Study Timetable Crash Course: Helping Your Child to Stay Organised and Master Time Management

Rob Beattie
Dec 5, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Feb 26

Teenage boy sat on sofa on mobile phone.

The Problem

Over the past three months, we’ve spoken to over 15,000 parents in our fortnightly webinar series. One recurring issue stands out: time management. And the conversation parents are having with their children often seems to go the same way:

You walk into the living room, and your child is glued to the TV, their phone, or games. You ask, “Don’t you have work to do?” and get the classic reply, “I don’t have any.” Confused, you say, “Well, that’s not what your teachers are saying.” And that’s when the argument starts.

Maybe it’s about last-minute cramming, late-night assignment submissions, or complaints from teachers about incomplete homework. Whatever the scenario, it usually ends in tension.

In this 5-minute crash course, we’ll show you how to help your child take control of their time—and how to end family arguments over study habits once and for all.

The Solution: A Study Timetable

The key to solving time management issues is as simple as a study timetable.

Yes, we know what you’re thinking: “Study timetables don’t work!” And you’re partially right. According to our surveys of students the past 20+ years, most students try them, only to abandon them after a week.

But here’s the catch: There’s a small group of students who not only stick to their study timetables, but excel because of them. Why? The difference lies in how they create their timetables.

Why Most Study Timetables Fail

Here’s the usual story: Your child feels inspired at the start of the school year, deciding that this year will be different. This year is the year they get their head down and study. Motivated, they draw up a timetable and fill every available slot with study time. Which makes sense, right? It’s called a study timetable for a reason, isn’t it?

But what happens next? They quickly feel bored or overwhelmed, blame the timetable, and toss it out.

The main problem here is twofold:

They’ve put in too much study to be sustainable;
They’ve thrown out all the things they love doing.

How Not to Fail: Schedule Non-Study Activities First

Successful students flip the script by starting with activities they don’t want to give up. It might sound strange, but stay with me.

Encourage your child to start their study timetable by identifying one daily activity they love—like football, dance, or even PlayStation—and schedule it first. Why? This keeps them motivated and ensures the timetable feels balanced. It ensures that every day, they’re doing something they love to do.

Pro Tip: Limit this fun activity to 60 minutes per day. If you don’t, you can easily crowd out a Sunday with 3 straight hours of gaming! Once it’s scheduled, the remaining time can easily accommodate study sessions.

Then, Build Study Around the Fun

Once the fun stuff is in, add study blocks around them. A couple of top timetable tips here:

Stick to 30–60 minute blocks. Long sessions (e.g., 2 hours) lead to boredom. A good rule of thumb is your child’s age + 10 minutes per session.
Include 15-minute breaks. Breaks help them recharge and maintain focus.

Over time, these bite-sized study blocks add up, creating a productive and manageable routine.

This approach offers the best of both worlds:

Your child gets enough time for the activities they love, keeping them happy and motivated.
They still have sufficient time to focus on schoolwork, improving productivity and grades.

Happy students are more likely to stick with their study timetables, ensuring long-term success.

Make the Timetable Visible

Finally, to help avoid the family fights, display the timetable somewhere visible for the whole family —like the fridge or a shared calendar app. This eliminates misunderstandings and helps put you and your child on the same page.

Think back to our example from the beginning: if you walk into the living room and your child is watching TV, on their phone, or gaming, and you ask, “Shouldn’t you be studying?”, they can point to the timetable and say, “This is my downtime.”

Alternatively, if they’re off-schedule, and both you and your child can see that they’re not sticking to their timetable, it allows you to open a calm discussion about when they plan to catch up on the work they’re missing. Most importantly, by having the common language and a tool that was created by them, the adversarial nature of the conversation is removed.