Best Time Organizing Tips for a student?

[easypeasy]

DS is going to have a tough time this year properly juggling everything. I've given him plenty of tips and ideas, but I'm wondering what your best tips are for your kids OR what their best discoveries have been for learning to manage their time? Just in case I've missed any grand ideas that might really click for him...

Does writing everything down help your kid? Do you (or they) make checklists? How detailed are those checklists? Do you allot time for subjects, or allot "this assignment is to be finished on Monday" slots? Are the checklists in a notebook? On giant Post-It Pads stuck on the wall so you and they can see it every time you walk by (this is what I'm leaning toward at the moment! lol)

My oldest was a disaster in time-management and is only now starting to figure it out for herself. Middle child rules the world with her time-management skills, but ds didn't inherit that trait, unfortunately.

Everything starts officially for him this week, and it's already been an eye-opening experience just navigating the various forums, websites, etc that the online classes are using (it's his first year having all outsourced... some online, some local... classes). All kid wants to do is Music. All day, all night. Have to peel him away to do the gritty stuff.

 

[3andme]

We've tried a lot of organizational systems from Excel spreadsheets to printed weekly checklists but have had the most success with Trello. It's a very flexible, user friendly program based on the idea of virtual index cards and to do lists. You can access it seamlessly from your phone or pc. You can create separate lists by day or by subject, put links in, and add due dates. It can also be used collaboratively. For example, I can add or update tasks on my son's Trello and see the status of items. This has really helped because ds hates it when I follow up and inquire if something has been completed or not. With Trello, he simply moves the card/task to the completed column if it's done so I can monitor what's completed or overdue without annoying him. Note, the dates will turn red when overdue or yellow if due today.

Here's a screenshot of what ds' Trello looks like. If you click on a specific card, you can see further information, file or internet links etc. You can easily move cards by simply dragging and dropping into new spot.

[easypeasy]

I have not heard of Trello - but it looks fantastic! Thank you!!

[BakersDozen]

I plan the entire year out over the summer so first day of school my kids get a syllabus showing every lesson/video/novel, etc. I block their time generously so they do not have to rush through a subject; if they finish early for the day then they get some free time. They are free to move things around to a point as long as they get everything done and do not "bleed" into another subject (our biggest struggle in years past). Here's what my 15yo's day looks like:

7:00 Exercise/Bible Quiz study (which one depends on how motivated she is, lol)
8:00 History/Literature
10:00 *Psychology
11:15 French
12:00 Lunch
1:00 *Science (she does this w/younger sisters so it's kind of set in stone)
2:15 Math (she requested a longer block of time for this one and it's worked great)
3:45 Bible Quiz study
4:30 Free time (usually she plays cello for a while)

The subjects that are starred are scheduled by day (Sonlight Psychology, for example). History/Literature she has to figure out how to balance her time based on what is on the syllabus. So a bit of structure mixed with a bit of personal choice/responsibility. As far as checking off subjects I printed out her schedule and put it in a page protector which is taped to the fridge. She uses a white board marker to check off each subject so all I have to do is walk by and see that everything is marked. I do this with all of the kids - makes things so much easier than asking 8 times if subjects have been done each day!

My oldest sounds like yours, OP. All she wanted to do was dance which was nice...but it became quite an issue.

[Lori D.]

Check out Smart But Scattered Teens -- chapter 17 is on improving time management skills, and you might find some good tips and helps in other chapters to help improve overall executive functioning and organizational skills.

[Arcadia]

We are often at places with no WiFi connection so DS13 (9th grade) uses a pencil and paper approach in a thin 1” binder. He is less organized than me but more organized than DS12.

So his work/planner binder has a sheet which contains this information as column headings: Course, Platform/Webpage, Username, Password 

because we don’t want to run the risk of forgetting both username and password when needing to do the weekly online quiz. It has happened and luckily he remembered the username so it was easily to reset the password.

Then the binder has weekly schedule sheets for every week. What I have is this uploaded image. It has his outsourced classes time on the dates portion and his homework/quiz due on the to-do list portion. He plans his time and it’s easy for me to check in the early evening since he is a night owl anyway and could complete any task he missed out which is rare.

The rest of the binder is homework that he brings to get completed while waiting for tennis lesson or other outsourced classes to start. 

 

 

[easypeasy]

3 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Check out Smart But Scattered Teens -- chapter 17 is on improving time management skills, and you might find some good tips and helps in other chapters to help improve overall executive functioning and organizational skills.

 

Ordered it! This might have some great things for me to pass along to him on many levels. ? "Smart and Scattered" are two primary adjectives I would automatically reach for if describing this kid, so... lol

Thanks for the suggestions! I outlined a preliminary schedule last night now that we have a solid idea of everything he's involved in... and realized that his claim that he "will have no time" has validity.

We discussed a few things to "drop" and a few ways to tweak the schedule and have decided on a paper planner (I'm trying to get him out of the habit of needing his phone/ipad/computer nearby at all times... so I guess having a paper planner will help me put my money where my mouth is... ? ).

[MorningGlory]

16 hours ago, 3andme said:

 

 

This is GORGEOUS! ???

I just looked it up. Do you stick with the free version? I was wondering about the "power ups" the site references...would I need more than one?

[Lori D.]

2 hours ago, easypeasy said:

 

Ordered it! This might have some great things for me to pass along to him on many levels. ? "Smart and Scattered" are two primary adjectives I would automatically reach for if describing this kid, so... lol

Thanks for the suggestions! I outlined a preliminary schedule last night now that we have a solid idea of everything he's involved in... and realized that his claim that he "will have no time" has validity...

Yea! Super first step! ?
 

2 hours ago, easypeasy said:

...We... have decided on a paper planner (I'm trying to get him out of the habit of needing his phone/ipad/computer nearby at all times... so I guess having a paper planner will help me put my money where my mouth is... ? ).

Well, only if it what really works for *him*. ?

My DH, bless his heart, keeps trying to convert me away from the big calendar on the side of the fridge, and into an organizer to carry with me. First it was a purse-sized organizer that he gave me years back, and now it is I-phone organizer apps that he wants to download for me. That's SUPER that the I-phone apps work for him. The problem for me is that I make one entry in the paper organizer or the I-phone organizer, and then never look at it again.

Seriously -- the purse-sized 1-year organizer he gave me: I entered one item, it fell to the bottom of my purse (which isn't very big), I forgot all about it it, and found it 3 years later, the next time I got around to cleaning out my purse.

And, I rarely use my phone (hand-me-down from DH), so it either is dead, or is sitting on the charger at home. Plus, I never think to add items to the organizer app even if I do have a functioning phone on me. And if I did, I would never think to look at a phone to know what's on the schedule -- that's what the fridge calendar is for. ?

Clearly not a working organization tool for me. So, I have to stick with work works great for ME. ?

But a calendar phone app that is linked to phone, I-pad, and computer and puts out automatic alerts might be absolutely perfect for your DS, if that is what he most would be using/looking at. That's what DH has (i-Cal) and he loves it. Just a thought!

Edited August 28, 2018 by Lori D.

[BakersDozen]

Lori - I make my family nuts because I have to use a fridge calendar. It it isn't on my calendar, it isn't happening. We sound a lot alike in regard to our phones, too. ?

[3andme]

3 hours ago, MorningGlory said:

 

This is GORGEOUS! ???

I just looked it up. Do you stick with the free version? I was wondering about the "power ups" the site references...would I need more than one?

 

I've only used the free version - haven't used any of the power ups although some of them look really helpful. Trello is amazingly flexible. They have some demo Trellos that feature much more innovative and sophisticated uses of the app.

[easypeasy]

22 hours ago, 3andme said:

We've tried a lot of organizational systems from Excel spreadsheets to printed weekly checklists but have had the most success with Trello. It's a very flexible, user friendly program based on the idea of virtual index cards and to do lists. You can access it seamlessly from your phone or pc. You can create separate lists by day or by subject, put links in, and add due dates. It can also be used collaboratively. For example, I can add or update tasks on my son's Trello and see the status of items. This has really helped because ds hates it when I follow up and inquire if something has been completed or not. With Trello, he simply moves the card/task to the completed column if it's done so I can monitor what's completed or overdue without annoying him. Note, the dates will turn red when overdue or yellow if due today.

Here's a screenshot of what ds' Trello looks like. If you click on a specific card, you can see further information, file or internet links etc. You can easily move cards by simply dragging and dropping into new spot.

 

I'm looking over the app now on my computer, have fallen in love, and have a question. So, do you and your son each have a separate account and then you just shared the board with him? Or do you have this board set up as part of a "team?"

Edited August 29, 2018 by easypeasy

[Roadrunner]

21 hours ago, easypeasy said:

 

I'm looking over the app now on my computer, have fallen in love

 

Same here! It looks amazing. I just created a beautiful page for all the work we need to do over the next week, but I think seeing it all in one page made me feel so overwhelmed, I won't be repeating that folly. I just realized I am one day at a time girl with my head in the sand. ? 

[daijobu]

Maybe not really answering your question, but if distractions are an issue, you can make a rule that phones must be out of the room where your student is studying.  My dd independently decided to keep her phone charging in my bedroom during the day while she studies in her room.  

I've read that even a phone that's resting on your desk, even if it's powered off, is still a distraction.  Who knew?  

[Pen]

11 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

 

Same here! It looks amazing. I just created a beautiful page for all the work we need to do over the next week, but I think seeing it all in one page made me feel so overwhelmed, I won't be repeating that folly. I just realized I am one day at a time girl with my head in the sand. ? 

 

I just got into cellphone and productivity apps for it recently (had a thread on chat), and learned that for myself a relatively calm look and also not so much that I feel overwhelmed helps. 

I like the idea that Trello looks like more than one person can share information on it. I think that would be extremely helpful. 

For individual productivity, I am currently trying several, and finding different aspects of different ones better or worse, but one is starting to emerge as my main go to planner. 

I wonder if a high school student might also be helped by trying a few things and seeing what works best for him / her ?

One person may find a lot of bright color helpful, another be jangled by it and soothed by a single soft color. One may like seeing a week at a time of many classes and projects and another might feel overwhelmed by that, and prefer a day at a time. And so on.