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More than two hours of homework may be counterproductive, research suggests.

A Stanford education researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.   "Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good," wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .   The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students' views on homework.   Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.   Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.   "The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students' advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being," Pope wrote.   Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.   Their study found that too much homework is associated with:   • Greater stress : 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.   • Reductions in health : In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.   • Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits : Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were "not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills," according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.   A balancing act   The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.   Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as "pointless" or "mindless" in order to keep their grades up.   "This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points," said Pope, who is also a co-founder of Challenge Success , a nonprofit organization affiliated with the GSE that conducts research and works with schools and parents to improve students' educational experiences..   Pope said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.   "Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development," wrote Pope.   High-performing paradox   In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. "Young people are spending more time alone," they wrote, "which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities."   Student perspectives   The researchers say that while their open-ended or "self-reporting" methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for "typical adolescent complaining" – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.   The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Clifton B. Parker is a writer at the Stanford News Service .

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The Myth About Homework

Think hours of slogging are helping your child make the grade think again.

Sachem was the last straw.  Or was it Kiva? My 12-year-old daughter and I had been drilling social-studies key words for more than an hour. It was 11 p.m. Our entire evening had, as usual, consisted of homework and conversations (a.k.a. nagging) about homework. She was tired and fed up. I was tired and fed up. The words wouldn't stick. They meant nothing to her. They didn't mean much to me either. After all, when have I ever used sachem in a sentence--until just now?

As the summer winds down, I'm dreading scenes like that one from seventh grade. Already the carefree August nights have given way to meaningful conversations (a.k.a. nagging) about the summer reading that didn't get done. So what could be more welcome than two new books assailing this bane of modern family life: The Homework Myth (Da Capo Press; 243 pages), by Alfie Kohn, the prolific, perpetual critic of today's test-driven schools, and The Case Against Homework (Crown; 290 pages), a cri de coeur by two moms, lawyer Sara Bennett and journalist Nancy Kalish.

Both books cite studies, surveys, statistics, along with some hair-raising anecdotes, on how a rising tide of dull, useless assignments is oppressing families and making kids hate learning. A few highlights from the books and my own investigation:

• According to a 2004 national survey of 2,900 American children conducted by the University of Michigan, the amount of time spent on homework is up 51% since 1981.

• Most of that increase reflects bigger loads for little kids. An academic study found that whereas students ages 6 to 8 did an average of 52 min. of homework a week in 1981, they were toiling 128 min. weekly by 1997. And that's before No Child Left Behind kicked in. An admittedly less scientific poll of parents conducted this year for AOL and the Associated Press found that elementary school students were averaging 78 min. a night.

• The onslaught comes despite the fact that an exhaustive review by the nation's top homework scholar, Duke University's Harris Cooper, concluded that homework does not measurably improve academic achievement for kids in grade school. That's right: all the sweat and tears do not make Johnny a better reader or mathematician.

• Too much homework brings diminishing returns. Cooper's analysis of dozens of studies found that kids who do some homework in middle and high school score somewhat better on standardized tests, but doing more than 60 to 90 min. a night in middle school and more than 2 hr. in high school is associated with, gulp, lower scores.

• Teachers in many of the nations that outperform the U.S. on student achievement tests--such as Japan, Denmark and the Czech Republic--tend to assign less homework than American teachers, but instructors in low-scoring countries like Greece, Thailand and Iran tend to pile it on.

Success on standardized tests is, of course, only one measure of learning--and only one purported goal of homework. Educators, including Cooper, tend to defend homework by saying it builds study habits, self-discipline and time-management skills. But there's also evidence that homework sours kids' attitudes toward school. "It's one thing to say we are wasting kids' time and straining parent-kid relationships," Kohn told me, "but what's unforgivable is if homework is damaging our kids' interest in learning, undermining their curiosity."

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Rethinking Homework for This Year—and Beyond

A schoolwide effort to reduce homework has led to a renewed focus on ensuring that all work assigned really aids students’ learning.

I used to pride myself on my high expectations, including my firm commitment to accountability for regular homework completion among my students. But the trauma of Covid-19 has prompted me to both reflect and adapt. Now when I think about the purpose and practice of homework, two key concepts guide me: depth over breadth, and student well-being.

Homework has long been the subject of intense debate, and there’s no easy answer with respect to its value. Teachers assign homework for any number of reasons: It’s traditional to do so, it makes students practice their skills and solidify learning, it offers the opportunity for formative assessment, and it creates good study habits and discipline. Then there’s the issue of pace. Throughout my career, I’ve assigned homework largely because there just isn’t enough time to get everything done in class.

A Different Approach

Since classes have gone online, the school where I teach has made a conscious effort as a teaching community to reduce, refine, and distill our curriculum. We have applied guiding questions like: What is most important? What is most transferable? What is most relevant? Refocusing on what matters most has inevitably made us rethink homework.

We have approached both asking and answering these questions through a science of learning lens. In Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning , the authors maintain that deep learning is slow learning. Deep learning requires time for retrieval, practice, feedback, reflection, and revisiting content; ultimately it requires struggle, and there is no struggle without time.

As someone who has mastered the curriculum mapping style of “get it done to move on to get that next thing done,” using an approach of “slow down and reduce” has been quite a shift for me. However, the shift has been necessary: What matters most is what’s best for my students, as opposed to my own plans or mandates imposed by others.

Listening to Students

To implement this shift, my high school English department has reduced content and texts both in terms of the amount of units and the content within each unit. We’re more flexible with dates and deadlines. We spend our energy planning the current unit instead of the year’s units. In true partnership with my students, I’m constantly checking in with them via Google forms, Zoom chats, conferences, and Padlet activities. In these check-ins, I specifically ask students how they’re managing the workload for my class and their other classes. I ask them how much homework they’re doing. And I adjust what I do and expect based on what they tell me. For example, when I find out a week is heavy with work in other classes, I make sure to allot more time during class for my tasks. At times I have even delayed or altered one of my assignments.

To be completely transparent, the “old” me is sheepish in admitting that I’ve so dramatically changed my thinking with respect to homework. However, both my students and I have reaped numerous benefits. I’m now laser-focused when designing every minute of my lessons to maximize teaching and learning. Every decision I make is now scrutinized through the lens of absolute worth for my students’ growth: If it doesn’t make the cut, it’s cut. I also take into account what is most relevant to my students.

For example, our 10th-grade English team has redesigned a unit that explores current manifestations of systemic oppression. This unit is new in approach and longer in duration than it was pre-Covid, and it has resulted in some of the deepest and hardest learning, as well as the richest conversations, that I have seen among students in my career. Part of this improved quality comes from the frequent and intentional pauses that I instruct students to take in order to reflect on the content and on the arc of their own learning. The reduction in content that we need to get through in online learning has given me more time to assign reflective prompts, and to let students process their thoughts, whether that’s at the end of a lesson as an exit slip or as an assignment.

Joining Forces to Be Consistent

There’s no doubt this reduction in homework has been a team effort. Within the English department, we have all agreed to allot reading time during class; across each grade level, we’re monitoring the amount of homework our students have collectively; and across the whole high school, we have adopted a framework to help us think through assigning homework.

Within that framework, teachers at the school agree that the best option is for students to complete all work during class. The next best option is for students to finish uncompleted class work at home as a homework assignment of less than 30 minutes. The last option—the one we try to avoid as much as possible—is for students to be assigned and complete new work at home (still less than 30 minutes). I set a maximum time limit for students’ homework tasks (e.g., 30 minutes) and make that clear at the top of every assignment.

This schoolwide approach has increased my humility as a teacher. In the past, I tended to think my subject was more important than everyone else’s, which gave me license to assign more homework. But now I view my students’ experience more holistically: All of their classes and the associated work must be considered, and respected.

As always, I ground this new pedagogical approach not just in what’s best for students’ academic learning, but also what’s best for them socially and emotionally. 2020 has been traumatic for educators, parents, and students. There is no doubt the level of trauma varies greatly ; however, one can’t argue with the fact that homework typically means more screen time when students are already spending most of the day on their devices. They need to rest their eyes. They need to not be sitting at their desks. They need physical activity. They need time to do nothing at all.

Eliminating or reducing homework is a social and emotional intervention, which brings me to the greatest benefit of reducing the homework load: Students are more invested in their relationship with me now that they have less homework. When students trust me to take their time seriously, when they trust me to listen to them and adjust accordingly, when they trust me to care for them... they trust more in general.

And what a beautiful world of learning can be built on trust.

Interactive Clock

Educational Games » Teacher Tools » Virtual Manipulatives » Time Manipulatives » Interactive Clock

Interactive Clock | Telling Time

Telling time has never been so fun! This online interactive clock merges both analog and digital versions of clocks so that students can practice telling time with each. Both a fun teaching and learning tool, students and teachers can adjust the controls based on the knowledge and skill level of students.

Using the online teaching clock is simple. Simply drag the hour and minute hands around the clock to adjust the time. When teaching, turn the hour and minute hands on or off to simplify the clock for early learners. The controls are on the top right and left-hand corners. Conveniently, the clock features minute markers around the outside, helping young students learn to read the analog. Dash line circles, which can be toggled on or off in the lower left-hand corner, help students see which minute or hour the hands are pointing to. Turn the digital clock on or off using the button on the bottom right-hand corner. You can also choose between the 12-hour and 24-hour clock using the buttons in the bottom right-hand corner. Finally, add some color and interest to your clock by choosing from the colors on the bottom left-hand side.

The interactive online clock is a versatile classroom tool. Ask students to show a time on the clock and see if they can do it! Or, challenge students to remember what time school ends and have them show that time on the clock. Students can check their own work by toggling the digital display on. You might also display the online clock in your classroom so that students can compare times to your regular classroom clock. For example, you could display the time when you’re scheduled to go to gym class on the interactive clock. That way, students can see how much class time is left. Meanwhile, they’ll practice their time-telling skills!

Visit classplayground.com for more resources and printables related to time .

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Time Worksheets Hub Page

Welcome to our Time Worksheets hub page.

Here you will find links to a wide range of free printable worksheets about Time, which will help your child become more confident telling the time, adding and subtracting time amounts, converting time and solving time word problems.

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• This page contains links to other Math webpages where you will find a range of activities and resources.
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Time Worksheets

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• Telling the Time sheets
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Time Puzzles

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Telling the Time Worksheets

Here is our collection of telling the time worksheets for kids.

The following worksheets involve children telling the time with an analogue clock, and matching analogue and digital times.

O'clock and Half-past

Here is our selection of telling the time worksheets for 1st grade.

Using these sheets will help your child to:

• read o'clock and half-past times;
• convert o'clock and half-past times to digital;
• draw clock hands correctly to mark out o'clock and half-past.
• Telling Time Worksheets o'clock and half past

Quarter Past and Quarter To

Here are our collection of clock worksheets for 2nd grade. These sheets cover telling the time for quarter past and quarter to times.

Using these second grade math worksheets will help your child to:

• read quarter past and quarter to times;
• convert analogue to digital times;
• draw clock hands in the correct place for quarter past and quarter to.
• Clock Worksheets - Quarter Past and Quarter To

Telling the Time to 5 minutes

This section contains our 3rd grade time worksheets to help children tell the time in multiples of 5 minutes.

Using the sheets in this section will help your child to:

• tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes;
• become familiar with both digital and analogue times;
• add and subtract time intervals;
• use the words 'past' and 'to' to describe the time correctly.

These 3rd grade time worksheets will help your child become more familiar with telling the time.

• Telling Time to 5 Minutes Worksheets

Telling the Time to 1 minute

This section contains our 4th grade time worksheets to help children tell the time to the nearest minute.

• tell the time to the nearest minute;
• add and subtract time intervals.

These 4th grade time worksheets will help your child become more familiar with telling the time.

• Telling Time Worksheets Grade 4 (1 minute intervals)

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Converting Time

• 24 Hour Clock Conversion Worksheets

On this webpage there is a selection of printable 24 hour (military time) conversion worksheets which will help you learn to convert from 24 hour clock to standard 12 hour time, and from standard time to 24 hour time.

An answer sheet is provided with each sheet and the sheets are graded with the easiest sheets coming with supporting information.

Time Interval Worksheets

These sheets will help you learn to add and subtract hours and minutes from times as well as working out a range of time intervals.

There are also sheets to help you practice adding and subtracting time intervals.

• Add and Subtract Time Worksheets
• Elapsed Time Worksheets

Looking for an extension activity for children who can already tell the time?

Maybe you want an interesting starter activity for your lesson to get the class thinking?

These printable time puzzles will help to get your child thinking about time and solving problems involving time.

They are good at developing an understanding of the language used in time.

• Printable Time Worksheets - Time Puzzles (easier)
• Time Word Problems Worksheets - Harder Riddles

Time Conversion Calculators

Our time calculators will allow you to convert any digital time into a military time, and back.

We also have a decimal time converter which will take a time in hours, minutes and seconds and then convert it to a decimal number which represents that time. This calculator will also take a decimal time and convert it to hours, minutes and seconds.

• Units of Time Converter

• Online Military Time Converter

• Convert Time to Decimal

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Do kids need homework, october 30, 2017.

Should elementary schools assign homework? TFK asked two experts to weigh in.

Janine Bempechat is a professor of human development and psychology at Wheelock College, in Massachusetts. She studies kids’ motivation for learning. Below, she explains why homework serves an important purpose for students of all ages.

Etta Kralovec is a professor of education at the University of Arizona. She is also a coauthor of the book The End of Homework. Here, she argues that homework is a waste of time and explains her reasoning.

By Janine Bempechat

Particularly for elementary school, homework has become a debated issue. That is because studies show that doing homework does not necessarily improve younger students’ grades.

Still, many teachers and parents are in favor of homework in elementary school. They view it as a way for students to review what they are learning in school and develop the learning habits and study skills they will need through middle school and high school. Homework helps you practice how to plan your time, manage distractions, and persevere when learning becomes difficult.

Research shows that homework pays off. Students who invest effort in their homework are better at keeping track of their work and managing their time. When they begin middle school and high school, they are more positive about learning than students who do not invest time in homework. They also do much better in school.

This payoff may not appear during the elementary school years. But that doesn’t mean homework should be abandoned. Instead, educators should focus on designing high-quality, enjoyable homework that is challenging in the best sense of the word.

By Etta kralovec

I hated homework when I was in elementary school, and I hated it even more as a parent. As I recall, my kids and I argued more about homework than about anything else.

Now that I’m an educator, I spend a lot of time in schools. When it comes to homework, there is still a lot of controversy. And it’s not just students who are unhappy. Many teachers and parents tell me they think homework is a waste of time. I couldn’t agree more.

Homework has been around about as long as there have been schools. You may be surprised to know that it was not always popular. In 1905, California banned homework for students under 15. In the 1920s, doctors formed a group called Physicians Against Homework. They said homework harmed students’ eyes and kept kids cooped up, denying them exercise and fresh air. More recently, researchers at Stanford University found that it causes considerable stress in students’ lives.

My colleagues and I have put together healthy homework guidelines, which we hope will stimulate conversation between teachers, parents, and students, and eventually lead to some common-sense solutions for the age-old controversy of homework in our schools. It’s a conversation worth having, don’t you think?

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The Homework Debate

In July 2017, families in Marion County, Florida, got some surprising news about the school year ahead. “Traditional homework as we know it will disappear, at least for elementary students,” school superintendent Heidi Maier said in a voice message to…

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20 Effective Time Management Strategies and Tools for Students

Teachers can use these too!

One of the most important life skills for anyone to master is time management. Keeping track of everything that we have to do and carving out the time to get it all done can be a real struggle. Try these time management strategies and techniques, plus find helpful tools for staying on track.

General Time Management Strategies

Time management techniques, time management tools.

These time management strategies work for everyone, helping you set goals and prioritize, then set a schedule to get things done.

Visualize the big picture

Use a calendar of some type to lay out all your big-picture goals for a year, month, or week. Include major projects and assignments, as well as school and personal events. This is your place to get an overview of everything that’s on your plate. Keep items to broad descriptions: “History Project” or “Spring Play Opening Night.” You’ll get into the details next.

Break it down

The next step is to take major projects and assignments and break them down into smaller, more manageable parts. This is an incredibly effective way to overcome that feeling of “I’ll never get this all done!” It also prevents procrastinating on an entire project until the very last minute. Set smaller, more manageable goals with their own due dates in advance of a complete project or event.

For example, imagine your big-picture calendar says “History Project Due Feb. 23.” Breaking that down could look like this:

• Choose topic and presentation method: Jan. 9
• Initial research: Jan. 10-30
• Presentation outline: Jan. 31
• Write presentation script: Feb. 1-5
• Create visual aids: Feb. 6-12
• Rehearse presentation: Feb. 13
• Fine-tune presentation: Feb 14-16
• Final rehearsals: Feb. 17
• Give history presentation: Feb. 23

At first, this method might feel a little overwhelming, because it may make you feel like there’s too much to get done. But as you use it, you’ll see how it can actually make you feel more prepared and in control, and make your time easier to manage.

Determine priorities

Sometimes it’s simply true: You don’t have enough time in a day to get all the things done that you’d like to. That’s where setting priorities becomes vital. In the “Time Management Techniques” section below, you’ll find several different ideas for determining the priority of different items on your lists.

Once you’ve figured out which items are the most important, try a color-coding system to indicate which items get a higher priority. This will help you identify at a glance what you need to do now and what can wait until another day.

Make daily to-do lists

Make it a habit to start each day by creating a to-do list. (Not a morning person? You can do this the night before too.) Include high-priority items, as well as things you’d like to do but may not have to complete. Throughout the day, as you complete an item, revisit your list and check it off. It’s incredibly satisfying to cross things off, and checking in with your list a few times a day ensures you don’t forget important things. ADVERTISEMENT

Limit multitasking

Today’s world places a lot of value on multitasking (doing several things at once). But when you’re doing multiple things at the same time, you’re probably not doing any of them well. So keep your multitasking to a minimum. When it’s time to work on something, set your focus to that particular thing. Other stuff can wait.

But some multitasking is OK. For instance, you might throw your clothes in the washing machine, then work on your math homework while waiting for them to be ready for the dryer. Later on, you could fold and put away the laundry while practicing conjugating Spanish verbs out loud. This type of multitasking works because the physical tasks are ones that don’t require much concentration, leaving your brain free for academic subjects.

On the other hand, avoid something like trying to listen to a podcast for your history class while also doing your math homework. Your attention won’t be fully on each, and your learning will suffer.

Remove distractions

Some people are capable of deep focus no matter what’s going on around them. Most of us, though, need to find ways to remove distractions when it’s time to get down to work. Here are some examples to try:

• Turn off your phone, or set it to alert you only in case of emergencies.
• Wear noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs to block out distracting sounds. A white-noise machine or app can help with this too.
• Close miscellaneous tabs in your web browser (like social media or news sites), and use only the tabs you need for your work.
• Go into a quiet room and shut the door. Ask friends and family not to disturb you.
• Check your to-do list before you start to make sure you’re on track. Then, clear your mind of other projects or tasks, and focus on what’s at hand.

Do an end-of-day review

At the end of each day, sit down with your to-do list. Was there anything you didn’t get to? Move it to another day. Did you feel too rushed today? Think about how you might make tomorrow run a bit more smoothly. Where do you stand in terms of your big-picture goals? Take a few minutes to adjust any plans accordingly.

Try a time audit

It’s OK if you don’t get to everything on your list every day. But if you find that there’s never enough time to get things done, you might benefit from a time audit. Over the period of a week or two, write down exactly how you spend your time, hour by hour. Then, look it over and see if you can identify problem areas. You might need to cut down on some optional activities and give that time to high-priority items instead. Learn how to do a time audit here.

The time management strategies we’ve talked about so far are general ways to stay on track and get stuff done. But there are multiple ways to approach some of these strategies, especially when it comes to actually settling down to work. Check out these popular time management techniques and choose one or more that seem right for you.

Eisenhower Decision Matrix

President Eisenhower developed this matrix and used it to help him prioritize his tasks. He looked at each item to evaluate it by importance and urgency, then broke them into four categories:

• Do First: These are urgent, important tasks with high priority.
• Schedule: These are important tasks that aren’t quite as urgent.
• Delegate: You may be able to delegate less important but still urgent tasks to someone else.
• Don’t Do: These non-urgent, unimportant items can be eliminated entirely or postponed indefinitely.

Here are some possible student examples for each category:

• Do First: Homework that’s due tomorrow takes top priority, as might doing laundry if you’re out of clean clothes.
• Schedule: Set aside time (see Time Blocking) for smaller parts of long-term projects, such as research time or writing an outline. That could be today or one day in the near future.
• Delegate: Students aren’t always able to delegate their tasks, but they can ask for help. For example, if your schedule is incredibly tight, you could ask your dad if he’d be willing to throw your clothes in the dryer when the washer is done.
• Don’t Do: These are often bad habits you need to break, like surfing the web aimlessly instead of working, or texting your friends for hours instead of doing your chores.

Find out much more about the Eisenhower Matrix and how to use it for time management strategies here.

ABCDE Method

This is another time management strategy for prioritizing the tasks at hand. Assign each item a letter:

• A: Highest priority
• B: Should do soon, if not today
• C: Could do, but no serious consequences if not done
• D: Delegate or ask for help
• E: Eliminate from your list

This is very similar to the Eisenhower Matrix, with a little more flexibility around should-dos and could-dos. Learn more about the ABCDE method here.

Most Difficult First (Eat That Frog)

This method is based on a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

In other words, don’t put off the biggest, hardest tasks. Get them out of the way first. Then, everything else you have to do will seem easy in comparison.

For some people, though, this concept can be counterproductive. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, tackling something extremely difficult can be too much and cause you to shut down entirely. In that case, it’s just fine to choose smaller, simpler items. The key is to make progress, one step at a time.

Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a simple time management method: You work for 25 minutes at a time, then take a 5-minute break to rest and recharge. Simply set a timer for 25 minutes, and focus on one single task until it goes off. Then, you can spend 5 minutes stretching, resting your eyes, or checking your social media feeds. When the 5 minutes are up, set the timer for another 25 minutes, and get back to work. If you do four 25-minute sessions in a row, take a longer break afterwards. Learn more about the Pomodoro Technique here.

If 25 minutes seems too short and you’d like a little more uninterrupted time, try Flowtime instead. This stretches out both the work and break time proportionally. If you work for 25-50 minutes, take an 8-minute break. For 50-90 minutes, you get a 10-minute break. And if you’ve been at it for more than 90 minutes, take 15 minutes to recharge. Learn about Flowtime here.

Parkinson’s Law says that work will always expand to fill the amount of time available. Timeboxing seeks to shrink tasks back to the size they truly need to be. When you timebox, you set a specific amount of time for a task and complete it within that time.

In other words, you might look over your study planner and decide that you need one hour for tonight’s geometry and chemistry assignments, plus you’d like to spend another hour working on your English essay.

Set a timer and work on your geometry and chemistry for an hour, with no other distractions. When the timer goes off, reassess and adjust your goals as needed. Since you have to finish that homework tonight, you’ll probably need to add more time if you’re not finished.

Your English essay isn’t due for two weeks, though, so if you’ve boxed out one hour for working on it today, that’s all you need to do. Set a timer, determine your goals for day, and get to work. When the timer goes off, you’re done for today.

Here’s more on timeboxing.

Time Blocking

This method is similar to timeboxing, but it involves setting blocks of time aside on your calendar for specific tasks. For example, you might block out 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day for daily homework, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for working on your biology research paper, and 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for piano practice. Some people like to start each day by blocking time out on their calendar, figuring out how they’ll make the most of their time. Find out more about time blocking here.

Once you’ve selected some time management strategies to try, you’ll find plenty of tools to help make them work. Check out these top time management tools for students, from planners to timers and beyond.

Student Planners

Traditional paper planners come in a variety of styles, with some made especially for students. The most important thing is to choose one you’ll actually use, and keep it on hand at all times. See our selection of the top student planners here.

Planner Apps

Planner apps and online calendars are nice because you have access to them everywhere you go. For students, we really like:

• My Study Life

See more details on each of these here, plus more options.

Study Planners

Study planners are specific to academics, and they are a simple way to keep track of both short-term and long-term assignments, projects, and more. Check out these free printable options:

• Develop Good Habits: Study Planner
• Alex Marie: Weekly Assignments Due
• Sophia Lee: Homework Planner Pack

Time Management Apps

Planner apps are a good start, but other time management apps can help you stay on track by eliminating distractions or setting time limits. Here are a few to try:

• Pomofocus : A free online 25–5 timer with the ability to add a task list for each work segment
• Rize : An AI productivity coach that uses time tracking to improve your focus and build better work habits
• Forest : Eliminate distractions, stay on task, and grow a digital forest to celebrate your achievements

Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling has a lot of benefits, and some page setups are especially good for time management:

• Daily Schedule
• Project Planner
• Study Tracker

Check out our big roundup of bullet journal ideas here.

What time management strategies do your students find most effective? Come share your thoughts and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, ultimate study skills guide: tips, tricks, and strategies for every grade ..

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