Time Management
Time management is the ability to judge how much work you have to do, how much time it might
take to do it and deciding when you are going to do it. By using agendas, calendars, schedules,
timers and watches you can ensure that assignments get done on time.
Remember that there are always 24 hours in a day, although sometimes it might not seem like it. By
analyzing how you spend your time now, you might see some ways of improving how you use your
time.
You can monitor your own study skills using a planning calendar to keep track of homework
assignments. Let's face it, it's too hard to remember all this stuff in your head!
Here's how you can develop your own weekly homework planner. Each page in the calendar is
labeled with the days of the week and reflects one week's worth of homework. In the first column are
your school subjects. Bring this with you to every class and fill in the homework assignments as they
are given to you. This way you can see if you have any conflicts or days with multiple assignments or
tests. Put in a section for after-school activities as well, to make sure they don't clash with school
work. Make sure the weekend is included, as you can use it to plan study time, but you will want to
have a balance between school work and leisure time, of course. You are expected to take your
homework planner home each day and return with it the next day too. This tool will help you visualize
what you have to do in a week. Here is a sample of a homework planner page:
Subject: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
English
Math
Science
History
French
After
School
As each week passes, you can fold back the page and clip it with a binder clip, giving you a fresh
start on the next week's schedule. This will save you time when you're trying to find out what is
coming up in the current week.
When you are creating a schedule, consider the following:
● Social life and special events (birthdays, parties, trips);
● Travel time (how long will it take to get to the library?);
● Research (how long will it take to find the information I need?);
● Putting together the final assignment (editing, adding graphics, printing);
● Expecting the unexpected (delays e.g. illness).
Assignments usually take longer than expected, so leave yourself some 'breathing room' and don't
wait until the last minute! Here's a rule of thumb: Subtract two days for every week assigned to a
project and make that your deadline. If it is assigned on a Monday, and is due in two weeks, then aim
for four days earlier and have it done on the Thursday before it's due! You'll be glad you did when the
weekend arrives.
Using a monthly calendar to track long-term assignments is important too. Keep a regular calendar
with your weekly planner to write in projects that might be due in a few weeks or longer. This will
allow you to visualize longer periods of time and plan ahead for them.
You can also graph your homework return and completion rates. This is another strategy that will
probably improve your performance on classroom tests! Ask a parent or teacher to help build in a
reward system for returning homework and your planner. On a self-monitoring chart in the planner,
you can record each time you completed and returned your homework assignment by:
● Colouring the square for the day green if homework was completed and returned;
● Colouring the square for the day red if homework was not done;
● Colouring the square yellow if homework was late.
If you meet the success criterion, for example 4 out of 5 days of completed homework, you will
receive a reward at the end of the week. This needs to be arranged with your teacher ahead of time.
This will help motivate you to keep on studying.
