Hello Parents!
How productive can you ensure your day to be?
Everyone is given the same 24 hours but are you maximising them effectively?
Well, many of us are guilty of the act of procrastinating. It is very challenging to remain productive as there are many distractions everywhere. These distractions often divert us from being able to accomplish our task. At the end of the day, we often regret not fully utilising the time we had.
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In fact, your kids are no different from us too.
They often procrastinate and are not able to remain productive especially in school. Distractions can come in many forms for them, thus making them less motivated or less inclined towards their studies.
To help your children to improve their productivity, we must first identify the usual distractions they encounter everyday.
#1 Pitfall: Lack of a Study Plan
‘If You Fail To Plan, You Plan To Fail’
Does this phrase seem familiar to you?
Though simple, it is extremely significant as it emphasises upon the importance of planning. A lack of planning often results in students being unable to complete their daily task. Hence, time will be wasted.
Encourage your children to develop the habit of creating a study plan.
A study plan is useful as it allows your child to be more organised, thus being able to know the objectives of the day clearly. It is not difficult to make one as what is needed is simply the purchase of a diary or timetable.
Ensure that before your child sleeps, he/she takes the time to plan their own respective schedule for the next day! As parents, we should revise through our child’s schedule. This is to ensure that our children are not overloading themselves with activities, completing their homework on time, have ample breaks between each program they planned and the tasks they set out to accomplish are feasible.
#2 Pitfall: Eliminate Your Source of Distraction
How often do you see your child pick up his/her phone or using the computer while studying?
In today’s age of modern technology, it is challenging to live without such gadgets as they connect them with friends and the world which make children happy! Though phones or computers are essential, they can be extremely distracting as well. Your children may not be able to study efficiently if they spend time reading the messages on their phone while studying. This can be a worrying sight for many parents especially if he don’t study efficiently during examination.
When your child is about to study, confiscate his/ her phone and lock the computer with a parental lock code. This removes any form of distraction that can tempt your child away from studying and thus, allowing them to become more productive!
If your child requires the computer to do his/her research, you can block access to the sites you feel would serve as a distraction to your child. By doing so, we allow our children to become more focus at the task at hand hence increasing their level of efficiency.
#3 Pitfall: Utilize Breaks Between Lessons
Ask your child this question when he/she returns home from school today. ‘What did you do during your breaks in between lessons?’
You will probably realize that your child would be wasting time talking to their friends or even day dreaming while waiting for the next teacher to arrive.
Imagine how much more work your child can complete if he/she manage time properly and use that many 5 minutes in between lessons to revise through the topics that were just taught by the previous teacher or do a little more reading to be better prepared for the next lesson? By doing so, your child can be ahead of their peers in class!
It will not be easy to advise your child to shun away from procrastination during such breaks. However by sharing with your child the importance of utilizing every minute that is available to them, it might encourage him/ her to fully understand the importance of saving time.
Remember: Time Lost Can Never Be Regained.
#4 Pitfall: Poor Quality Control
I am sure that many parents often use the ‘carrot-and-stick’ methodology on their child as a form of encouragement for them to complete their school work.
We achieve it by promising a reward for our children when they complete their homework. But have you ever notice that your child would rush through their school work just to obtain their reward upon completion? Such means would be seen as being counter-productive. This is because more time will be wasted as your child has to redo the work they have completed with such haste.
Motivate your children to practise quality control when completing their work. The ‘carrot-and-stick’ should still be used as a form of motivation for your children. However, ensure that their work is properly done. It is encouraged that your child should spend time checking their own work before claiming their reward.
In conclusion…
It is important to be able to fully utilize the time available to us! Everyone is given the same 24 hours but what makes an individual more successful than others is their level of productivity.
Emphasise the importance of saving time to your children. It can be a challenging task as procrastination is certainly more ‘enjoyable’ then studying. Promises and rewards are important in motivating your child to study but as parents, we should ensure the reward matches the input of your child. For example, many of us can agree that it is incredulous to reward your child with a day at the Universal Studios if he/she studies for 30 minutes right?
Lastly, having a study plan is truly beneficial. It is a habit that we encourage parents to allow their children to develop at a young age. This promotes organisation skills within your children which will prove useful in the future and also allow them to set clear achievable task for the day ahead.
We hope that these tips are useful in allowing your children to fully utilise the time that is available to them.
