Why Your Student Should Write Out a Daily Schedule

By Regan Barr

Instructor of Greek, Witty Wordsmith, Barbarian Diagrammarian, Greek History at The Lukeion Project

“Dear Mr. Barr, I’m really sorry that I didn’t get my quiz done on time. I got really busy on a paper for another class and it completely slipped my mind. Can you open it again for me? I promise I’ll get it done this evening and it will never happen again.”

Many parents and students are surprised to learn that my answer is “no.” Instructors at The Lukeion Project have developed a reputation for setting and enforcing firm assignment deadlines. This past fall I announced in all my classes that the only way to get an extension on the final exam was an alien abduction. As evidence, students were required to send me a selfie with the king and queen of the aliens. Last year the only acceptable excuse was being eaten by a tiger that had no wifi in its stomach. Now we aren’t completely heartless; there are serious situations that require an extension, but they are rare.

There are many reasons to enforce deadlines. The most important is this: for the rest of their lives, missing deadlines will come with penalties. Missing a deadline in college often means a zero on the assignment. Missing too many deadlines with an employer can put you back on the job market. People who file their taxes late usually incur a financial penalty, even if they’ve filed for an extension.

In a child’s early years, mom or dad must manage the schedule. In the middle school and high school years, that responsibility should be passed to the student. This is simply good training for life. Here are some reasons why your student should begin scheduling their own day.

1. Manage time better

With no schedule, it’s easy to waste a lot of time. Who are we kidding? Even with a schedule, it’s easy to waste a lot of time, if you’re in the habit! Nevertheless, a schedule makes it easier to hold yourself accountable. This is an important and necessary component of success.

Creating a schedule prepares a student to have a productive day. It does more than just set a starting time and ending time, though that in itself is useful. It also forces him to list the tasks that need to be done and acknowledge that his time is limited. This is the advantage of a schedule over a list. A list says, “fit all these things in somehow.” A schedule says, “start working on this assignment at 9:30 am.” Always convert task lists into schedules. Don’t forget to schedule breaks. The mind and the body need breaks if they are to work their best.  

A schedule can also force a reluctant student to tackle a subject for which they have no enthusiasm. Procrastination often exacerbates a student’s antipathy by prolonging the dread and forcing a student to always do the worst work on their least favorite subject. If your student doesn’t like geography, how much more will she hate it when it’s always done under pressure at the last moment?

2. Ensure incremental progress

Some assignments can be done in one sitting, but as students mature, so does the nature of their assignments. Big accomplishments are made in a series of phases, one step at a time. Karen Lamb once said, “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” This principle is scalable. On the day that paper is due, you’ll wish you had started today.

A schedule can help guarantee that each project gets some time while keeping the goal on your radar. That science fair project might not be due for six weeks, but most of us know that it’s no fun trying to piece one together the night before. You’ll produce a better result by spreading out your efforts than by throwing something together when you’re exhausted and cranky. Have your child schedule time to work on it every week and you’ll both be rewarded with better results and lowered stress levels. 

The bigger the project, the more important the principle of incremental progress is. Students often do poorly or give up when their world feels out of control. We see so many students suffering from “overwhelm fatigue.” Doing a little every day or every week helps them realize that they have a plan, and that progress is being made. It helps them dream of bigger and bigger goals. Hopelessness is the result of seeing no way forward; a schedule charts their path to success while minimizing the tyranny of the urgent.

3. Celebrate accomplishments

It’s important to feel like your efforts have been rewarded. It’s never pleasant to feel like you’re just running on a hamster wheel and never getting anywhere. This is true in both big and small ways. Sometimes the victory is big, like getting accepted to your first-choice college; sometimes the victory is small, like finishing your homework. Both are victories that should give your student a sense of accomplishment.

One of the best ways to combat discouragement is to focus on accomplishments, whether big or small. A schedule can help you do that. At the end of the day, your student should be able to look back and say, “look what I did today.” Help your student finish the day feeling good about what they’ve accomplished.

If your child isn’t used to working on a schedule – one that she’s had a hand in creating – she might be resistant. Persevere! One day she will thank you for it. So will her professor. And her employer.