Time management for children
Scheduling helps everyone to understand what needs to be done and when it needs to be completed.
Weekly Agenda Page
I like to develop a weekly agenda page for each child in the family. When they are young, they have their own page posted on the refrigerator or bulletin board. Once they have phones they can keep their schedule on their phone and give you access.
Record all Weekly Activities – School, Home and Extra Curricular
At the beginning of each week, I record all their activities, music lessons, group activities, sports, etc. I also record their special activities at school so they remember to bring library looks, physical education clothing, and musical instruments. It also includes any chores that they have to do around the house. If you prepare it on the computer, many things don’t change from week to week, you can print up the agendas weekly.
Record Additional Activities for the Week – Test, Projects, Parties
The children will add to the page, tests and projects that have been assigned at school. Start this habit for them when they are young, it teaches them how to organize their time. You will be helping to instill in them a habit that will last them a lifetime. They can play, watch TV or have screen time when they have completed everything on their list.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Library books | Physical education | Class trip | violin | |
| Practice piano | Girl Guides | Collect garbage | Skating | Birthday Party at Susie’s |
| Set table | Empty dishwasher |
Paper or an AppI like paper because I can see everyone’s week at a glance without switching between screens and accounts. If you enjoy technology because you can access information from anywhere at any time try Choice Works for scheduling your children’s activities. It allows you to select activities and list them by picture for non-reading children or in words.
Timeboxed Schedule Maker
Thanks to Whisper Wels for sending me this link for their schedule maker to create your own timeboxed schedule.
Time management is about finding a system that works for you and your children to make life easier. Please leave a comment about agendas, systems and apps that you use.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
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We had a wipe-off calendar on our fridge that we used much the same way.
Wipe off calendars are good to use too. I always had trouble removing only one line and not messing up the other writing on the calendar.
Helping to teach children Time Management skills will benefit them in all stages of their life.
Pretty basic stuff — and pretty important for both child and parent! I’m not a parent…I’m thinking, though, that the act of preparing such a weekly schedule for a child would also serve as a reminder to the parent about how full (or not) their child’s schedule is, giving them an opportunity to omit an activity if they can see there’s no downtime on the schedule, or it’s too stressful to manage all those activities.
I liked this system because the child could figure out if the parent had time to help with projects, drive places etc. Then the child could problem solve an answer instead of the parent doing all the planning.
I love this post. It is a reminder to parents that managing time commitments and responsibilities is a skill we need to teach our children. We shouldn’t “leave that to the school teachers,” or just assume that kids will naturally figure this all out. Yes, some children – the ones who enjoy it – will develop planning systems. But many need to be shown how. It is a gift that your children will use their whole lives!
Getting families on the same page, as in coordinating schedules, is such an important way to foster communication while also teaching the skills of managing time, prioritizing, and negotiating. By having an easily visible system like the one you shared, it makes it easier to see if any conflicts are arising or if schedules are becoming too full. We then get to exercise choice and decision-making skills. I agree with Seana…these essential gifts to give your kids.
I like the paper system because you can see at a glance what is happening. I don’t like switching screens which is what you have to do on some apps. It takes time and energy to teach children time management but it is a gift they will appreciate later. Well said Linda and Seana
We like to use Google Calendar for my kids and husband use it. However, since I use a different provider for my business and don’t care for google calendar, we have little adjustments that need to be made. It’s OK since I have to manage it all. Hopefully, when my son goes away to college, he will continue to send appointments so we can still stay connected. We shall see later this year.
Thanks for sharing such great tips.
My husband and I use google for our joint calendar and we both have different calendar systems for our work calendars.
Excellent post. Great suggestions for a simple yet effective way to teach important time management skills.
Some people like paper and other technology but both work well and depending on your child’s needs one maybe better.
I love it when you share a classic post. I’m a huge fan of starting productivity and time management lessons for kids.
I learned time management — particularly the skill of starting with the end in mind, figuring out how long each step should take, and working backward to the beginning — by osmosis, watching my mother. My father was an elected official, and she handled all of the campaign details, so from that (and her planning for Thanksgiving and the Jewish holidays), I learned how to plan for big events. However, for the everyday, quotidian details, I didn’t really learn about using a detailed agenda until college. Now, I couldn’t live without one.
Thanks also for sharing about Schedule Maker. I look forward to checking it out!