Time management is an essential skill that allows us to organise our time effectively and productively.
As an academic coach, what surprises me hugely is the inability of many students to be able to plan ahead and manage their time constructively.
In my opinion, the simple explanation is that modern students don’t use paper planners or electronic calendars. When I ask my students why they haven’t written the task down or how do they know when their scheduled appointments are, they tell me that they just remember it. The irony of it, right!
How many times have we been in a situation when we haven’t written down a task or added an event in the calendar, then we just forget it. The reason for this is that our brains are not meant to keep this information in our short-term or working memory. It is far better to have a system to structure your schedule and to-do lists than to keep them in your head with a large chance of forgetting it.
Why a decline in time-management skills?
Students are simply not taught how to manage their time and what techniques to use.
Interestingly, many schools have removed paper planners and shifted to an electronic system for homework tasks. In my opinion, this took away the autonomy from students to manage their own time and to take the responsibility for their own tasks. Instead, teachers now use apps to upload homework tasks.
I remember when I was a teacher and I would clearly state the homework task to my students and ask them to write it down. Funnily enough, if I didn’t upload the task (which sometimes I did on purpose to teach them the importance of listening in the lesson and following tasks), the majority of the students would say “But Dr, you didn’t upload it, so that means we didn't have to do it”.
Will universities or future employers be uploading the tasks for you? The answer is no.
Time management methods I teach to my students
My system consists of two components - (1) an electronic calendar in conjunction with (2) a paper planner.
Get your child to choose one electronic platform, e.g. Apple iCalendar or Google Calendar (there are many others).
The next step is to subdivide it into categories and create sub-calendars. I would recommend the following:
“School” for their regular timetable
“Study” for their own academic work
“Hobbies” or “Extra-curricular”
“Exercise”
“Private” for anything else
For A-Level or university students, there will be a lot of free blocks due to free periods. It is important to plan tasks ahead during these blocks, so that time is used productively.
4. Get an A5 paper planner for your child to write their tasks or any ideas down. Writing is an essential tool for developing executive planning and time management. They should always carry it with them to school. I always teach my students to write anything important down, including tasks or new methods and techniques.
5. They can start their day by looking at their electronic calendar and then checking their planner for tasks. Together, these will allow them to plan their days, weeks and months more effectively and even work towards long-term goals and deadlines.
Remember, we all want to bring the best out of our children and students, and time management is a key skill to master, which will be essential in their future university studies and work endeavours.
I would be happy to teach my system in more detail or discuss anything further over a zoom or phone chat. Please just drop me a message.
Watch my Youtube video below for more tips and subscribe to my channel for more educational advice and insights.
With warmest regards,
Dr Anna York-Weaving
Academic Coach, Scientist and Founder of York-Weaving Education
Comments