Productivity & Time Management Advice

The Board of SASS brings you productivity & time management advice from the counselors of the OHS Counseling Office. Our hope is that this helps you sharpen your time management skills just in time for finals!

• What are the most effective time management strategies for students?

  • For most students, having a system to keep track of classes, meetings, office hours, extracurricular activities, course tasks, assignments, and exams is essential. It isn’t realistic to imagine we can simply memorize everything and know in the moment which task or assignment is most important.

  • A variety of tools including physical planners and online calendars can be used, and you may need to experiment to find out what works best for you. Setting aside a regular time to plan ahead for the coming week can help with anticipating important due dates and establishing priorities.

  • See the recording of the Counseling Office Time Management workshop posted in Canvas for further suggestions!

• Do you recommend any specific apps, websites, or tools for productivity?

  • The Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning provides guidelines and strategies that have proved helpful to Stanford undergraduates. These may also be useful for OHS students.

  • In particular, this weekly schedule template could be used for weekly planning purposes, or it could serve as a model for employing your favorite online planning tool such as a Google calendar.

• How can students balance academics, extracurriculars, and personal life without feeling overwhelmed?

  • Many OHS students have a wide range of skills and interests and may wish to pursue achievement by enrolling in highly demanding classes and engaging in intensive extracurricular activities. This is a wonderful strength of our students! At the same time, it is important to also maintain balance to allow time for sleep, self-care, and connecting with friends and family.

  • If your current schedule of classes and extracurriculars feels overwhelming, please reach out to your counselor to take a closer look at the situation together. It may be helpful to consider making changes to bring things back into balance.

• How can students tell the difference between productive breaks and distractions?

  • A helpful general strategy is to make a clear distinction between work time and break time. Doing this could involve time boundaries such as a set schedule for breaks, or it could include designating specific locations (such as your desk) for completing work and taking breaks by going elsewhere for a short period of time or taking a brief walk.

  • In some situations, breaks can become counterproductive if they are too lengthy or if they lead to forgetting about school work altogether for the day. Plan to take a short break, then get back to work.

  • The Pomodoro technique is something many students find helpful. To use this technique, set a timer for 25 minutes. Then, with as much determination as you can muster, work for the 25-minute span without any breaks. When the timer sounds, reset it for a 5-minute break. Then repeat the cycle.

• How much time should students realistically dedicate to studying for each subject at OHS? 

  • A rough guideline might be to expect to spend 8-10 hours per week, including live class sessions, for a 5 credit high school level course (and a bit less for middle school courses). The exact amount of time required can vary considerably from week to week and from student to student.

  • In some situations, students may find themselves spending many more hours on assignments than their instructors recommend in a way that is not helpful and may actually be counterproductive. For example, once an essay has been carefully organized and written, devoting many hours to repeatedly reworking and rewriting it might not improve the result. Check out the recording of our Counseling Office workshop covering Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism (and posted in Canvas) for further thoughts on factors that may contribute to this issue.

• What’s a good approach to prioritizing tasks when everything feels urgent?

  • Having a regular habit of planning your weekly schedule can be of great benefit here! Ideally, no assignments should be ignored or completed late, if possible. Your detailed weekly schedule can help you determine what needs immediate attention, for example if an assignment is due tomorrow or if you have highlighted it as a top priority (such as a major essay or project) for the week.

  • The end of the semester is a time when inevitably there are many key assignments active all at once: major essays, term projects, class presentations, and preparation for final exams. In addition to the use of general time management strategies, the Counseling Office workshop recording posted in Canvas on Preparing for Finals includes some further thoughts on navigating this busy time.

• When should students seek help for chronic procrastination or productivity struggles?

  • If struggles around procrastination, productivity, or any other issues become chronic, students are always welcome to reach out to their OHS counselor. Often it can be helpful to explore the full picture of a student’s experience around classes, assignments, and academic work in general, and counselors can assist in connecting with other supportive resources both within and outside of OHS.

• What resources are available for students struggling with time management?

  • Counseling Office: Please reach out to us for assistance! We can work with you in a short-term capacity to select suitable time management tools, problem-solve issues that may arise in using them, and develop your own unique approach to making the most of the time you devote to your academic progress.

  • Instructor Office Hours: If you find that a certain course or specific assignments are taking an inordinate amount of time, it may be helpful to talk with your instructor in office hours to ask for advice. Your teacher may be able to share guidelines regarding how much time is expected on certain assignments and/or strategies for completing assignments in an efficient manner.

  • Writing and Tutoring Center: Although this is perhaps not a time management strategy per se, many students find great benefit in working with professional tutors, peer tutors, and teaching assistants through the OHS Writing and Tutoring Center. Sometimes getting help with difficult assignments or simply having someone with whom to talk through ideas can allow for faster completion.

• How can students approach professors if they’re falling behind?

  • Check Canvas for the instructor’s set office hours. (Every instructor has a specific weekly time frame available specifically to meet with students.) The instructor’s office hours could be a good opportunity to discuss how the course is going and seek guidance toward catching up.

  • If the student cannot attend the instructor’s specific office hours, they can reach out to the instructor directly to schedule another time to meet. Some instructors schedule “floating office hours” that they open to other students in the course, whereas other instructors may prefer to schedule a brief 1-1 meeting.

  • Another option might be to speak (or text chat) briefly with your instructor either before or after class. Although the instructor’s availability may be limited at these times, it could be a chance to share your concerns and perhaps arrange a separate time (during office hours or at another time) to discuss further.