help you stay on track by eliminating distractions or setting time limits. Here are a few to try:

• Pomofocus : A free online 25–5 timer with the ability to add a task list for each work segment
• Rize : An AI productivity coach that uses time tracking to improve your focus and build better work habits
• Forest : Eliminate distractions, stay on task, and grow a digital forest to celebrate your achievements

Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling has a lot of benefits, and some page setups are especially good for time management:

• Daily Schedule
• Project Planner
• Study Tracker

Check out our big roundup of bullet journal ideas here.

What time management strategies do your students find most effective? Come share your thoughts and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, ultimate study skills guide: tips, tricks, and strategies for every grade ..

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• Helping Students Succeed: Teaching Study Skills and Time Management

Helping our students develop strong study skills and time management habits is a crucial part of our job as educators. These skills are not only essential for academic success, but they can also translate to success in other areas of life. So, how can we effectively teach these skills to our students? Here are a few tips:

• Model good study habits and time management yourself. Your students will often look to you as a role model, so it’s important to demonstrate good study habits and time management skills in your own behavior. This might mean being organized with your lesson plans, arriving to class on time, and being efficient with your time in general. It’s also important to show your students that you value the importance of studying and being organized. This can help to create a positive learning environment and encourage your students to adopt similar habits.

• Teach students how to take effective notes. Taking good notes during lectures and while studying can be a game changer for students. Encourage your students to write down key points, use abbreviations and symbols, and ask questions while they are taking notes. It’s also important to teach your students how to review and organize their notes regularly. This can help to improve understanding and retention of the material.
• Help students learn how to prioritize. Time management is all about prioritizing tasks and knowing how to allocate your time effectively. Help your students learn how to prioritize their studies by encouraging them to complete the most important tasks first. This might involve starting with the most difficult or time-consuming tasks, or tasks that are due sooner. It’s also helpful to encourage your students to make a to-do list and check off items as they complete them. This can help to provide a sense of accomplishment and keep students on track.
• Encourage regular breaks. Taking regular breaks can actually improve focus and productivity, so encourage your students to step away from their studies every so often. This might mean taking a walk, chatting with a friend, or simply stretching for a few minutes. It’s important to strike a balance between work and rest, as overloading your brain with too much information can lead to burnout and decreased performance. Encourage your students to take breaks as needed, but also to be mindful of how much time they are taking for breaks and to get back to work in a timely manner.
• Teach students how to manage their time outside of the classroom. It’s not just about managing time in the classroom – students also need to learn how to manage their time outside of school. Encourage your students to create a schedule that includes time for homework, extracurricular activities, and even leisure time. It’s important for students to learn how to balance these various commitments and to prioritize their responsibilities. Encourage your students to plan ahead and to be mindful of how much time they are spending on different activities.
• Provide resources and support. Finally, make sure you provide your students with the resources and support they need to develop strong study skills and time management habits. This might include things like study guides, online resources, or extra help during office hours. You might also consider implementing study skills workshops or offering one-on-one tutoring for students who are struggling. It’s important to make sure your students have access to the support they need to succeed.

In addition to the tips listed above, there are a few other things you can do to help your students develop strong study skills and time management habits:

• Encourage students to find a study space that works for them. Some students may prefer a quiet study area at home, while others may prefer a more social environment like a library or study group. Encourage your students to experiment with different study spaces and find what works best for them.
• Help students develop good study habits. This might involve encouraging students to set aside dedicated study time each day, establishing a consistent routine, or teaching students how to create a study schedule. Encourage your students to try different study techniques, such as creating flashcards, summarizing material in their own words, or teaching the material to a study partner.
• Encourage students to seek help when needed. It’s important for students to know that it’s okay to ask for help when they are struggling. Encourage your students to seek help from you, their classmates, or tutors if they are having trouble with a concept or assignment.
• Encourage students to be proactive . Encourage your students to take charge of their own learning and to be proactive in seeking out opportunities to learn and grow. This might involve joining a club, participating in a study group, or taking on a leadership role in a school project.

Teaching study skills and time management can be a bit of a challenge, but it’s definitely worth it in the long run. By modeling good habits, encouraging goal setting, teaching effective note-taking, helping students prioritize, encouraging regular breaks, teaching time management outside of the classroom, providing resources and support, and encouraging students to find a study space that works for them, develop good study habits, seek help when needed, and be proactive, you can help your students develop the skills they need to succeed.

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An Age-By-Age Guide to Helping Kids Manage Homework

Do you ever wonder whether homework is gauging the child’s ability to complete assignments or the parent’s? On one end of the spectrum, a parent might never mention homework and assume it gets done independently; on the other end are the parents who micromanage to be sure every worksheet is absolutely perfect.

Being too laissez faire about homework might deny a child the support they need to develop executive functioning skills, but being too involved could stifle their independence. So how much parent participation in homework is actually appropriate throughout a child’s education?

Basic homework tips

According to Scholastic , you should follow these rules of thumb to support your child during homework (without going overboard):

Stay nearby and available for questions without getting right in the middle of homework.

Avoid the urge to correct mistakes unless your child asks for help.

Instead of nagging, set up a homework routine with a dedicated time and place.

Teach time management for a larger project by helping them break it into chunks.

Child psychologist Dr. Emily W. King recently wrote about rethinking homework in her newsletter. King explains at what ages kids are typically able to do homework independently, but she writes that each child’s ability to concentrate at the end of the day and use executive functioning skills for completing tasks is very individual. I talked to her for more information on how much parental involvement in homework completion is needed, according to a child’s age and grade level.

Kindergarten to second grade

Whether children even need homework this early is a hot debate. Little ones are still developing fine motor skills and their ability to sit still and pay attention at this age.

“If a child is given homework before their brain and body are able to sit and focus independently, then we are relying on the parent or other caregivers to sit with the child to help them focus,” King said. “ Think about when the child is able to sit and focus on non-academic tasks like dinner, art, or music lessons. This will help you tease out executive functioning skills from academic understanding.”

Elementary-age children need time for unstructured play and structured play like music, arts, and sports. They need outside time, free time, and quiet time, King said. For children who are not ready for independent work, nightly reading with another family member is enough “homework,” she said.

Third to fifth grades

Many children will be able to do homework independently in grades 3-5. Even then, their ability to focus and follow through may vary from day to day.

“Most children are ready for practicing independent work between third and fifth grade, but maybe not yet in the after-school hours when they are tired and want to rest or play. We need to begin exposing children to organization and structure independently in late elementary school to prepare them for more independence in middle school,” King said.

Neurodivergent kids may need more parental support for several years before they work independently.

“Neurodivergent children, many of whom have executive functioning weaknesses, are not ready to work independently in elementary school. Children without executive functioning weaknesses (e.g., the ability to remain seated and attend to a task independently) are able to do this somewhere between third and fifth grade, but it’s very possible they can work independently at school but be too tired to do it later in the afternoon,” King said. “We need to follow the child’s skills and give them practice to work independently when they seem ready. Of course, if a child wants to do extra work after school due to an interest, go for it.”

For students who are not ready to work independently in middle school, it is better to reduce the amount of homework they are expected to complete so they can practice independence and feel successful.

Middle school

In sixth grade and later, kids are really developing executive functioning skills like planning, organizing, paying attention, initiating, shifting focus, and execution. They will still need your encouragement to keep track of assignments, plan their time, and stick to a homework routine.

“Middle school students need lots of organization support and putting systems in place to help them keep track of assignments, due dates, and materials,” King said.

High school

By this point, congratulations: You can probably be pretty hands-off with homework. Remain open and available if your teen needs help negotiating a problem, but executing plans should be up to them now.

“In high school, parents are working to put themselves out of a job and begin stepping back as children take the lead on homework. Parents of high schoolers are ‘homework consultants,’” King said. “We are there to help solve problems, talk through what to say in an email to a teacher, but we are not writing the emails or talking to the teachers for our kids.”

What if homework is not working for them (or you)

There are a number of reasons a child might not be managing homework at the same level as their peers, including academic anxiety and learning disabilities.

If your child is showing emotional distress at homework time, it might be a sign that they have run out of gas from the structure, socialization, and stimulation they have already been through at school that day. One way to support kids is to teach them how to have a healthy balance of work and play time.

“When we ask students to keep working after school when their tank is on empty, we likely damage their love of learning and fill them with dread for tomorrow,” King wrote in her newsletter.

King said in her experience as a child psychologist, the amount of homework support a child needs is determined by their individual abilities and skills more than their age or grade level.

“All of these steps vary for a neurodivergent child and we are not following these guidelines by age or grade but rather by their level of skills development to become more independent,” she said. “In order to independently complete homework, a child must be able to have attended to the directions in class, brought the materials home, remember to get the materials out at home, remember to begin the task, understand the task, remain seated and attention long enough to complete the task, be able to complete the task, return the work to their backpack, and return the work to the teacher. If any of these skills are weak or the child is not able to do these independently, there will be a breakdown in the system of homework. You can see why young students and neurodivergent students would struggle with this process.”

If you and your child have trouble meeting homework expectations, talk to their teacher about what could be contributing to the problem and how to modify expectations for them.

“Get curious about your child’s skill level at that time of day,” King said. “Are they able to work independently at school but not at home? Are they not able to work independently any time of day? Are they struggling with this concept at school, too? When are they successful?”

Students Struggle With Time Management. Schools Can Help

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When I started teaching, most meetings I had with students had nothing to do with class lessons. They would come into my office, sit down, and whimper, “I’m stressed out, exhausted, and my life is all over the place.” Sometimes bursts of tears would ensue. They aren’t alone: Solid research shows that students feel that society is more and more demanding of them. Mental-health issues in young children and teenagers are on the rise.

Students didn’t come to me because I’m a therapist. Neither had my course anything to do with mental health. They came to me because I’m the time-management guy—I’ve been doing research on time management for years. They came to me because of a simple but insidious assumption: If I can be just a little more productive, everything will be all right.

Why do students think productivity is the answer to their malaise? Because that’s what they’ve been told their whole life. By parents, television, the internet, peers, coaches, and, yes, schools. Schools play a major role in instilling this productivity mindset in young children, according to Vicki Abeles , author of Beyond Measure , a splendid book on how school performance pressures harm students. This mindset, especially in excess, can make students’ relationship with time fraught. If being obsessed with productivity makes students tired, anxious, and depressed, then the way schools think about time is neither conducive to their well-being nor, ironically, to their long-term productivity.

What would it take to make dramatic and effective changes to how schools think about time? Obviously, much of our obsession with productivity does not start with school. Public policies, culture, parents’ socioeconomic background, and a host of other factors play a major role. But historically, schools have been where children learn about time, punctuality, and schedules. Maybe it’s time for schools to use that power to teach students a healthier way to use their time. Here are a few actions school communities can take at a local level.

1. Conduct time-use surveys. We don’t really know what we do with our time until we measure it. That’s why governments around the world have been conducting time-use surveys for decades. These surveys essentially ask people what they do every half-hour or so over a 24-hour period. When we scale this up to a whole population, we get a clearer picture of how people use their time and whether it makes them happy and healthy. That’s how we know, for instance, that people who spend less time watching TV and more time with people are happier than those who do the opposite.

Why do students think productivity is the answer to their malaise? Because that’s what they’ve been told their whole life."

With time-use surveys, schools can better understand where students’ time goes, which is the first step toward tackling time issues. Doing this at a local level is key because time-use patterns will likely change from one school to another, especially for students with different socioeconomic backgrounds.

2. Lower the pressure. It’s far from clear whether, past a certain threshold, homework actually boosts students’ grades. The amount of homework assigned to students has increased a few times in the past—at one point the U.S. government feared students would be outperformed by their Russian counterparts during the Cold War. Whether homework is still increasing is not clear, but one thing is: The American public has been consistently in favor of more homework despite contrary expert opinion. Thankfully, several school districts, including in Hillsborough, Calif., and Somerville, Mass., have implemented reduced-homework policies, although not without resistance. These policies can go a long way toward alleviating students’ unnecessary time pressure.

Another worrying trend is the decline of recess time. The logic here isn’t that different from that of corporate employers: Reduce break times so people will spend more time working and thus boost performance. But that logic isn’t supported by science. Recovery, physical activity, and enjoyment are crucial for school performance and well-being, and that’s what recess is for. Reducing recess means reducing the break time necessary to recover the resources necessary for learning and creativity. Fortunately, many schools are now upping recess time, but it’s not just quantity that matters: How and with whom students enjoy recess time are important as well. (For instance, having more adults present during recess time increases physical play and helps conflict resolution among kids.)

3. Intentionality over productivity. Students today have more ways to spend their time than at any other point in history: watching TV, browsing the Internet, piano lessons, acting classes, community service, football, and countless other activities. We also live in a society that encourages busyness: If you’re not doing something at any given time, you’re a nobody.

Schools, parents, and peers push students to engage in a seemingly infinite number of activities, extracurricular or otherwise. These activities can be important for students’ well-being, but too much can backfire, as research shows .

Not only does overscheduling kids with activities make them miserable, but it also fails to teach them an essential lesson: It is better to do a few things intentionally and deliberately than to crowd one’s schedule with activities. An abundance of activities fails to teach children an even more important skill: focus. Doing too many things inevitably saps our ability to immerse ourselves fully in whatever we’re doing.

Schools can help by talking with parents about what constitutes a reasonable—healthy—amount of extracurricular activities. Schools can also encourage parents to think about “digital policies” to govern the use of digital devices at home and how social media and smartphones should be used responsibly. Most importantly, schools should emphasize un structured time. The more time children spend in unstructured activities, the more they learn how to structure time on their own. Conversely, if you structure all of children’s time, they will fail to learn how to structure their own time. This makes sense—how would you learn self-discipline if you’re never given the opportunity? You can’t teach proper time management to people if you manage all of their time.

Schools are said to prepare children for real life, an often busy and hectic place. But does school conspire in making life busier and more hectic? That’s very likely. By fundamentally reassessing the way they think about time, schools stand to make future adults—a future society—happier, healthier, and more intentional with their time. Schools have been teaching us the importance of being punctual. Maybe they should now teach us the importance of healthy time management.

A version of this article appeared in the February 26, 2020 edition of Education Week as It’s Not About Productivity. It’s About Time Management

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How My Homework Helped Me With Time Management

Students often find themselves struggling with time management as they get older. This article will explore how homework can help students learn to be more responsible for their time, organize their workloads, and plan their days better.

Table of Contents

Introduction

As a student, you probably know the importance of time management. After all, there are only so many hours in a day, and you must use them wisely. Homework can help you to develop good time management skills.

When you have homework, you must plan your time carefully to complete it. This means you have to be very organized and efficient with your time. You can’t just start working on your homework whenever you feel like it; you need to sit down and figure out when and how long you will work on it. This can be tricky, especially if you have other commitments like sports or extracurricular activities.

However, managing your time and completing your homework efficiently will free up more time for other things. And, as a bonus, your grades will probably improve too! So, doing homework can be helpful if you’re struggling with time management.

What is Time Management?

Homework can help you with time management because it forces you to prioritize your work and use your time efficiently. If you have a lot of homework, you need to be able to figure out what is most important and work on that first. This can be an excellent skill to practice to learn how to manage your time better.

In addition, homework can help you learn how to budget your time. You may have limited time to complete your homework, so you must be careful about how you spend that time. This can teach you how to be more efficient with your time, which is a valuable skill.

How Homework Helps with Time Management

In addition to learning essential time management skills, homework can help students develop other vital skills such as organization, prioritization, and task completion. These skills are often transferable to other areas of life, allowing students to better manage their time inside and outside the classroom.

Tips to Improve Your Time Management Skills

If you struggle to complete your homework on time, it may be time to start thinking about improving your time management skills. Here are a few tips that can help:

1. Make a list of all the tasks you must complete, including homework and other commitments. This will help you to see exactly what needs to be done and plan your time accordingly.

4. Use any spare moments during the day to work on your homework. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, every little bit helps!

My Personal Experience

Now that I’m in college, managing my time is more critical than ever. There’s a lot on my plate with classes, extracurriculars, and a part-time job. But I can juggle everything without feeling overwhelmed because of the skills I learned from doing homework.

Homework may not have been fun when I was younger, but it’s helped me in the long run. If you’re struggling with time management, don’t be afraid to ask for help from your parents or teachers. They’ve been through it before and can offer some valuable advice.

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MSU Extension

Homework: help your child develop key homework skills.

Holly B. Tiret, Michigan State University Extension - September 20, 2012

Explore suggestions to encourage the development of critical homework skills including organization, time management and basic study strategies

One key skill your child needs to develop is organization. It is easier to get started on homework when the basics are there, such as having a homework site, creating a filing system or using other visual organizers like a planner. Another key skill is developing time management. Children need a consistent time to study to help reduce or eliminate distractions. They need proper sleep, adequate breaks and an ability to predict the length of bigger projects or assignments. In addition, children need to have good study strategy skills. It helps if they know a variety of strategies such as rewriting, drawing, memorizing aloud and using flash cards.

Help your child develop a daily homework checklist:

• Copy homework assignments with teacher’s instructions
• Bring home any necessary materials
• Start homework at the set time
• Make an effort to do the homework well
• Place homework by the door ready to take back to school

Other ways to help your children improve their homework skills include spending time together. While your child is studying you can sit with them and read, study something new or catch up on local news, that way you can be available to help your child if needed. It may helpful to meet with your child at the beginning of the semesters to help them break down large assignments into manageable tasks. Be sure to monitor their progress. Work together with your child to manage interruptions, phone calls or friends who might stop by.

Talk with your child to get input on how to handle homework habits. Ask them what time of day is easiest for them to study. Find out what homework they find the most interesting and what is the most challenging for them. Discuss your family values about school, homework and education.

Helping your child develop the key homework skills of organization, time management and basic study strategies will translate into school success and life-long learning skills. By being open and getting your child’s input you are setting up a more cooperative family atmosphere.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension . For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu . To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters . To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts , or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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7 Tips For Teaching Time Management Skills

Learning time management skills can provide a powerful toolkit for people of all ages. Persistent procrastination and poor time management can lead to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, and low self-esteem, contributing to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Time management skills can be a powerful toolkit for people of all ages. By learning to effectively manage one’s time, individuals can employ strategies to prevent procrastination and enhance their productivity. 

When teaching time management skills, it can be important to be patient, understand that some strategies may work more effectively for different individuals, and embrace the learning process. Whether you are interested in teaching time management skills to your employees, students, children, or peers, following the seven tips contained in this article may help make it a more positive experience for everyone.

1. Understand your audience

One of the first steps to teaching time management skills might be to understand the audience and the end goal. Are you teaching your employees time management skills to boost productivity? Or are you equipping your child with time management skills so that they can manage their homework load more effectively? While the strategies may be similar, the audiences can vary widely. 

When beginning the teaching process, try to put yourself in the shoes of your learners. This can help you recognize which obstacles might be in the way of their success. For example, if you are teaching your employees, consider the working environment. Ask yourself questions like: 

• Do your employees have a quiet space where they can focus? 
• Are your employees overwhelmed by the amount of work they must complete each week?
• What is the current work schedule like? For example, consider whether employees are working late or leaving early.

The questions you ask yourself are likely to be different depending on your target audience. For example, if you are teaching your child, you may ask yourself questions like:

• Does your child know how to do their homework, or have they fallen behind in class content? 
• Is your child tired from extracurricular activities? 
• Does your child have an overwhelming homework load? 

Try to put yourself in their your audience’s shoes and think about simple changes you could make to reduce the obstacles in their way. Understanding the potential causes of procrastination for your audience can help you identify more appropriate solutions. For example, if you notice that the office is always loud and there is a workplace culture of socializing throughout the day, this may be just one cause of low productivity

2. Encourage self-reflection

Encourage your audience to reflect on their time management skills. Ask them questions such as, “What tasks do you procrastinate on most often?” and “What strategies do you currently use to manage your time?” It can be important to periodically ask your audience these questions as they continue to improve their time management skills. Understanding how your audience spends their time and whether they perceive their time to be effectively spent can provide you with many insights that might affect your teaching methods. In addition to this, checking in to see how they view their strengths, weaknesses, progress, and setbacks can help you adjust your teaching strategies as necessary.

3. Present several solutions

It can be crucial to present several different strategies and tips to your audience so that they can pick the right ones that make the most sense for them. Some common time management tips include segmenting tasks into smaller steps, prioritizing task lists, eliminating distractions, and allocating specific time for tasks. 

You might also suggest specific techniques to your audience to help them manage their time. Once tasks have been segmented and prioritized, you may present methods like “time-boxing” and the “Pomodoro method.” Time-boxing refers to allocating time for specific tasks. For example, if an employee must complete two one-hour long segments, they can set aside two one-hour long blocks of time at specific predefined hours in their day. The Pomodoro method, on the other hand, calls for  working in 25-minute segments followed by a five5-minute break and repeating this cycle until all tasks are complete.

Your audience may differ in how they prioritize and organize their responsibilities. One member may be more productive if they start with the tasks they enjoy the most, while another might prefer to get their most stressful to-do item out of the way first. Yet another individual might prefer to follow the “two-minute rule,” which involves completing each task that can be completed of the smaller, under two-minute tasks as they arise before moving on to bigger items. Presenting different strategies in an unbiased way can give your audience the freedom to choose which methods that feel right for them. 

4. Stay flexible

Remember, what works for one person may not work for everyone, and some individuals may respond better to certain strategies than others. To begin workshopping time management strategies, consider opening a discussion with your audience about their work schedule preferences and which strategies resonate most with them. Once this is identified, you can work together to find an appropriate solution. Remember, the end goal is for your audience to manage their time efficiently, regardless of the chosen strategy.

5. Provide real-world examples

Providing real-world examples of how to manage one’s time may make time management skills seem more relatable, attainable, and understandable. Try to tailor your examples to your audience. For example, you might provide an example of how to segment a workday to employees with real due dates and tasks. When teaching children, you may consider extracurricular activities, study sessions, and homework to help them see how they might choose to structure their week.

6. Be patient

Unlearning certain habits can take time. Once you begin to teach your audience how to spend time wisely, it may take a while before results show. Your audience may need to adjust from perceived time to actual time. Even small changes, such as a child turning one homework assignment in on time, can be considered a sign of progress. Offering encouragement, support, and motivation can help individuals stay on track with their time management practices. Try to make a point of acknowledging small successes and recognize how this helps your cause.

7. Offer rewards

In some cases, offering rewards may help to boost productivity and sustain desirable results. For example, if the goal is to encourage employees to stop procrastinating on completing their weekly reports, offering a reward for those who submit their reports first could encourage employees to stop procrastinating. You can also offer several rewards, each attributed to steps of one task or several tasks.

Time management and mental health

Procrastination, commonly associated with poor time management, often represents an emotional mechanism for dealing with stress, fear, and negative feelings associated with certain tasks. This avoidance behavior may provide temporary relief but can ultimately create a cycle that exacerbates stress and anxiety over time . 

Those seeking to improve their time management skills, enhance their productivity, and boost their overall mental well-being could benefit from speaking with a professional. Even small improvements in time management can lead to significant changes in daily life, including improved academic performance and an increase in executive functioning skill levels. Understanding the link between time management, procrastination, and mental health can play a critical role in building emotional well-being, and a therapist’s mental health professional’s guidance can be crucial during this process.

Support for building time management skills

While teaching time management skills to employees or students can lead to real improvements, it is not necessarily a replacement for professional support. If you’re a person’s quality of life is being affected by poor time management skills, online therapy could be a valuable resource to consider. With online therapy platforms like BetterHelp , you can explore any underlying complications that may be affecting your ability to manage your time effectively, such as anxiety or perfectionism. 

If you’re already pressed for time in your personal life, it may be difficult to make it to in-person therapy sessions. Online therapy allows you to meet with a professional according to your schedule without having to make an extra commute to an office.  

The efficacy of online therapy for time management

A growing body of research indicates that online therapy can be just as effective as traditional face-to-face therapy for many mental health conditions and life concerns, including those related to stress and time management. In one study, researchers found that an internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) intervention successfully improved behaviors related to procrastination . By the conclusion of the study, participants were able to manage their time more effectively and cope with difficulties related to procrastination more successfully. CBT is an approach that teaches people how to recognize and reframe their negative thought patterns to promote healthier, more positive ways of thinking and behaving. By the conclusion of the study, participants were able to manage their time more effectively and cope with difficulties related to procrastination more successfully.

If you or your audience want to go one step further, working with an online therapist through a platform like BetterHelp can allow you to receive personalized guidance tailored to your unique needs. Since online therapy sessions are held according to your availability, this may be an ideal option for those who are short on time but still need professional support.

• Why Do We Procrastinate? Breaking Down This Behavior Pattern Medically reviewed by Julie Dodson , MA
• Improve Your Mental Health By Learning How To Stop Procrastination Medically reviewed by Nikki Ciletti , M.Ed, LPC
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The Age-by-Age Guide to Teaching Kids Time Management

Use these tips to help your child discover how to plan and prioritize her time..

Many kids are overwhelmed by the prospect of fitting everything they have and want to do into the few short hours after school. Between homework, activities, and just time to play, there’s a lot to do. But even though most kids don’t have the cognitive skills to organize their schedules independently until middle school, you can start teaching them how to plan and prioritize their time now. “When we teach children strategies for time management from an early age, they internalize them, which sets them up for lifelong success,” says Lynn Meltzer, Ph.D., president of the Research Institute for Learning and Development , a nonprofit research and educational organization.

Wondering how the heck to begin? No worries. Teachers shared their tips on the essential concepts and lessons to teach, age by age, so you can make this school year’s schedule more manageable, successful, and a whole lot more fun for everyone! 

Time Management Tips for Preschoolers

For 3- and 4-year-olds, time is essentially divided into now, and not now. But that’s enough to help them figure out how to predict and plan what comes next. To reinforce that knowledge:

• Talk about the changing seasons. All those leaf prints (and later in the year, snowflakes) on display in almost every preschool classroom aren’t coincidental, says Stephanie Lampert, a pre-K teacher from Atlanta. The seasons are a primary vehicle for introducing the cyclical nature of time. “It’s an extremely abstract concept,” she says, “and preschoolers are extremely concrete thinkers. By observing a tree over the seasons, for example, kids can see the progression: The green leaves of summer turn red, then brown, and eventually fall off the tree before coming back to life again in the spring. This is a tangible representation of the passage of time that little ones can understand.” How does that help with time management? By observing the patterns in nature and in their daily lives, little kids intuitively grasp the concept of time — and how to create order. Reinforce those lessons by having your child sort family photos by seasons, for instance. Or point out patterns in nature when you go for a walk.
• Create a (picture) schedule. “As adults, we use apps and calendars to remind us what we should be doing and when. In the preschool world, we use pictures — like an apple for snacktime and a book for storytime,” says Ellen Dietrick, a Needham, MA, preschool director whose classrooms are dotted with visual cues to keep her young charges on track. So while these 3- and 4-year-olds can’t tell you the exact hour they have snacks, they know it comes after circle time and before the bathroom break. “It gives them a comforting sense of order and predictability,” Dietrick says. Since little kids love routines and repetition so much, create charts of your child’s morning and bedtime rituals. Then have your child check off the steps as he does them — an important lesson in breaking up a bigger chore into smaller, more manageable ones. Try these nine ways to make choretime fun , too. 
• Practice waiting. “Time management, at its most basic level, is the ability to delay gratification,” a skill linked to better study habits and grades, among other things, says Dietrick. To strengthen time management, Dietrick devises situations that require her students to wait for something they want. “If they clamor for pajama day, for example, we schedule it for a week away, rather than the following day,” she explains. “We mark the days off on the calendar and build up the excitement as the event gets closer. This gives them a sense of what it feels like to postpone something — and a positive experience to associate with it.” Try something similar with outings and birthdays: Begin talking up that trip to the zoo a few days beforehand, for instance, or tell your child to keep a running birthday wish list. Even planting a bulb, watering it, and watching it slowly bloom teaches the art of patience.

Time Management Tips for Children in Grades K to 2

As kids move through these early grades, they’re learning to read calendars and clocks. Those are the basics they need to stick to a schedule. To reinforce the skill:

• Find a place for everything. “A kid can’t finish his morning work if he can’t find his pencil. So organization has to come before time management,” notes Staci Carper, a first-grade teacher from Marietta, GA. To motivate her students, Carper created Deskalina, a cousin of the tooth fairy, who looks for clean and orderly desks and leaves a note, a prize, or a piece of candy when she finds one. When Deskalina starts flitting about, the desks in Carper’s classroom suddenly become tidy. Carper also sets up clear routines, like a “Keep Here” folder for unfinished schoolwork and a “Take Home” one for homework. To encourage your child to keep her homework supplies (or room) organized, invent your own mythical being to bestow treats and notes. An easy-to-spot weekly checklist (“Homework in backpack? Reading log signed?”) will also go a long way in keeping your kid on top of things.
• Use a visual timer. To help her first graders comprehend how much time is left to complete a task, Carper displays a pie-like visual timer on her Smartboard. When she sets it for 15 minutes, for example, one-quarter of the “pie” turns green. As the seconds tick away, the slice becomes smaller, and when there are only five minutes left, the slice turns red. Seeing time literally slipping away can help kids pace themselves, she explains. You don’t have to be a teacher to score a visual timer — apps like Children’s Countdown (for younger kids) and Time Timer  fit the bill just as well. So do old-school egg and sand timers. Use any during homework sessions. If you have a second grader, for instance, set the timer for 20 or 25 minutes. Give your child a star each night he finishes before the buzzer, and reward a week’s worth of stars with a special treat over the weekend (like a one-on-one walk to the park with you). The goal is to help kids tackle their assignments more effectively and efficiently, while making them more aware of the ticking clock, Carper says.
• Be clear about consequences. “Grade-schoolers can and should be held accountable for their own assignments and they need to feel the consequences when they drop the ball,” says Joan Greenfield, a second-grade teacher from West Hartford, CT. Sometimes those results happen naturally (i.e., if she doesn’t study her spelling words, she probably won’t do well on the test); other times an adult has to set the ramifications. Every Friday, for example, Greenfield has something called Choice Time, when students get to choose what they want to play with, from board games to Legos to computers. “My students live for Choice Time. But our class rule is that they only get to participate if they’ve completed all the assignments in their classwork folders.” The valuable lesson kids get? “Good things happen when I work hard and manage my time and missing them is what happens when I don’t,” Greenfield explains. Your child has a better shot at absorbing this lesson if you resist the urge to email an excuse to the teacher every time she fails to turn in her homework, says Greenfield. Instead, give your kid the onus of explaining to the teacher what went wrong, and how she plans to avoid the problem next time. Discover more do's and don't for helping your child with homework . 

Time Management for Children in Grades 3 to 5

Homework and extracurriculars increase at this age so it’s even more important that kids learn how to set goals, prioritize, organize, and think flexibly, says Dr. Meltzer. Your goal: To get your child to manage his time more purposefully, without a lot of nagging and hovering. How to accomplish this:

• Work on estimating time. “In order to make a realistic schedule, you need a good sense of how long things take,” says Marcia Grosswald, an upper-elementary resource teacher in Summit, NJ. To teach this vital skill, Grosswald has her students spend a few minutes at the end of the day planning their after-school hours. “I give them a chart that breaks the afternoon and evening hours into 15-minute intervals,” she explains. “Each time slot is followed by three columns: what kids plans to do, what they actually did, and reflection.” The reflection piece is essential, Grosswald says, because constantly reassessing how things are going helps a kid adapt his schedule accordingly: Last time I had a soccer game at 5 p.m., I had tough time concentrating on my homework afterward. This time, I’m going to do my hardest assignments before practice.  If your child’s teacher doesn’t do this, do it yourself at home. Make a chart, have your child fill out the first column himself, and then fill out the last two items together, discussing what went according to plan — and what your child can do about the things that went awry.
• Plan for long-term assignments. Deciding when to do tonight’s math assignment is one thing. Figuring out how and when to tackle the book report diorama that’s due three weeks from Tuesday is quite another.  “The key with long-range projects is to break them down into smaller steps — reading the book, for instance, or shopping for materials — and then break those tasks down into even smaller nightly assignments, like reading chapters one to three,” says Amy Broocke, who coordinates a tutoring program at her school in Richmond, VA. She also suggests your child use sticky notes when she’s adding tasks to the calendar; that way, the note can easily be moved to another day if the assignment takes longer than expected. Your child can also plan the steps necessary to complete a project by working backward from the due date, suggests Grosswald. Talk through the process together so the assignment feels less overwhelming: You probably need a day to shop for materials and three days to do the diorama. That leaves you with 10 days to finish the book. It’s 150 pages long so you need to read 15 pages a day. Here's how to create a stress-free study space . 
• Set priorities. “It’s essential kids learn to differentiate between ‘have tos’ and ‘want tos’ and learn to prioritize and self-monitor,” says Meltzer. To help her class do that, Grosswald uses a rock, pebble, and water analogy. The rocks and pebbles represent the students’ duties, she explains, with the rocks signifying their most essential tasks (like school, homework, and sleep) and the pebbles representing their extracurricular commitments. The water stands in for want-to-dos, like video games and hanging out with friends. “I use a jar to represent a day,” she says. “The rocks go in first because they are things you have to do whether you like it or not. Next come the pebbles. But there’s still some room in the jar, so we pour water until our jar — and the day is full.” If you do the rock jar at home, as I did, you’ll have a chance to chat with your kid about her goals, priorities and passions. Don’t be afraid to make changes if you notice the balance is a bit out of whack. After our conversation, we decided Emma would kick off the school year with fewer extracurricular pebbles crammed between the rocks — and a lot more of that refreshing water known as chill time.

Photo credit: 101cats/iStockphoto

• EXPLORE Random Article

How to Teach Time Management

Last Updated: January 25, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Arda Ozdemir, MA . Arda Ozdemir is the Executive Coach and Founder of Rise 2 Realize, a nonprofit organization in Palo Alto, California that is dedicated to providing a practical roadmap toward one's full potential in their life and career. Arda is a Reiki Master, an Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner, and a certified HeartMath Trainer and Mentor. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 14,920 times.

Since time management involves a broad range of skills, teaching someone how to manage their time can be complicated. Break it down into basic principles, such as developing schedules, setting priorities, and staying organized. Time management is a valuable skill at any stage in life, so tailor your lesson to your audience. Whether you’re teaching a younger child, student, or professional, provide tips, tricks, and examples that suit their specific needs.

Covering Basic Principles

• Show school students how to budget time each day for homework. For instance, on a Monday, they might do math homework from 4:00 to 4:45, study for history from 5:00 to 6:00, have dinner, then draft an essay from 7:00 to 8:00.
• Professionals should similarly plan their daily tasks, which vary widely by industry. For example, a product designer might check and respond to emails from 8:30 to 8:50, have a conference call from 9:00 to 9:30, and draft blueprints from 9:30 to 12:00.

• Have school students keep track of unit tests, term papers, and other long-term projects on a calendar. Suggest that they use colored markers or draw asterisks to call attention to important dates.
• Long-term tasks for a professional might include quarterly sales goals, project deadlines, business trips, or bill due dates.

• Urgent and important tasks need to be completed immediately. For example, if a project is due tomorrow, it’s urgent and immediate.
• Important but not urgent tasks need to be on the agenda, but don’t need to be completed right this minute. For instance, a deadline next month isn’t as important as one tomorrow. Painting your bedroom walls might be important to you, but it doesn’t require your immediate attention.
• Urgent but not important tasks might include phone calls, texts, emails, and other disruptions. They’re urgent in the sense that they require your attention but, unless they involve an emergency, they’re lower-priority items.
• Tasks that aren’t important or urgent are primarily distractions, like browsing social media or watching TV. While everyone needs time to relax, downtime isn't a task with a pressing deadline.

• If they’re tempted to play on their phone, they should keep it out of sight, such as in a bag.
• If they surf the web when they should be working on their computer, they could use an app, such as the SelfControl app, to temporarily block distracting websites.
• Suggest that they reward themselves for completing tasks as scheduled. For example, if they finish their science lab report, they can play video games for 30 minutes. [5] X Trustworthy Source Darmouth University Academic Skills Center Center within Dartmouth University dedicated to assisting students achieve academic goals by providing pedagogical resources Go to source
• Most people put off tasks that seem overwhelming. Suggest that they break up unapproachable projects into smaller, more manageable steps. If a student needs to write a 15 page paper, they could outline it, then work on 2 to 3 page sections per day.

• Suggest that they set a realistic time limit for a task and use checkpoints to stay on track. For instance, they might budget 1 hour for a homework assignment or work report. After 30 minutes, they should be halfway through the project.
• Remind them that they shouldn’t dwell on finding perfect word choices for a short essay that doesn’t count for much of their grade. Likewise, a professional shouldn’t spend 20 minutes drafting an email about a trivial topic.

• Developing a filing system or keeping important papers in folders.
• Storing office supplies in designated spots.
• Putting things away immediately after using them.

• For example, a homework assignment could be more difficult than expected and take an extra 20 minutes. An urgent project might come up at work and take priority over all other tasks.

Teaching Your Kids about Time Management

• For example, tell your preschooler, “You go to school on Mondays and Wednesdays,” “It’s 2:00 p.m. so it’s time for a nap,” or “at 7:30 p.m. we brush our teeth, at 7:45 p.m we read a story, and at 8:00 p.m. we go to bed.”
• Once you’ve established a schedule, begin asking them which activities come next. Ask, “We just brushed our teeth, so what comes next?” or “Today is Monday. What happens on Mondays?”

• Have them use the timer to keep track of how long activities last. Build on their understanding of duration by asking, “How long is your favorite TV show?” or “How long did it take to brush your teeth?”
• Introducing them to duration will help them accurately estimate how long a task will take later in life.

• Understanding sequence is the foundation of setting priorities. Reinforce the lesson by asking, “What do we have to do before we go to the park?” or “What do we do before we put on our shoes?”
• If you have an older child, remind them about setting priorities by telling them, “When you finish your homework, you can play video games for 30 minutes,” or “If you clean your room, you can go out with your friends.”

• Charts help introduce children to deadlines and duties. If you’d like, offer a small reward at the end of the week if every box has a check mark or sticker.

Helping Students Manage Their Time

• Instead of cramming for a test the night before, they should study a little every day and get plenty of rest before the test.
• Suppose they’re assigned work on Tuesday that’s due Friday. They should do the assignment sooner rather than later if they know they have a big presentation or test on Friday.

• If they keep information fresh, they won’t have to cram or stress about not having time to study right before a test.

• ”How important is this club, sport, or activity? What value does it provide? Is it a hobby I’ve recently picked up, or something I’ve been committed to for a long time?”
• ”Do I have time to complete my homework? Have my grades suffered because I’m spread too thin?”
• ”Am I feeling stressed out? Have I been enough sleep, or am I always tired? Are there any other ways my physical or mental health has been affected?”

Teaching Time Management at Work

• Suppose a salesperson doesn’t have time to expand their customer base because they’re constantly discussing specifications for custom orders with the product’s design and engineering teams.
• Being proactive can help the salesperson avoid time management issues. They could work on selling less complex options that satisfy clients' needs without requiring constant back-and-forth emails between departments.

• When someone multitasks, they’re unable to give their full attention or make clear memories of their actions. This can lead to low quality work and preventable errors, which could cost more time in the long-term.

• When someone comes into their office or cubicle to ask a question, they could stand up to greet their visitor. That way, the person visiting won’t sit down, get comfortable, and stick around for a long time.
• If they get a phone call or if someone enters their workspace, they could say, “I’m happy to take your question, but I only have a minute or so,” or “I’ll get to your question as soon as I can, but I’m pressed for time right now.”
• They could try wearing earphones. They don’t have actually play anything if they don’t like listening to music while they work. Just wearing earphones could discourage coworkers from distracting them.
• Remind them to be flexible, and to keep about 25% of their work time open for important distractions.

• Explain that they can only delegate effectively if their staff is well-trained. Methods vary by industry, but presenting information in a well-organized manner and providing hand-on opportunities are features of all strong training systems.
• A manager or business owner should demonstrate a task, explain how it’s done, and have the trainee perform the task. They should then offer the trainee praise, tips, and any necessary corrections.
• Delegated tasks should be tailored to an employee’s skill level and seniority. For instance, data entry could be a good task to delegate, but you wouldn’t want to give a new hire access to your business’s most sensitive information.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://lsc.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/A-Simple-Effective-Time-Management-System.pdf
• ↑ https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/PARTICIPANT_GUIDE_TIME_MANAGEMENT.pdf
• ↑ https://stanford.app.box.com/s/4h11i515hkfko1vg2apdjytwql41r9m0
• ↑ https://students.dartmouth.edu/academic-skills/learning-resources/time-management-tips
• ↑ http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/learning_teaching/students/first_year_experience/time_management.shtml
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/201403/time-management-kids
• ↑ https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/time-management-for-kids/
• ↑ http://uaap.mit.edu/node/2018
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2015/04/time-management-training-doesnt-work
• ↑ https://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august24/multitask-research-study-082409.html

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9 Quick Tips for Students Struggling with Time Management

Janet Mizrahi is a continuing lecturer who teaches professional writing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also an author at  BizCommBuzz.

Time management and its first cousin organization are my middle names. I was organizing disastrous drawers and catastrophic closets before Marie Kondo was born—and had plenty of time left over to do homework, babysit and read novels to excess.

But here’s the rub: For people like me, time management is innate. For others, including many students who juggle multiple responsibilities, time management is anathema.

Nevertheless, it can be learned, and since using time efficiently is one of the primary keys to success , it is worth learning.

Below are some tips to pass along to students to help them manage their time.

Tip 1: Use a calendar to plan ahead.

Using a calendar is integral to time management. The only way to manage a busy schedule is to plan ahead.

At the beginning of each term, students should take a broad view of their commitments by entering them into a physical or digital calendar . Assignment due dates and exam times for all classes should be marked on the calendar using color coding, i.e. red for deadlines, green for exams, etc.

The calendar should also denote fixed commitments such as class times and work shifts and be updated regularly.

Looking at this visual depiction illuminates both open and busy times. Heavy weeks will immediately become clear, and those are the times to plan for. The way to avoid missing deadlines is to plan for them.

Tip 2:  Make daily to-do lists.

Making a list of what needs to be accomplished each day is a great time management tool that can clear foggy memories. Crossing off tasks once they are finished also provides a sense of relief and achievement.

Tip 3: Use the A-B-C method to prioritize. 

Setting priorities—what to work on first—is another key to time management. The A-B-C method to prioritizing tasks works like this. Write down all tasks that are looming. Then assign each task an A, B or C:

A – must be completed today

B – would be nice to finish today

C – can be pushed to tomorrow if necessary

Tip 4: Know when to switch gears. 

Being flexible is also important to managing time well. When life determines that a C-level task becomes an A-level task, it’s time to switch gears. Yes, focusing and finishing a to-do item is great, but sticking doggedly to one task that has become less important just puts an individual behind .

Tip 5: Notice (and deal with) procrastination.

Procrastination leads to anxiety and a worse outcome, whether that be a test, paper or another deliverable. To avoid this common enemy to time management, students should be aware of why they are avoiding the work. If it is because they don’t understand an assignment or reading, they should talk to the professor, TA or other students and obtain clarity.

This attitude requires a level of maturity students often do not possess, which is why instructors should regularly remind their charges to take advantage of help.

If students procrastinate because they can’t find the time to do the work or simply don’t want to do it, they need to revisit their priorities . It might help for instructors to remind students that they are paying a great deal of money to gain knowledge that will carry them through their lives and careers. Hopefully, this advice will resonate with at least a few procrastinators.

Tip 6: Work on one project at a time.

Many articles and studies back up my experience about multitasking, concluding that work suffers when attempting to do several tasks at the same time. Instead, concentrated focus is the best way to learn and produce high level work.

Tip 7: Take frequent breaks.

Because deep focus is tiring, taking breaks when doing something that requires complete attention is necessary. I have learned not to force focus. I step away to do a mundane task like laundry, for example, when I have a writing deadline or must grade papers.

Tip 8: Set deadlines and goals.

The world runs on deadlines—learning to follow them is part of success. People who manage their time well do not miss deadlines. Sometimes this means completing work before it’s due instead of playing catch-up. Staying ahead of deadlines is the key to making deadlines .

Deadlines are particularly important when working on written assignments. Good writing needs time for editing, and if the writing is done without leaving time for revisions, the work will suffer.

Tip 9: Join a study group.

Having a study buddy or joining a study group are great ways to garner the benefit of multiple perspectives and avoid procrastination. In a study group, students can share notes, discuss confusing topics and provide peer-to-peer support.

The Harvard Business Review offers these tips, as well:

• Work during optimal times . Some people work best in the morning, others late at night. Peak performance occurs when work is done during an individual’s prime work time.
• Treat time like money. Organized people dole out time as if it’s a precious commodity. Spending time on necessary tasks simply yields a better return on investment.
• Be realistic about time. Many people do not accurately judge the amount of time a particular task will take. To avoid this common problem, the individual should first estimate how long a chore will take, then compare the actual time it took to the estimated time at the end of the project. The knowledge gained can then be applied the next time a similar project is being planned for.

Learning time management and organizational skills is not just helpful for academic life. These skills are sought after in the workplace , and are pretty darn helpful to have at home, too.

Want more time-management tips you can use as an educator? These higher-ed time hacks are peer-tested and easy to implement.

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How Does Homework Help with Time Management?

By Happy Sharer

Introduction

Time management is an essential skill for success in both school and life. It involves setting goals, prioritizing tasks, and learning to manage one’s time efficiently. Fortunately, homework can be a great tool for teaching students the importance of time management. In this article, we will explore how to use homework to teach time management, strategies for improving time management skills, and tips for balancing homework and other commitments.

Teaching Students to Manage Their Time with Homework

The first step in teaching students to manage their time with homework is to establish a homework routine. Having a set schedule for completing homework helps students stay on track and ensures that they have enough time to complete their assignments. It also helps them develop a sense of responsibility for their own learning.

In addition to establishing a homework routine, it is important to teach students to prioritize tasks. Learning to prioritize tasks helps students to focus on the most important tasks first, which saves time and energy in the long run. For example, if a student has a large project due, they should break it down into smaller tasks and prioritize those tasks according to their importance.

Finally, it is important to teach students the benefits of planning ahead. Planning ahead allows students to anticipate potential obstacles and plan accordingly. For example, if a student knows that they have a test coming up, they can plan ahead by studying for the test in advance and setting aside extra time for review.

How Homework Helps Students Develop Time Management Skills

Homework can be a great way to help students develop important time management skills. For example, completing homework regularly can help students develop self-discipline, as they are required to stick to their homework routine even when they don’t feel like it. Homework also helps students learn to focus and concentrate, as they must stay focused on their work in order to complete it. Finally, completing homework regularly can help students practice goal setting, as they must set goals for themselves in order to complete their assignments on time.

Strategies for Using Homework to Improve Time Management

One of the best ways to use homework to improve time management is to break down big projects into manageable steps. For example, if a student has a large research paper due, they can break it down into smaller steps such as researching the topic, writing an outline, and drafting the paper. Taking small steps will make the project seem less overwhelming and help the student stay on track.

Another strategy for using homework to improve time management is to set deadlines. Setting deadlines helps students stay focused and ensures that they complete their assignments on time. It also encourages them to plan ahead and anticipate potential obstacles.

Finally, working in blocks of time can be a great way to use homework to improve time management. Working in blocks of time, such as 30 minutes or an hour, can help students stay focused and ensure that they are making progress on their assignments. It also allows them to take regular breaks, which can help them stay motivated and energized.

Tips for Balancing Homework and Other Commitments

Balancing homework and other commitments can be challenging, but there are some tips that can help. First, it is important to take breaks during homework sessions. Taking regular breaks can help students stay focused and energized, and it can also give them a much-needed break from their work.

Second, it is important to schedule time for fun and relaxation. Allowing time for leisure activities can help students stay motivated and prevent burnout. It is also important to make sure that students are getting enough sleep, as this can help them stay focused and productive.

Finally, it is important to ask for help when needed. If a student is struggling with their homework, they should not hesitate to ask for help from their teacher or a tutor. Asking for help can save time and energy in the long run, and it can also provide valuable insight into the material.

Time management is an important skill for students to learn, and homework can be a great tool for teaching it. Teaching students to establish a homework routine, prioritize tasks, and plan ahead can help them develop the skills they need to manage their time effectively. Additionally, breaking down big projects into manageable steps, setting deadlines, and working in blocks of time can help students improve their time management skills. Finally, taking breaks during homework sessions, scheduling time for fun and relaxation, and asking for help when needed can help students balance their homework and other commitments. With these tips and strategies, students can learn to manage their time effectively and make the most of their time.

(Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? Do you have knowledge or insights to share? Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.)

Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way.

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Table of Contents

Why is time management important for students, 10 time management skills and techniques for students, working smarter to enhance productivity, the benefits of good time management, how well do you manage your time, general time-management tools, time management in practice, implications of poor time management, how to better manage your time at work, choose the right program.

Effective time management is all about achieving the right balance between your homework, university/college life, and your free time. As a student, organizing your days will eliminate stress and ensure that you are productive. The general time management tips for students, such as sleeping well, scheduling, and prioritizing, are some important tips that can help students in the long run. A more strategic approach is required to optimize the time a student has in a day.

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Time management for students (and everyone else) is about making your day purposeful. It is about taking control of the time you have and optimizing it for focus, productivity , and above all, balance. Before we list out the time management tips for students, it is crucial for students to understand why time management is important.

All of us should make the most of the limited amount of time we have in a day. It is very easy to get wrapped up in a fury of various activities and accomplish less. Managing time effectively enables students to become more confident, and organized, and learn more efficiently. Effective time management skills are particularly essential for high school students, as they have to deal with more subjects, tests, assignments, and extracurriculars. Time management techniques can help students be on track and cope with the stress of added responsibilities. 

Following are a few more reasons why time management is important for students:

Enables You to Accomplish Your Goals Faster

Appropriate time management makes one more effective and encourages you to give your best to what you are doing and what you can, thus helping you achieve your goals much faster.

Enables You to Prioritize Your Work

When creating a timetable, you prioritize and arrange essential tasks that need immediate attention. For example, students have to complete assignments before attending a session. A student can fit in time to work on the assignments before attending a study group with correct time management.

Enables You to Get More Done in Less Time

Dedicating a specified amount of time to a particular task helps you focus on it. Instead of working on a given task with no predefined time assigned, you can complete the same task by sticking to a time plan. Without a time plan, you might completely forget to finish a task.

Reduces Stress Levels 

Time management skills can help you prioritize the time required for essential tasks; prioritizing tasks and having enough time to accomplish those tasks means reduced stress levels.

Helps You Become More Efficient

Effective time management helps you to be more focused at school/college/university, thus increasing your efficiency and enabling you to accomplish more within less time.

So, how can students learn to manage time more effectively? We have collated a list of the best time management tips for students to beat procrastination, stay focused, and be more productive.

Efficient time management is one of the primary keys to success, and thus, it is worth learning. Following are time management strategies for students to help them manage their time in the best possible manner.

1. Make Use of a Daily Schedule Template to Plan Your Day

Seminars, classes, and workshops may take up a chunk of your day, but how one schedules their own time makes all the difference. It is essential to master your schedule.

A daily schedule template helps you manage and control your time each day. It will enable you to stay organized and focus on what matters most and even help you overcome procrastination. The method that most successful people from Elon Musk to Bill Gates use is “time blocking”. Time blocking is creating a template for how you intend to spend every minute of your day. Students should therefore follow this method to manage their time more fruitfully.

2. Understand How You are Currently Spending Your Time (And Where You Are Losing It)

Your schedule will offer you an ideal version of your day, but you need to analyze how you spend your time to develop better time management habits. Without understanding how you are spending your time each day, it is impossible to build better time management strategies for students to stay focused.

3. Set Proper Goals to Measure Your Progress

Goals are an excellent way to get you motivated to do school work. However, the problem is that goals are just the result, with you not knowing how to achieve them. So, focus on what needs to be done to achieve that goal by focusing on constant progress and developing better habits. For example, if you need to write a 5,000-word essay in a month, set a daily goal of writing 500 words. If you continue this, you can complete your essay in a week.

4. Break Large Projects Into Smaller, Actionable Tasks

A part of proper goal-setting is to segregate large goals from smaller daily tasks. Doing this will help you stay focused and stop you from procrastinating. It is easy to procrastinate when a project feels like a huge task. However, taking that first step is all you need to build momentum.

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5. Be Realistic About the Time You Need to Complete a Task

Once you begin to schedule your tasks for the day, you may get overly optimistic about how much you can achieve. Psychologists also have a name for this – The Planning Fallacy. One of the most effective time management tips for students is to counter the planning fallacy. Students should add a buffer to their schedule depending on how familiar they are with the task. If it is something that has been done before, then 1-1.5X time must be allocated to the time they think it may take to complete the project.

6. Pay Attention to Your Body’s Natural Energy Highs and Lows

We all have moments in the day when we are more energetic and alert. And if you want to exploit the time you have each day to its maximum, you cannot fight against your body’s natural state. What does this mean in terms of time management tips for students ? Simply put, students should do their most essential work when they feel most energetic. This means scheduling intense projects during energy highs and scheduling passive activities when the body is at its natural low.

7. Take Breaks at the Right Time

Take more breaks to manage your productivity over time. But when exactly is the right time to take a break? Sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman states, “our minds naturally crave breaks after every 90 minutes of intense work. Even if you do not have a timer going, your body will let you know that you need a break by turning sleepy, fidgeting, hungry, or losing focus”. When you begin to feel this way, you know it is time to take a break.

8. Remove Distractions

Between social media, cell phones, and friends, there are so many activities that can distract students from their school work. When it is time to get down to doing school work, students need to turn off their cell phones and sign out of social media accounts. Any amount of time that is devoted to school work must be television and cell phone free!

9. Avoid Multitasking

It may be tempting for students to feel that they can multitask when their schedule is jam-packed. But the more one tries to do it at once, the longer each thing takes. Instead, studies have found that deeply focusing on one task at a time can be around 500% more productive.

10. Build Better Routines and Habits for Long-Term Success

We are what we repetitively do. One of the best time management strategies for students and everyone else is to develop routines and habits that endorse the kind of actions you would like to do more of, for example, following a morning routine that concentrates on getting an early win and prepping yourself for a productive day. Or, ensure your evening routine preps you for an effective next day by setting your goals and schedules the night before.

When planning, prioritize the more extensive, more complex, and time-consuming chores at the beginning of the week (or day), so you may complete them first and relax more as the week progresses. Front-load your week to maximize your chances of success. This is similar to Eat That Frog, a productivity strategy that recommends performing the most important or influential activity first every day to ensure it gets done.

Constant meetings, social media, and an endless stream of emails may make it challenging to create a productive day. Developing effective habits at work will enable you to accomplish your best job regularly. You have two options for increasing your productivity. You may work longer hours if you bring your job home with you. You may also work smarter by boosting efficiency without sacrificing quality. Let's look at some significant benefits of good time management are: 

Stress Relief

One of the primary causes of increased stress is poor time management. When you have a lot to accomplish and are unsure how to do it, you usually perform a rush job under pressure. However, with proper time management, you can schedule your daily chores so that you work smarter rather than harder. For example, you may prepare critical tasks for when you're most productive or set aside additional time for things you suspect will take longer than expected. So, even if you work longer, you will have enough time to complete everything while being calm.

By identifying task completion time, you can use less energy and worry less about whether you can achieve everything you need to do today. Instead, make time to take a break from your typical routine. You may preserve energy for your spare time since time management helps you to plan when your task will be completed before you begin it. Having more free time can help you achieve a better work-life balance and ensure you make time for yourself.

More Opportunities

Effective time management may help you achieve more success by improving the quality of your work. When you manage your time well, you not only provide excellent work on schedule, but you also work without stress. This displays improved decision-making abilities and potential for leadership . In other words, you exhibit traits that are necessary for job advancement. This will provide you with greater and more chances.

Ability to Realize Goals

You may simplify your day and spend less time selecting what to do or how to accomplish it if you use time management to arrange what you need to complete each day. For example, deciding what to do for each step before commencing the project may be beneficial if you have a complex project with an outline that requires several yet unclear phases. The project is then reduced to a short set of activities that give guidance. You save time by preparing your objectives rather than finding them out as you go. This might mean spending less time pondering what you should be doing and more time doing it.

There are several approaches you may use based on your time management abilities and experience, but the goal is to explain a system that works for you and makes sense in the position you're going for. In other words, if you're working in a team atmosphere, discuss an efficient time management approach for teamwork, such as getting everyone acquainted with project management software. Then, discuss the advantages of employing this method for time management. Going into depth about how this technique has worked for you demonstrates to the interviewer that you have real-world experience adopting this way to manage your time and aren't simply making it up.

Time management is critical to your success. You may achieve any goal you set your mind to by using an excellent time planner and master list. These are common time management tools and practices that you should employ to maximize productivity and personal organization. Each of these takes some effort to learn and perfect, but they will pay you back in increased efficiency and effectiveness for the rest of your life.

Prioritization

The 80/20 rule was developed by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. It's believed that 20% of activities are accountable for 80% of results. The purpose of Pareto analysis is to assist you in prioritizing tasks that are most successful at issue resolution. List some of the difficulties you are experiencing. Determine the fundamental source of each issue. Assign a score to each problem and arrange them by cause. Add the scores from each group: The topic should be addressed first in the group with the highest score. Take some action.

Scheduling is the art of preparing your activities so that you may accomplish your goals and prioritize your priorities in the time you have available. When done correctly, it can assist you in realizing what you can do with your time. Ensure you leave adequate time for import duties and only take on what you can do.

Goal Setting

Smart goals enable people to plan and attain their objectives in a reasonable amount of time. It can also aid in improving time management in professional contexts such as school and the workplace. Smart goal planning may give direction for your aims and help you build practical measures to attain those goals if you want to manage your time wisely.

Concentration and Focus

Distractions are a major impediment to personal time management. Close the door to avoid as many distractions as possible. Only pay attention to what you're doing right now.

In terms of significance, describe your top two distractions over the next two weeks. Remember that staying focused during the day necessitates proper sleep habits and enough fluids.

Effective time management entails completing more vital tasks in a single day. Effective time management is more important than efficient time management. The most successful time managers are also the most efficient. Try some time management software. The first time management tool you require is a time planner, which provides all the information you need to plan and arrange your life. The most excellent time planners, whether looseleaf or electronic, allow you to prepare for the whole year, the month, the week, and each day.

We all know that there never seems to be enough time in the day, and as a result, things slip by the wayside. While this occurs to the best of us from time to time, students who battle with time management regularly are doing themselves no favors.

Poor Workflow

Poor efficiency results from a failure to plan and keep to goals. For example, completing related chores concurrently or sequentially is an intelligent approach if many significant tasks need to be accomplished. However, if you plan, you may be able to bounce back and forth, or backtrack, in your job. This equates to decreased efficiency and output.

Wasted Time

Wasted time arises from poor time management. For example, chatting with pals on social media while working on an assignment is a distraction and a waste of time.

Loss of Control

You will lose control of your professional life if you do not know the next assignment. This might lead to increased tension and worry.

Poor Quality of Work

The quality of your work could be better when you manage your time well. Quality is often degraded when things are rushed at the last minute.

Poor Reputation

When clients or your company cannot rely on you to finish things on time, their expectations and impressions of you suffer. A client who needs to trust you to complete a task on schedule will likely look for another service provider.

Your ability to manage your time affects how productive you are each day. You can accomplish more in less time with effective time management, which also helps you feel less stressed and advance in your profession. Instead of just using the following tools as a timetable to complete more tasks, make them represent your values—what is most important to you. When you arrange and calendar your time and make the split-second decisions essential to efficient time management for balance and well-being, remember these principles.

1. Know How You’re Spending Your Time

You need to keep track of what you do with your time to identify any activities or routines preventing you from achieving your desired objectives. You must start and end each day with a purpose to make the most of your time.

You have two choices for keeping track of your time:

• Spend a day or two manually recording your activities in a "time log."
• To automatically log your time, use a free program like RescueTime.

2. Stick to a Daily Schedule

While making a to-do list is a common theme in time and productivity management advice for students, mastering your daily schedule is even more crucial. 

Time blocking is the strategy of choice for many of the most successful people in the world, including Bill Gates and Elon Musk. But time blocking is planning how to spend each minute of your day.

• Create Realistic Timelines: A schedule must be practical to be effective. Plan your study time wisely to increase your study skills. The study techniques of the students vary from one another. This entails scheduling time for breaks, meals, exercise, social interaction, phone calls to loved ones, and all other "non-school" activities that keep you content and motivated.
• Give your undivided Attention: Your best friend in this situation is "self-discipline" and "self-control." If you must take a break, do so, but try to avoid sneaking away to other websites while working. Turn off your phone or put it away until it's time for a scheduled break.

3. Prioritize

1440 minutes make up one day. Within these hours, you must set practical priorities. Setting suitable priorities for your study goals is one of the sage study advice. If you have a lot of material to learn, start breaking it down into manageable chunks and choose what is most crucial. One of the best study strategies is making the most of your morning hours when nobody is awake to disturb you since they are asleep.

• Do immediately: Tasks that are crucial and have clear deadlines, or ones you've put off so long they're past due.
• Schedule for later: Crucial assignments with no set deadlines.
• Delegate: Those tasks that others can execute.
• Delete: Activities you can skip since they are optional to achieving your objectives or carrying out your mission.

4. Tackle the Most Difficult Task First

You should complete your most crucial tasks when you're most energetic. This entails arranging writing or other demanding tasks for when your energy levels are at their highest and reading or other passive pursuits for when they are at their lowest.

Brian Tracy's renowned Eat That Frog productivity technique is quite effective for those who delay or find themselves procrastinating frequently or who may have difficulty avoiding distractions. It suggests starting with the task that is the hardest, most complicated, and most critical, i.e., the one you're most inclined to put off for later. Once you've "devoured that frog," only then should you move on; that too without much stress.

5. Batch-Process Similar Tasks

Task batching is when you organize related jobs or tasks into groups and finish them all at once. Using this method, you can easily cut down on multitasking and extend your time to give all your projects your full attention.

For instance: At around 10 to 11 a.m. daily, organize and respond to emails and organize your digital study materials simultaneously.

6. Set Reasonable Time Limits

Focus on what has to be done to reach and surpass the objective instead of starting at the end and moving backward. You might take a full day to finish two different tasks that could be completed in only three hours if you had a full day to do so. There's a good possibility you'll still reach the earlier deadline if you give yourself a shorter window.

What can you do every day to further your ultimate aim? This entails putting an emphasis on steady improvement and forming improved routines. Even better, seeing daily progress will spur you to do more. Work "expands to occupy the time given to do it," according to Parkinson's law.

7. Learn When to Say No

Our energy levels are limited each day and tend to decrease with time. It is wise to know your limits and be prepared to say no to prevent doing subpar work. Understand your advantages and disadvantages. It is ideal for concentrating on one's strengths and delegating tasks that others can complete more quickly and effectively.

8. Avoid Multitasking

Concentrate on one item at a time to manage your time and commit it to study effectively. Nothing gets accomplished when you attempt to perform too many tasks at once. So, starting with one activity, finishing it, and moving on to another is one of the greatest study- focus- ideas .

When your schedule is packed, believing you can multitask is tempting. But everything takes longer the more you try to complete it at once. Instead, studies show that concentrating intently on a single activity can increase productivity by up to 500% . The American Psychological Association claims that mental juggling comes with "switching costs" that reduce your output. Changing tasks may take a few seconds each, but it adds up if you multitask regularly. Your potential for error also increases.

9. Keep Things Organized

Efficiency will rise if your workspace is tidy and organized because you won't have time to look for paper. Learning how to be organized is a talent that can be known. Start with these fundamentals.

• Maintain a clean work desk: The office's physical surroundings greatly impact how you operate. When your environment is chaotic, you are too. You can also be affected by clutter in less direct ways. Research has demonstrated that your physical settings substantially impact your cognition, emotions, and behavior, affecting how you make decisions and interact with others.
• Coordinate your computer files and shared drives: Loss of files and decreased productivity might result from improperly arranging shared files. Nothing is more confusing than spending most of your working hours searching your system for files. Create distinct folders for your files according to their categories to save yourself the hassle.
• Use a calendar: Using a well-organized calendar, you can manage your time to keep on top of your to-do lists and maintain focus throughout the workday. Although many executives have secretaries who work their calendars, anyone may utilize the same procedures to become more productive.

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Time management for students is highly intimidating, especially when you have multiple things on your to-do list. It is one of the most challenging tasks for students as they are expected to fare well and produce good results while handling the pressures of school assignments, homework, projects, and maintaining a social life. However, with our list of time management tips for students, we are confident that students will be able to come up with an arrangement to ensure that every day is as productive as possible. 

As you know, there is never an end to learning. To make your day more effective, you can always take up courses as a student to boost your career. A PMP® Certification Training  from Simplilearn will help you master core project management tools as a strategic tool for business transformation.

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