It’s safe to say that a good number of students have encountered struggles with time management. Whether it be because of extracurriculars, the bombardment of school work, or a constant lack of energy, balancing assignments can become an issue.
Because of this, students tend to lose motivation and fall behind. That’s why practicing time management in a school setting would provide students with the skills needed to be successful.
Having good time management ensures that students are well prepared and can complete their assignments and reach their goals on time. Like any other skill, time management needs to be practiced, and school is a great place to do that.
Students in school are faced with numerous due dates and assignments with varying degrees of difficulty. Instead of stressing out, students can use these assignments to their advantage by planning ahead. For example, blocking out certain parts of the day to complete assignments can establish good routines and create efficiencies. Though many assignments can seem like a burden, you can use them to your benefit and establish good habits.
It’s no surprise that teachers want their students to complete tasks by their assigned date. Instead of having to badger people to turn stuff in, they can instead offer solutions that might help them achieve their goals in a more timely manner. Teachers can also allow students to practice these solutions in their classroom. Having an encouraging environment can only help people succeed. In addition to this, teachers can be more understanding as to why certain people struggle to turn things in on time instead of antagonizing students unreasonably. Teachers can help students by actively practicing skills such as setting task reminders, creating and maintaining specific goals, giving time limits to each task, blocking out distractions and most importantly, establishing routines.
Being able to practice juggling different tasks successfully can help students prepare for the “real world”. School is an environment created for practicing and learning new things. When given guidance by teachers, counselors, or even peers, students can use their time in the classroom to gear up for what is to come their way.
Some might argue that students’ school time should be used only for academic school work, and that they should have their priorities straight before walking through the door. I disagree. Though it can definitely be helpful for students to have good time management skills before starting school, it is never too late to learn them. As stated earlier, school is a place to learn different things and that does not have to include only academic skills. Some teachers have specific times to focus on “soft-skills.” I think that would be a good time for teachers to provide some time management tips such as goal setting, organization, and delegating.
To combat stress and procrastination due to poor time management, I think that it would be beneficial for some teachers to set up a FIT that provides students struggling in this area to come in and be taught skills to help further their grasp on good discipline. For example, some students might have trouble with setting sustainable goals. During the established FIT time, teachers could focus on the steps to setting realistic goals. Some of these steps can also include putting goals in writing, practicing prioritizing and being held accountable.
Students can get the time management skills necessary for being successful if they have the chance to practice them in school.
