**Supporting Time Management in the Classroom: What It Really Takes**

When we think about time management, procrastination is usually the first issue that comes to mind. But avoiding procrastination is just one piece of a much larger executive functioning skill set.

True time management means students have an accurate understanding of how long tasks will take, and the ability to plan, pace, and prioritize accordingly.

Many of our students (especially those with learning or attention challenges) don’t yet have these skills. And without them, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, shut down, or miss deadlines.

Here’s how you can start supporting time management in your classroom with simple, practical tools.

1. Help Students Understand How Long Tasks Take

This is foundational and often overlooked. Many students have no internal “clock” for how long a task should take. They start too late, lose momentum, or run out of time simply because they didn’t know how to budget it in the first place.

Try this:

Ask students to estimate how long a task will take before they begin.
Use a timer during independent work and have them compare their estimates to the actual time.
Reflect as a class or in small groups: “Did we guess accurately? What would we change next time?”

This kind of metacognition builds awareness and helps students begin to plan more realistically.

2. Teach Students How to Pace Themselves

Pacing is a huge part of time management, but it’s often assumed rather than taught. Students need to learn how to start on time, work consistently, and take appropriate breaks to preserve their focus.

Try this:

Break assignments into manageable chunks with clear time goals for each part.
Use tools like visual timers or work/break schedules (e.g., 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off).
Normalize the need for breaks and teach students how to take productive ones.

By modeling how to approach a task over time (not just at the deadline), you’ll help students build stamina and reduce avoidance.

Prioritizing:

As children get older, they will begin to receive more assignments at school and gain more responsibilities to manage. Helping them learn how to prioritize their tasks early on will help their ability to do this independently as they grow up.

Helpful Tip: Go through what assignments need to be done and help your child decide which needs to be completed first. A suggestion would be to get the hardest task done right away, while they have the most mental energy and focus. Once that is done, it will be easier to do the more preferable tasks.

Minimizing Distractions:

It is difficult to work efficiently when your attention constantly needs to be redirected. Ideally, when your child is trying to do their homework, they should be in an environment free of distractions. Remember that different items can be distracting for different kids. Some kids will benefit from alternative seating or assistive technology. These can be great resources when used appropriately, but can also be distracting if misused.

Helpful Tip: Set expectations ahead of time with your child. This will help determine when the accommodation is being used as a tool, and when it is being used as a toy. If you see that your child is using these resources as toys, it is not being used appropriately and should be considered a distraction.

Here are a few examples of expectations you can set.

A yoga ball or wiggle stool can be used as an alternative seating option. For children that need extra stimulation, the ball/stool engages the muscles in their core as they have to actively work to keep balance. This muscular stimulation is enough to pacify the need for gross motor movements and can help them focus. If your child is bouncing up and down or is fidgeting so much that they fall off the ball, it is not being used appropriately and should be taken away.
A computer can offer an array of accommodations and help for students. They have the opportunity to look something up, they can use text-to-speech, they can type instead of handwriting assignments, etc. An expectation should be set that if anything is up on the computer that does not pertain to schoolwork (i.e. games & social media) during the time set for homework, the computer will be taken away.

Overall, time management skills require you to use your time efficiently. By helping your child develop and practice these skills early, it will help them build independence with these skills as they grow up.

Want to go deeper with Executive Functioning support?

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This 1-hour on-demand training gives you a clear, practical framework to support attention, planning, regulation, and goal-setting from kindergarten through high school.

Executive functioning is one of the most talked-about topics in education right now, but most educators are asked to support EF skills without ever being shown how.

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