Two More Executive Functioning Skills: Time Management and Organization

Are you skilled at managing your time? Is your ability to organize yourself and your family a strong suit?  These two skills are important for your ability to manage information, prioritize tasks, and adhere to your family’s schedule. The best way to impart these lifelong skills to your child is by example. I learned very quickly when we had our children, that planning for the unexpected was crucial, and that building margin into my day was paramount. I live by the adage of not putting off until tomorrow what I can do today. Being organized and managing time well lowers stress.

Time Management: Children thrive on a predictable routine. Talk to them about a morning routine from awaking to getting in the car for school. Tell them about how much time each task should take - getting dressed, putting on shoes and socks, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, putting snack in green bag, walking to car. Upon arriving home from school, talk about how much time is scheduled for lunch, naptime, playtime, and if there are afternoon errands to run or special activities to accomplish. Do the same for the evening routine. Later, when your child has a sense of what five minutes ‘feels like’ then you can ask, “How long do you think it will take you to brush your teeth and don your pajamas?”  This might not happen until elementary school, but the sooner you can transfer ownership of time to your child, the sooner he will gain the concept of time management – little by little. Remember, you are teaching a life skill; a skill that is established over time!

Helping children understand the concept of time and what five or ten minutes “feels like” is difficult. I suggest buying those little sand timers of one, two, three, and five minute-increments (available at Amazon for less than 6 dollars). This will help your child develop his or her internal clock. How about playing a game of ‘beat the timer’? When giving your child a task, approximate how long it should take, and either set a kitchen timer or the sand timer to ‘beat the clock.’  Turning time management into a game is fun for young children!

Organization: Here are some tasks to assist you in teaching your children how to be organized with their room: fold and put away clean clothes in correct drawers or cubbies, make own bed with/without assistance, arrange stuffed animals neatly, place books correctly on bookshelf, put toys where they belong. Taking time to teach your children how to do these basic ‘chores’ is time well spent. Chunk each chore; do not teach at one time. When you do for a child what he can do for himself, you are missing an opportunity to build confidence and a sense of accomplishment in your child. Make sure to offer encouragement for being a big boy or girl!  Young children thrive on this.

How long can you expect a child to focus on a task?  Here are some guidelines from Building Executive Functioning in Children, copyright 2024. These attention milestones can serve as an approximate goal, not as a fixed rule.

• 4-6 minutes: 2-year-olds

• 6-8 minutes: 3-year-olds

• 8-12 minutes: 4-year-olds

• 12-18 minutes: 5-year-olds

• 16-24 minutes: 6-year-olds

• 24+ minutes: 7-year-olds

• 1 hour with 10-minute break after 30 minutes: 8-year-olds and up                                          

  Happy teaching these lifelong skills of time management and organization!