Among all of the resources available to us, time is the great equalizer. We all have the same amount afforded us each day, and no amount of wealth or skill can create more time. That being said, how we manage and utilize our time can make a tremendous difference in our productivity and happiness. It’s so important to us that we spend a significant amount of time and effort in learning how to efficiently and effectively manage our time. According to The Productivity Institute, the average American uses 13 different resources to help manage and control their time.
Teens and adults with diverse learning needs also need time management skills. Practical time management skills are learned behavior, taught through a variety of different learning experiences as we grow and become more independent.
For an age-by-age overview of how executive functioning skills typically develop, see our Executive Functioning Skills by Age Guide. When supporting learners with unique learning needs, the way we teach time management may look different, but the skills are just as important to overall success.
Here’s why:
The Basics of Time Management Skills
Time management refers to a broad set of skills related to understanding time and how to use time effectively. According to leading executive functioning researchers Dr. Peg Dawson and Dr. Richard Guare, time management skills relate to how we effectively use our time and how that use impacts ourselves and others around us.
People with strong time management skills not only understand how long tasks will take, but they’re also able to budget time effectively and complete routines with ease. Time management includes our capacity to estimate time, allocate time, and stay within time limits and deadlines.
Time management is among the many executive functioning skills that we use in combination to live productive and successful lives:
Examples of Time Management Skills
Like other executive functioning skills that grow and change across an individual’s development, some examples related to time management include:
- Identify and understand time concepts (minute, hour, tomorrow, week, month, etc.).
- Complete simple tasks within an allotted amount of time.
- Follow a timeline to finish chores or homework tasks on a deadline.
- Accurately estimate how much time it will take to complete a task.
- Budget and prioritize sufficient time to complete a task.
- Arrive on time for appointments and social activities.
- Create a schedule with sufficient time to complete all necessary activities in a week.
- Increase work speed to meet a deadline but avoid ‘rushing around’ except on rare occasions.
- Avoid procrastination or putting tasks off to the last minute.
Why are Time Management Skills Important?
Researchers have carefully examined how time management skills, along with other executive functioning skills, relate to academic, vocational, and social success. It’s also been well documented that students with diverse learning needs often struggle with time concepts and have poorly developed time management.
Once you understand some of the benefits of time management skills, it becomes clear why parents and teachers pursue ways to teach these skills at home and in the classroom. Individuals with well-developed time management skills:
- Have higher academic achievement.
- Experience improved economic benefits from stable employment.
- Have a higher quality of life and improved social relationships.
How are Time Management and Challenging Behavior Connected?
Not only is time management important for academic, vocational, and social independence, but deficits in time management can connect closely to an individual’s challenging behaviors. Targeting executive functioning skills like time management can reduce challenging behaviors such as escape or avoidance behaviors, frustration, impulsivity, and aggression.
To understand the relationship between time management skills and challenging behavior, consider the example of Sam:
Sam is a sixteen-year-old student with autism who struggles with time management of homework tasks. Sam likes playing with her cat after school and regularly procrastinates with projects and assignments late into the evening. Her parents must ask her repeatedly to get started on her homework, each time more and more insistent. Sam thinks her parents are constantly nagging at her, so she spends as much time in her room listening to music as she can. When Sam finally gets around to doing homework, she’s tired and rushes through the project so she can go to sleep. The next day Sam turns in her assignment. Her teacher can see that Sam didn’t do her best work, so while her friends get time to talk and text at the end of class, Sam has to keep working. Frustrated and angry, Sam yells at her teacher, “You’re just another person out to get me!” and storms out of the classroom, elbowing another student out of her way.
Let’s unpack this scenario. What started as an issue with procrastination led to aggressive behavior likely to get Sam in trouble at school. Sam has some excellent skills to build on, but her procrastination gets in the way. Poor time management likely contributes to deteriorated relationships with her parents, teachers, and peers. By building on Sam’s capacity to identify and complete her homework tasks before she spends time with her cat, we can address a whole pattern of challenging behaviors that interfere with her success.
How to Evaluate Time Management Skills
How does one know if time management or other executive functioning skills contribute to someone’s challenging behavior? If you have concerns, there are several steps you can take to evaluate time management and move toward greater independence:
- Take a time management assessment. If you have concerns about a person’s time management skills and how they may be contributing to challenges with academic and social success, start with a skills assessment. Download our time management pre-assessment worksheet and review the evaluation. It’s one of many tools available online to help brainstorm and start the conversation around time management goals.
- Conduct a time assessment. Another strategy recommended by researchers and life skills coaches is to conduct a time assessment with the individual you are supporting. Download a time-tracking app or use a paper-and-pencil charting system to record how many hours per week they engage in different activities. Identify how many hours per week they participate in daily living activities like eating, sleeping, or hygiene, how many hours they spend in academic or work activities, and how many hours per week they spend on leisure or socializing. By conducting the weekly assessment, you and the individual might identify ways to allocate time differently or resources that could help budget time more wisely.
- Collect data on task completion. Not only can it be helpful to know how much time gets distributed across the week, but it can also be beneficial to document how successfully the individual spends their time. Do you know how many tasks they complete on time and accurately across the week? Are specific deadlines always met, while other tasks never or rarely get completed on time? Before you focus on interventions and strategies to boost time management skills, it helps to identify what percentage of tasks like homework, chores, and daily routines get done on time. By observing behavior for several days, you can better identify the habits and patterns to focus on when developing goals.
- Gather support from others. Before you begin tackling a student’s time management skills on your own, it can be helpful to rally support from others on the care coordination team. Find out if an IEP team or other therapeutic service providers are already targeting time management skills. Some professionals may have identified strategies and resources that were helpful in one setting and could be generalized to another area of life. By contacting professionals experienced in teaching executive functioning skills, you might access additional assessments and resources to boost success.
Download Our Free Executive Functioning Assessment
Further Reading
- Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents (3rd Edition) – Dawson & Guare
- Life Skills Advocate Blog – How Teaching Executive Functioning Skills Can Reduce Challenging Behaviors
- Manganello, R. E., 1994. Time-management instruction for older students with learning disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children 26, 2:60–62
- The Productivity Institute – Time Management Facts and Figures
- The Use of Assistive Technology to Improve Time Management Skills of a Young Adult With an Intellectual Disability