Studies out of the US reveal that many university students don’t know the basics when it comes to managing their time.
Students in Australia, it seems, appear to fare better but they still struggle to negotiate their busy schedules.
Good time management skills will help you throughout life.
“The earlier good time management skills are mastered, especially in a more structured environment like school, the easier the transition into university and adulthood becomes,” said Professor Greg Masterson from Purdue University in Indianapolis.
Planning and organisation are extremely important and they don’t come naturally to many.
Rita Conrad is a professional organiser, based in San Diego. “Setting short and long term goals is a vital first step and it’s always good to remember that the smaller goals will help you move toward the larger goals on a daily basis,” she said.
What is just as important is to then write down what you need to do to achieve your goals.
“Once you’ve done that,” continued Rita, “you need to step back and look at the big picture and establish a routine based on that.”
For students at school, having a term planner will allow them to see at a higher level what they have in store for weeks to come. Being able to work back from that and piecemeal their requirements will help them to create a workable routine.
Setting a workable study routine at home works just like a school timetable. Along with timetabling homework, assignment preparation and study, a home routine prompts the student to budget time for extra-curricular activities and family commitments as well.
“We’re all given the same amount of time and I learnt fairly quickly that it’s my choice as to how to spend it”, says Dana Tillman, a second year engineering student at Sydney University. “When I manage my time well, I stress less and get more things done. I schedule everything onto my personal planner at home and when unexpected things crop up that I can’t avoid, I have a plan that I can reshuffle without losing sight of the bigger picture.”
“Our student wall planner has all the elements to help high school students develop their time management skills. The student’s goals and strategies to keep them focused, sit alongside their daily routine and term planner,” explained John Sumner, director of Red Tick Education. “It’s conveniently all on the one page.”
Red Tick Education recommends that, if possible, for high school students, the planner should be mounted on the outside of the student’s bedroom door, where parents can see at a glance what is due and thereby provide maximum encouragement and assistance.
Red Tick Education also have digital planners that complement the wall planner and can be downloaded from their website. There is also a guide for students to review their habits and skill set and a FREE parent guide to help parents support their child in the home environment.