Time Management Outside School

As we approach the end of the first week of school for most of us, now is a good time to think about how we manage our time during the term. Time spent in school is pretty well managed by a timetable, but how can we make the most of our time outside of school?

Before I begin I want to be clear that I am NOT a fan of spending hours and hours working outside of school. I think we should spend a short, efficient amount of time consolidating what we have learned.

Here are my tips:

1. Prioritise! Make sure you do the most important work first. This could be the biggest piece of work, or the one with the nearest deadline. In general, if something is weighing on your mind, tackle it. Don't delay it, do it now. Getting into this habit will leave you feeling much more comfortable about managing your workload.
2. Work in short efficient bursts. Work sessions should last no more than 25 mins before you take a 5 minute break. This means 25 mins of solid concentration without looking at your phone, but then do what you like in the breaks. This makes the working period very productive so that you can get the most done, and learn the most, in the shortest amount of time. One or two of these sessions should be enough to get most pieces of homework done.
3. Don't work for too long. Studies have shown that concentration and the ability to retain information dramatically drops after extended periods of work. This is great news! It means you have an excuse to quit working and do what you enjoy after an hour or so. Just use the above two points to make sure you get the most out of the time that you do spend working.
4. Do SOME work every day. Even on days where you have no homework, just spend 10 minutes doing something useful. Pick one example question from a textbook and try and tackle it. Look through your notes and make a flashcard. At the very least just glance at your class workbook to keep the content fresh in your mind. I'm not saying this to pile on work - 10 minutes is hardly asking for a lot - but one of the biggest limits to student progress that I have personally witnessed is forgetting about a subject for an entire week until the next lesson. This causes the student to forget the progress they made last time and makes it harder for them to learn in the next lesson. Keep your brain active and keep the content fresh.
    

Using these VERY simple tips, your time spent out of school will be more efficient and will also help the time you spend in school be more productive.

For more information feel free to contact me through my social media channels or contact me about one to one lessons here!

Jake