Time Management Skills for Students: Organize your Academic Life

Time management is a vital skill for students that can make a substantial difference in their academic life. Staying organized is not always an easy task.

Unfortunately, these issues for students are common – many students struggle to balance classes, homework, extracurricular activities, and personal time.

However, with guidance and creating consistent habits, it’s possible to solve this problem.

Time Management Challenges for Students

In traditional school settings, schedules are usually pre-set, which sometimes limits the need for learners to plan out their own time in detail.

However, as students progress to higher grade levels, especially to middle school and high school students, they begin to face more complex workloads and new responsibilities.

This often leads to poor time management from students who aren’t accustomed to planning ahead.

Some of the most prominent time management issues for students arise when they have too many tasks and not enough structure.

Without a clear plan, they may procrastinate, leading to assignments piling up and creating unnecessary stress. Learning how to manage time for daily studying as a student is critical for avoiding burnout and getting good grades.

Importance of Time Management for K-12 Students

Why is time management important for students? Student life goes beyond earning good grades. Students are supposed to be preparing for the challenges of adulthood.

Learning time organization skills lays the groundwork for future academic and career achievements. The sooner effective habits are established, the easier it becomes to handle increased responsibilities later.

Strong organizational skills that students develop in school also translate into better organizational abilities in college, the workplace, and other aspects of life.

It is not an easy task, especially with all the potential distractions around you while you study that can hinder focus and productivity. 

How to Improve Time Management Skills for Students

Improving time management in students’ lives requires guided practice and a willingness to learn from mistakes. Parents can play a crucial role in helping younger learners, particularly in elementary or middle school, to set schedules and priorities.

High schoolers often have more autonomy and should be old enough to organize their own time efficiently. However, sometimes they require help as well.

That is why we will acquaint you with time management strategies for students that you can start implementing right away.

Set Your Study Time for Each Day

One of the most fundamental tips for students regarding organization is scheduling a consistent study period.

By dedicating a particular block of time exclusively to learning, you reduce distractions and maintain focus. This approach is helpful regardless of academic level.

For younger learners, parents can set specific times each day for coursework and reading. Parents should make sure they follow the set schedule, as well as learning how to set their own.

Middle and high schoolers should be able to do that themselves. They should decide which part of the day they feel most productive. If they prefer mornings, they should schedule study sessions then. If they’re more alert in the afternoon or evening, they should adjust accordingly.

By sticking to a set routine, you’ll develop a habit of studying at that particular time you choose, when you are the most productive. Developing these habits will replace your habit of laziness and procrastination.

Create a Task List

A well-organized to-do list is the foundation of all effective time management habits. It helps you see what needs to be done each day or each week, breaking down larger tasks into smaller, manageable segments. This simple technique is also one of the most practical time management tips for students who often have the freedom to structure their time as they please.

Use digital tools, like a note-taking app or online calendar, or simply jot tasks down on paper. Tracking assignments, deadlines, and extracurriculars ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Remember to adjust your list as needed, especially if you find yourself ahead or behind schedule on any given day.

Create a Dedicated Study Space

Having a quiet, organized study environment at home can significantly improve concentration.

Eliminate distractions like television, phones, or non-study-related materials.

The essentials are a comfortable chair, proper lighting, and a clutter-free desk.

Turn off notifications, silence your phone, and keep social media tabs closed.

Creating this type of environment fosters a productive mindset, helping you stay on task and use your time efficiently.

Identifying and Addressing Procrastination

Procrastination is a common but detrimental habit. It often stems from poor time organization of students who don’t have a set plan. Without a clear roadmap, it’s easy to postpone tasks, leading to stress and subpar work when deadlines approach.

To combat procrastination, you should:

1. Set small, achievable goals for each study session.
2. Use time-blocking techniques like the Pomodoro Studying Technique, which breaks work into intervals separated by short breaks.
3. Reward yourself after accomplishing tasks to stay motivated.

Realizing you need to work on it

Even students who start strong can lose momentum over time, letting assignments and responsibilities accumulate. This scenario illustrates issues for students who haven’t developed consistent habits. Some learners also struggle from the start unsure of how to manage time for study daily without a teacher or parent guiding every step.

The biggest mistake one can make is not realize they need to consciously work on their time management and organization issues.

You may be a good student, and may not find it difficult to complete academic obligations. However, that may not always be the case. There may be some periods where the materials are a bit more difficult than what you are used to.

As soon as students find themselves struggling, it is crucial that they take a step back and fix issues related to their own habits. Many of them wave it off, thinking the problem will solve itself.

By the time they realize they need to change their habits, the damage is already done.

So if you struggle with any of your obligations, whether academic or extracurricular, these tips can be your handbook.

Developing Time Management Skills for Online Students

Young learners have difficulty understanding the concept of time management. That is why, upon admission, our staff advise parents on how to help their children with this matter. Even high schoolers sometimes feel lost when independently planning and organizing their study time.

Our experience shows that students who are athletes or have other hobbies are better at managing their time. They have several daily obligations and must allocate their available time wisely. Let’s borrow a page from their book.  

Set Your Study Time for Each Day

We already mentioned that at an online school, you don’t have to start the school day at 8 a.m. You can start learning whenever you want because you can access the platform 24/7. Still, it is good to dedicate a particular amount of time to studying and stick to that. 

If you like to sleep a bit longer or have a practice session in the morning and can’t study early – that is ok. You can learn at noon or in the afternoon. High school students can usually make their day-to-day schedule independently. On the other hand, younger learners need parents to set the time for study sessions. 

If you are a high school student, ask yourself when you feel most productive and dedicate that time to studying. If you are a parent of a younger student, get to know your child and their habits. Based on that, create the study schedule for each course and each day, and ensure the child follows it.

Create a Task List

Given that at an online school, you get to choose what subject you would like to do first and in what capacity, setting tasks for the day is significant. Our online learning platform has a helpful tool called Calendar. This feature calculates the time in your semester and gives you tasks for each day. 

You don’t have to follow the Calendar strictly. You can use it as a guideline. For instance, if you can study at a faster pace than the one Calendar suggests – go for it. Do more in a single day. 

If you feel sluggish on a particular day and can’t fulfill the tempo, the Calendar tool has set for you, that is ok, too. Do as much as you can, and make up for the rest on another day. 

Aside from this, you can always rely on your assigned tutor. Ask them for help in creating your daily or weekly tasks. All EduWW tutors are friendly and will gladly help struggling students find their own learning pace. 

Create a Dedicated Study Space

The space you are studying can massively affect your time and productivity. Being surrounded by distractions does you no good. It draws you away from achieving your goals. A dedicated study space should be a nice room without any noise.

A student should have a desk, a comfortable chair, and a natural light. Ensure that the desk at which a student works doesn’t have distractions such as books, games, or anything that can divert their attention from the learning material. 

A glass of water, a cup of tea, a chocolate bar, or a piece of fruit are okay to have as a snack. While studying, switch your phone to silent or tune it off, and don’t have it near you at the desk. You will be tempted to check your social media accounts, and soon, you will spend time endlessly scrolling through TikTok or Instagram instead of studying. 

By creating this distraction-free environment, you can focus on studying and completing your daily tasks on time. If you start losing focus on other things, you will spend more time studying, and you won’t be as productive as you should be

Identifying and Addressing Procrastination

Procrastination is a common challenge across all age groups. Online students are prone to procrastinating if they don’t know how to manage their time well. When they have too much time, students tend to postpone their obligations for later. At first, it is for an hour or two or for tomorrow, and eventually, they get a pile of overdue assignments and insufficient progress at school. 

One of the ways to prevent procrastination is to foster a productive approach to time management and promote a more disciplined and structured learning routine. Sometimes, this can be done with a particular study method. Our teachers usually share some useful time management strategies for online students. One of them is the Pomodoro study technique.

How Online Schools Help Students Manage Their Time

Time management for online students is much easier to implement.

Most students have a very good start with an online school. They are motivated and eager to learn. It is new for them, and they are curious. Therefore, they do their tasks regularly and have no trouble with progress.

However, after a month or two, sometimes the motivation starts to drop off, and they start postponing their obligations for tomorrow, then for another day, and so on. Soon enough, they have many overdue assignments, leading to poor progress and bad grades. 

Some students have difficulty adjusting to online schooling from the beginning. They don’t know how long they must study or how to create a learning schedule independently.

Their platform activity looks like this: they log in, open the course, choose the lesson, spend 20 seconds on it, and then jump to another one and do something similar.

Our tutors are aware of these issues, and they check up on students daily or weekly, offering them help. Likewise, we always encourage our students to book a meeting with their assigned tutor and discuss their problems.

Tutors will guide them in managing their time based on their learning habits and suggest a schedule that will fit them the most in completing the assignments.

Online schools have certain aspects that can offer additional help with resolving these problems. Many online learning platforms offer digital calendars, apps for task scheduling, and reminders that encourage students to stay on track.

Moreover, the self-paced nature of online schools allows students to decide when and how to engage with course materials. This flexibility makes good time management almost a necessity, but it also empowers students to tailor their schedules around optimal productivity periods themselves, making these skills easier to learn.

By leveraging these digital tools and structuring their day effectively, online students can strike a balance between academics, hobbies, and personal obligations. They can do it much easier than students of traditional schools.

So, in case you are a K12 student who is a free spirit, who prefers to create their own learning schedules, organize their own time and struggle with the traditional school system, you should definitely think about switching to an online school!

Our online school, EduWW, fully utilizes the principle of self paced learning, aided with experienced tutors who are always there to help students in case you have problems

How EduWW Students Manage Their Time?

We enroll students of different profiles. Some of them are semi-professional athletes with a busy schedule. The flexibility of an online school plays a huge role in their life. 

“Online education is the most reasonable option for people competing in sports at the highest levels. I am able to attend all of my daily practices while also keeping up with my schoolwork when I study in this manner. I’m fairly organized. My mornings are for practice, and I use my afternoons to study and complete all of my homework by that evening. If I could give my peers advice, it is to finish the schoolwork even on bad days. Avoid putting off tasks too long because you can become overwhelmed,” – says Natalie Cinkova, a 12th-grade student and one of Switzerland’s most talented young tennis players.