Time Management Strategies for Students in Online School
byPhoebe Brown
9 min to read
Understanding the importance of time management and learning how to improve time management for students are critical components for kids looking to excel in school and beyond. For students attending online schools without the structure of brick-and-mortar schools, the need to manage their time becomes more important. By applying time management strategies for students, families can help keep their students on track while giving them enough time to pursue their personal goals.
What Is Time Management?
Time management is the ability to use one’s time efficiently and effectively. In other words, it’s the ability to organize and devote time to different tasks that need to be accomplished.
Why Is Time Management Important for Online School Students?
Time management teaches students how to balance tasks they need to complete with activities they want to do.
Many online students have busy schedules and participate in important activities outside of school, such as training for a sport, attending medical appointments, volunteering in their communities, and completing internships.
Good time management also helps to combat procrastination and a lack of organization by prioritizing assignments and tasks, learning how to reduce distractions, and practicing focus techniques.
The benefits of time management for students may include:
improved self-discipline
better academic performance
reduced stress
enhanced prioritization, critical thinking, and decision-making
Time Management Tips for Students
Analyze How Time Is Spent
Tracking daily activities can help students see where they’re wasting or underutilizing their time and make adjustments to their schedule as needed.
Time management tools like planners, digital calendars, and time-tracking apps can be a good place to start tracking due dates for projects, assignments, tests, and upcoming tasks.
Use a Time-Tracking Method
Time-tracking apps can also help students identify patterns of underutilized time, provide guidance on how to stay focused and more productive, and keep track of assignments and due dates.
The key to time-tracking is to be honest and thorough, and list how much time is spent on every task or activity. Using a digital time-tracking app or worksheet can easily help students identify areas that need improvement. Students should track their time for a week and categorize their time into activities such as:
Schoolwork – includes time spent at school and tutoring.
Homework – includes time spent working on homework, doing projects, completing assignments, and studying for tests after school.
Leisure – includes activities students enjoy doing in their downtime, such as sports, music, watching TV, playing video games, and scrolling through social media.
Chores – includes anything the student does to help keep their home clean, such as washing the dishes, doing yardwork, and cleaning their room.
As an enrolled student, they can use the Connections Academy® activity tracker to log their time for reading assignments, music practice, physical activities, etc. If you want to track everything in one place, then try our downloadable time tracking sheet template.
Create a Priority List
Students should create a priority list that includes everything that needs to be done each day, including any social or family commitments.
Group the items based on whether they’re one-time, daily, or recurring tasks, as well as according to deadlines. Rank each item on the to-do list as A, B, or C, based on their importance:
A = Important and urgent
B = Important but not urgent
C = Not important and not urgent
For example, let’s assume that a student’s SAT test is two months away, their history paper is due tomorrow, their best friend wants them to attend their recital, and they can’t afford to fall behind on reading assignments. Their final, prioritized to-do list for that day might look like this:
Daily tasks
A. Read class assignments
A. Walk the dog
B. Call or text friends
Recurring (but not daily) tasks
A. Attend a LiveLesson® session
B. Study for the SAT
C. Get a haircut
One-time task
A. Attend a friend’s music recital
B. Finish history paper (due tomorrow)
Keep in mind that circumstances and priorities may change daily. For example, while studying for the SAT may be a “B” today, it’s likely to become an “A” the week before the test.
Track To-do List Items
Use a calendar or planner to estimate and block out a time slot for each to-do list item. Enter all of the recurring items first. For example, if Mondays from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. are reserved for LiveLesson® sessions, then the student will know that slot is unavailable for other tasks.
Then, enter all the “A” high-priority items first, followed by the “B” and “C” items. Students need to make all deadlines and commitments visible and easy to follow. Some students use highlighters and stickers to call out high-priority items.
If one of the “B” or “C” list items changes priority level, the student needs to update their planner or calendar accordingly.
Make Adjustments
There may be times when adjustments need to be made. Over time, students can start to see the patterns of good time management and areas where they need to improve, but families can help them keep on track until then by looking at the information gathered from their time-tracking logs to figure out what’s working and what’s not.
Students learning how to manage their time need to remember that it’s going to take some practice and flexibility to find what works best with their habits, what habits they want to create, and what their time-management personality is like.
Do, Review, and Repeat Daily
As students go through their day, they can tackle tasks based on how they organized their “A,” “B,” and “C” priorities in their planner. Check off completed tasks, copy uncompleted tasks to tomorrow’s to-do list, and start the entire process over the next day.
As the day goes on, review the progress and adjust plans. If a student has a difficult task that’s taking more time, letting go of a “C” priority item that day could be a good adjustment to make. Simply move that item to the next day and reprioritize it. This can reduce feeling overwhelmed.
Practice will help students get better at time management strategies. Stay consistent with following the schedule each day.
Evaluate Time Management Personality
Knowing your time management style can help students find strategies that work specifically for them and develop their unique time management plan. Common time management styles include:
The Early Bird
When assigned something, they immediately identify all the tasks involved and plan their time accordingly.
When planning or working on projects and portfolios, they prefer working on one subject and project at a time.
They’re usually one of the first people to arrive for class or social events.
They get stressed when other people are late or when something forces them to be late.
Since Early Birds like to focus on one project at a time, they should make the most of that focus by scheduling tasks at the time that works best for them.
The Multitasker
They often do other things while doing an exercise or task.
They like having control over their schedule so they can switch things up to keep school and life interesting.
They often underestimate how long it will take to complete a task.
They tend to wait until the last minute to do items on their list.
The Multitasker should keep a time log of how long a task takes versus how long they thought a task would take. Scheduling 15 extra minutes for tasks can help the Multitasker learn how not to underestimate tasks and budget their time efficiently.
The Helper
They like to forward posts to friends who also need time management help.
They remind their friends about fun events and decide if they will attend based on their interests.
Sometimes, they fall behind in their work because they're helping a friend or family member.
They find it difficult to say “no” when someone asks for help.
The Helper may find themselves falling behind because they’re too busy helping others. Consider building more time into every project and dedicating a specific time slot for maintaining friendships.
The Deliberator
They often consider what they should learn from an assignment to try to do better on the next one.
They see the whole picture and the small parts and excel at breaking large projects into individual tasks according to their priorities.
They like to make decisions based on facts and want time to review all the information needed for a given task.
They get stressed when someone imposes a deadline that requires them to rush.
Since the Deliberator excels at breaking large projects into individual tasks, they should incorporate that approach into their planner and time management plan.
Putting Time Management Strategies for Students to Use
Students can use these time management tips for students to develop a time management plan that works for them and practice vital time management skills that will help them reduce stress and become successful in their academics and future careers. Download our free eGuide to learn more about how online school students get help learning time management.
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