In the virtual school environment, time management is incredibly important for students, as it just may be the difference between an A or a B.
Through these different times, many students have experienced a dip in morale and little motivation to get school work done. Proper time management has proven to be crucial in ensuring that students are on top of their assignments and don’t end scrambling on Sunday night in an effort to get everything done.
‘Time management’ is seen in different ways by different people.
“Time management, to me, is making sure that I am on time to all of my engagements and that I plan out activities so that they don’t conflict with other engagements. It is making sure that I use my time wisely and plan out my future so that I know what I need to do in the future,” sophomore Haakon Hart said. Being able to plan out the future is an extremely important skill to have, as it can greatly help in keeping students organized.
There are many different strategies students use to manage their time.
“I find keeping a planner and writing down things I need to get done really helps me. Being able to see what I have to do makes me feel the need to do them,” freshman Stephan Liu said. Staying organized with tools such as a planner or calendar can really help students know exactly what they need to do and to get them done. Sometimes, students need to see an activity written out in order to get the sense of urgency to do something. Writing things down has also shown to help with memorization so that students don’t forget about an important activity or event.
Time management in the age of virtual learning has many differences than its in person counterpart.
“It’s a lot harder to manage stuff at home. Parents think you’re always available to help around or you feel unmotivated to get stuff done in a timely fashion,” freshman Zoey Rossof said. Being stuck at home all day, there are many more inconveniences that may occur and can cause an interruption. Another problem that has occurred is low student motivation towards productivity. Back during in-person learning, there was the community environment that kept students feeling more of the urge to get things done.
“There are a lot of distractions that are more interesting than homework,” Rossof said. Students can also become easily distracted by an assortment of things happening around them. Just one phone notification can derail a study session for lengthy periods of time.
Many students believe that time management in the virtual environment is worse than in person, while other students feel the opposite.
“I think it is easier to navigate time management in the virtual world because you are required to use more electronics for school and communication with other people, so people can use the abilities of the internet and electronics to have better time management,” Hart said. Being on electronic devices a lot of the time can help, as students can set reminders for themselves to get something done.
The current environment many students face can be very stressful and unpredictable. Students may fall short on their assignments sometimes, so it’s crucial that their time is managed so that we are not overwhelmed. Each student organizes their schoolwork differently, but having good time management skills are always important.