3 Ways to Help Your Student Manage Their Time

Time management can be a huge source of frustration for both parents and students when it is not put into place. Teaching your children valuable time management skills can make everyone’s lives easier in a variety of ways. The biggest source of frustration for most families is the inevitable conflict that arises through forgotten projects or events that result in last minute panic.
Here are three ways that you and your family can work together to manage your time;

1. Get organized
The most important thing you can do, for the sake of everyone’s sanity, is to get your family organized. Take the time to create a routine for your family so that you can all get into a groove and know what to expect. Getting organized can help you avoid those pesky surprises that stress your family out by having a predictable schedule that everyone can count on. When your kids know what to expect, they can set reasonable expectations for themselves within those parameters.

2. Use the right tools
One tool that can be useful is a family calendar that details the where and when of individual and group commitments. Soccer practice, violin lessons, Grandma’s birthday party, they all go on the family calendar so that nothing gets forgotten and you can avoid over-committing yourselves.

Depending on the age of your student, they can maintain their own planner for school assignments. They can use a physical planner to write down homework and due dates, or they can use the organizational features on their smartphones like the calendar, reminders, alerts, and updates. Since most older children have smartphones that they regularly keep with them, it makes sense for them to utilize the organizational apps that they already have access to.

3. Follow through
For your younger students, time management will mostly rely on your guidance. They aren’t ready to be totally responsible for their own schedules, but you can include them in your own planning sessions and teach them the organizational skills they’ll need later in life.

When they’re older and ready to take on their own schedules, it’s important to still check in on them and help when needed. One of the most helpful things you can do is to help your kids learn to estimate time accurately. Kids tend to underestimate how long it will actually take for them to do things, so having a parent glance over their planner and give suggestions can go a long way towards keeping them on track.

At St. Barnabas Episcopal School we want your student to develop the important life skills that they will need in order to be successful in their future. To learn more, contact us today with questions or to schedule a tour.

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386-734-3005