From staying on top of weekly assignments, to meeting deadlines and managing class workloads, knowing how to wisely manage one’s time is a vital skill for students. Time Management skills help children to accurately judge the amount of time it will take to complete a task, and help them prioritize and complete duties in a timely fashion. Kids with good Time Management skills know how to create and stick to a schedule, have a good sense of how long an assignment might take, and can recognize the need for proper planning and preparation.
There are many students who may have great academic skills, but whose grades suffer because they do not give themselves adequate time to prepare for tests, review study material or complete tasks to the best of their abilities. Fortunately, there are numerous tools available that can aid kids looking to become better managers of their time, helping them to prioritize their academic duties and develop efficient work habits.
Below, you’ll find some of our top picks for the best tools to help students manage their time and stay on top of their school-related tasks.
5 Great Time Management Tools for Students
LiveScribe is a “smart pen” that records audio as students take notes. Users can tap on a handwritten word in their notes, and hear the audio that was going on when that word was written. This means users can go back and fill in missing gaps or re-listen to explanations from class, helping them be more thorough and efficient in their note-taking.
Siri is a voice-activated virtual assistant that comes on iPhone models 4S and newer. One of the most helpful features of the Siri app is the ability to set reminders, which can urge users to begin assignments early or prevent them from procrastinating or waiting until the last minute. Rushed work often results in lower grades, and sets a bad precedent for future assignments. Dictated reminders will alert users to study for exams, and help them stay on top of schoolwork. Siri’s timer function can also serve as a way to facilitate efficiency and encourage productivity.
myHomework is a useful scheduling and organizational tool available both online and as an app. It helps users track their upcoming assignments, tasks, and other responsibilities. Tracking important dates and deadlines can help a user make informed decisions about how much time and effort to devote to individual tasks to maintain maximum efficiency. Understanding factors such as deadlines, amount of time required to complete a task, and task priority can help users compare and contrast different responsibilities and effectively manage their time to best suit their needs.
inClass is a comprehensive planning and organizational app geared towards middle-school, high-school, and college-aged users. It offers a great alternative to myHomework for older students, and allows them to effectively manage assignments, due dates, class times, and other important priorities. Maintaining a central record of classes, assignments, and other responsibilities can greatly improve a users ability to effectively manage their time and meet important deadlines.
Quip is a collaborative word-processing app that helps kids keep track of their documents and assignments in one central place. Documents can be imported into the app from services like Google Drive, and then shared with peers, allowing the text to be edited among a variety of users. A timeline feature shows students the exact time in which an individual piece of writing was created, edited, and finalized, enabling users to see exactly how long it took to write a particular document, as well as the amount of work and time others spent on it.
