Attention TTA Community:
Please welcome our organization and time management guru, Emily to our blog as we launch a new series aimed at helping students assess and tackle their organizational and time management challenges:
Through this series, each student will learn:
- organization and time management strategies personally tailored to fit individual challenges, learning style, and preferences.
- to tackle prioritizing and procrastinating.
- to turn previous sources of stress into opportunities for success.
- to elicit order from chaos.
INSIDER GLIMPSE INTO PROCRASTINATION
Alex collapsed triumphantly into her desk chair just as the bell rang: on-time, two days running, boo-yeah! Out of the corner of her eye, Alex glimpsed the writing on the board, “CLEAR OFF YOUR DESKS!” “Are you ready for the test?” her lab partner whispered. Unable to suppress a growing sense of panic, Alex mouthed, “WHAT test?”
Most students have experienced one or two such moments of dread in their academic careers. For many students, especially those, like Alex, who aren’t lucky enough to be natural-born time managers (and who never acquire the requisite organizational skills along the way), these “Oh no!” moments are far too common. Often, they are even more frequent for students diagnosed with ADHD or other learning differences. Indeed, in a 2014 StudyModeTM survey, greater than 87% of high school and college students proclaimed themselves procrastinators, and nearly as many admitted to forgetting about at least one test or other major assignment.
STRAIGHT TALK WITH EMILY
I myself was a procrastinator for most of my academic career. I struggled to stay organized, meet deadlines, effectively manage my time, prioritize my work, and stay “on task.” To be honest, I still struggle occasionally to this day, and I must work hard to keep my default habits at bay. For most of us, procrastinating a few times a month is not something to be too concerned about, and might be ascribed to needing some downtime or being in a bad mood. Chronic procrastinators, on the other hand, put off important tasks several times a week if not daily.
As an educational professional for more than twenty years, I have been a witness to the toll that chronic procrastination, disorganization, and poor time management can take on both a student’s academic performance and mental health. Watching even some of my brightest students’ frustrations and struggles, I began to realize the need to organically incorporate time management and organization strategies into my course and tutoring curricula. Clearly, academic success didn’t only require intelligence and persistence; it required a significant level of self-awareness, organization, and time management. Fortunately, these skills can be taught and learned.
As an educator, it brings me great joy to help my students learn the habits and practices necessary to become great time managers. These skills can:
- raise students’ grades and self-confidence,
- lower their anxiety,
- and result in academic performance that mirrors their potential.
Guiding students in grades 7 through 12 to their full potential utilizing proven strategies and methods.
ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL
Throughout my tenure as an educator/tutor, I have discovered that when it comes to organization and time management strategies, one size certainly does not fit all. While one student may reap clear benefits from religious use of a physical day-planner, another will bristle at the antediluvian thought, preferring to tackle organizational challenges with a downloaded calendar app. For other students an effective strategy can be to break down big projects into bite-sized chunks.
ORDER FROM CHAOS
For whichever type of student, successfully internalizing an organization and time management approach can provide the catalyst for consistently achieving on-time, high-quality results throughout an academic career (and beyond), while experiencing reduced levels of stress. Work with us and let your student’s potential be unleashed!
