Time Management from a Different Point of View
“My child gets so overwhelmed with her homework projects that she just fritters away her time without much progress. How can I help her without rescuing her?”
Discussion
We can give you family-tested ideas to help you teach your child the critical life skill of time management. In our last blog, part 4 of 5, we learned that visual thinkers typically have the most challenges connected to time. Learning tutor and coach, Marydee Sklar, says, “In general, auditory thinkers seem to have internal clocks and can more easily manage themselves using traditional homework strategies. If your child exhibits most of the behaviors listed in the first box (see Part 4), you can describe your child as a visual thinker. It is critical for visual learners to be taught about time management using methods that match their visual brain. I know this because I am a visual thinker and have visual-thinking children. The ideas I use as a learning coach came from problem solving within our family. The list of tools and ideas below are effective because they keep time in the sight and mind of the visual thinker. I recommend the book, Mapping Inner Space: Learning and Teaching Visual Mapping, (Zephyr Press, 2001) by Nancy Margulies for more ideas about visual learning and teaching.”
Time Tools and Tips
- “Face clocks” and wristwatches: Have one in every room, even in the shower! They show how much time remains to finish a task and help the visual thinker see ahead so they can be on time.
- Beeping digital timers: The continual beeping breaks into the visual thinker’s world and brings them back into the present. It works as a reminder to change activities. Visual thinkers have no clue about how long a task really takes, so timing a homework assignment is a good exercise for a child. They’ll find that if they stay focused and try to “beat the timer” they’ll have time left over for fun!
- Use an assignment book that shows the whole month at one glance. Record assignments on the date they is due. This helps your children look ahead and not forget assignments. Dates for extra-curricular activities, parties and family events should also be written on the calendar.
- Use “to do” lists that are divided into 30-minute increments of time. Block out the time that is taken by activities like sports, dinner and chores. The empty space is where they have time for homework. Once the work is done, the leftover spaces are for fun!
- Plan ahead by planning backwards using the monthly assignment calendar. For bigger assignments and projects, use Post-It Notes to represent each step. On each individual task note, write the estimated time required to complete each part of the project from its beginning, through revisions, to the end. Begin by placing the “Done!” note on the calendar space two days before the actual due date. These two days are a cushion for unexpected complications like the printer dying.Next, put all of the remaining Post-It Notes on the calendar by working backward to the beginning task. Your child will have to decide where there is time to work on each piece. After this exercise, your child can concretely see the time needed to complete the project. When to begin and how much any given task/project fits into the rest of the schedule will become clear.
Developing good time-management skills is a process that has to be learned and practiced in steps, especially for a visual thinker. A child who can use time well will feel less stress and be more successful reaching goals. Be patient with yourself and your child as you teach and model time-management skills. Time spent developing these skills is time well spent.
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If I knew then what I know now, I would have …
Embraced my visual learning style and adopted some of these time management strategies with my own projects. Then I would have been more organized to help the kids organize their projects.
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With admiration for all you do,
Dr. Kathy
Kathy Masarie, MD
Pediatrician, Parent, and Life Coach
Author of the Parenting Guides Raising Our Daughters and Raising Our Sons
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