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To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
- Anatole France
Managing time effectively is a handy skill. Some people thrive on it and love to create (and stick to) schedules, while others may feel a little daunted by the prospect. When students are on top of all their tasks, when they have set and are achieving their goals (academic or otherwise), when they aren’t falling behind and missing deadlines, they will feel calm, confident, and motivated to achieve.
Creating a Schedule that Works
• Routine
It is essential for you and your child to establish a routine. With distance learning comes a great deal of flexibility and freedom, but without any sense of routine, your child may begin to feel a little lost. It’s very helpful to have a calendar for each school year. In fact, it’s beneficial to be able to see tasks and events for the entire year at a glance, as well as for each month, each week, and even each day. Having your child view the coming week’s activities, due dates, and other obligations (as well as fun things) will help him or her approach school work with knowledge and a sense of purpose. Routines can come in many forms and take place in many places.
• Goals
Setting goals is an important part of this process. With your guidance, have your child set attainable educational benchmarks and goals. This can sometimes be tricky. It’s great to be ambitious, but if a certain goal is too ambitious, or virtually unattainable, it can lead to frustration and a sense a failure. The trick is to find balance. With this balance, having students set their own individual goals is a wonderful source of motivation and encouragement.
You and your child may prefer a great deal of structure, or you may prefer a more relaxed feel to your days. It’s just important to have some form of plan, to help avoid surprises, missed obligations, falling behind, and stress. Turn the creation of your schedules and calendars into a fun project to work on with your child – be creative.
• Calendars and Schedules
Here is a brief list of some of the helpful things to track in your schedules:
—Daily schedule
—Weekly goals
—Monthly goals
—Major goal(s) for the year
—Homework
—Project due dates
—Appointments with teachers
—Enrollment dates
—Free, fun time
—Social, family time
—Major events, such as tests, applications, projects, financial aid due dates
—Sports, volunteer, or arts activities
Time Management Tips
You may delay, but time will not.
- Benjamin Franklin
Everyone has a certain period of the day (or night) when they are most alert and energetic. It’s very helpful to address this when planning your child’s daily routine. Take another look at your child’s LSP results. You child will work much more efficiently if he or she can do school work as much as possible, during this optimal time period.
• General Tips for Working Efficiently
—Have your child review course notes daily (better yet, do this together, whenever possible). This will reinforce what has been learned, allowing your child to really absorb the information and need less time to study.
—Try to get a healthy diet, exercise, and enough sleep. You’ll all feel more positive and be more alert.
—Communicate your child’s schedule to friends and family. If they know what you’re trying to accomplish (and when), they can offer you support.
—Instead of agonizing and procrastinating, just dive in, get started. Sometimes that may be easier said than done, but being conscious of the concept is half the battle.
—Maintain perspective. Setting unrealistic goals can be counterproductive. While it's good to challenge yourself and your child, try to be realistic while dreaming big.
Visit our other Family Center website pages for information on the topic of time management. You’ll find calendars and other online resources. Also, the website Mind Tools ( www.mindtools.com) contains a wealth of information on this topic.
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