Registration: Coach your student to plan their time rather than guessing how many courses they can handle

SEE ALSO: If your student is considering a high-credit course, be certain they understand that more credit means many more hours.

It’s 24/7. There is no debate that our weeks have seven days with 24 hours each. That’s a total of 168.

That number sounds large, but lets take out sleep (which should be a non-negotiable minimum).

Here’s a link to a study that shows that students who rest do better in school.

Take out nine hours per day (168-63=105).

Now remove hours at school—also not negotiable. Four days of seven hours plus one day of five hours equals 33, which leaves us with 72.
Still sound like a lot. Don’t forget these:
- Travel time to and from school and activities,
- Meals and snacks (Researchers recommend a five-minute break every hour to stand, move around, drink water, snack as needed, etc.)
- Personal hygiene
- Household chores
Add other commitments:
- sports,
- clubs,
- volunteer hours,
- learning to drive,
- health care appointments, dental appointments, etc.
- family and community commitments.
Use this guide on our Counseling/Registration webpage as a tool for estimating homework time. Add that.
Anticipate problems!
- We get sick.
- Technology fails.
- Teammates stumble in their commitments.
- We have special assignments and exam weeks.
- Our team may participate in a tournament or the band may travel.
- Things often take more time than anticipated.
Leave time for fun and relaxing. Again, there is research that proves that minds that rest perform better. This isn’t a luxury; it’s a fact of human body and brain physiology. Studies also show that students who plan time for fun find it much easier to commit to their study schedule.

Tools