I definitely have time to finish that…I think…
For one young man, going to college meant doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He could stay up all night playing video games and no one could tell him no. However, what he didn’t realize was that when his parents would organize his backpack for the next day, force him to do his work, and plan his week ahead for him, that it was what was keeping him from falling behind in all his classes.
The young man simply assumed it was them just being overbearing, but after he went to college, he realized that they were doing all his responsibilities for him. After spending the first month and a half while at college staying up late on his games, pushing all his work to the very last minute, not planning for the week ahead and so much more, he began realizing how much he had to do, and how little time he had to do it. Due to his poor organizational, time management, task initiation, planning, and overall executive functioning skills, the young man not only began to fall behind in his classes but fail them. As a result, he was put on academic probation and was expressing wanting to drop out, so his parents reached out to the College Life Skills Program for help.
There, he met with a coach weekly so he could try and strengthen his executive functioning skills by learning and applying strategies such as not only keeping a planner where he would organize his time and work but how to follow through on completing the tasks at hand. He also learned to set timers so he wouldn’t forget to limit his time doing other tasks, such as cleaning or playing a video game. As he received this coaching, with a level of accountability, his ability to maintain his own life became easier while away at college, preventing him from either failing, or dropping out all together.
College is a place for young adults to begin their independent journey. They begin living on their own, taking care of their own responsibilities, making their own decisions, and so much more, so it is important that they are prepared to do so. Without skills such as time management, organization, task initiation, planning, and all the others, college and independent life in general can prove to be difficult. As they acquire such freedom so quickly, they may find themselves having trouble not only adapting, but making decisions that are not just for fun, such as staying up all night to play video games, but ones that are responsible.
Being able to manage your time means you can do both the fun and the responsible things in a way that not only prevents you from feeling stressed, but gets things done properly. Executive functioning skills often work hand in hand with one another. By managing your time, you can plan ahead, keep yourself organized, know when to start and move on from tasks, and so much more. However, a big issue college students face is procrastination. According to timely care, a survey done by Civitas Learning in partnership with the Center for Generational Kinetics showed “time management [is] among the top challenges for students to finish their degrees,” while Cengage Learning Student Engagement Insights Survey states “that 78% of students have struggled with time management at some point during school. Additionally, 59% of those students say procrastination is the main cause.” (Buglione, 2024).
Without time management and other executive functioning skills, young adults may begin to fall behind in college. While enjoying their newfound independence, the responsibility of having to now handle it on their own can cause them to become stressed, isolated from both friends, peers, roommates, and family, fall behind in classes, and even drop out if they do not have age-appropriate executive functioning skills. However, they can learn how to incorporate them into their daily life, and the College Life Skills Program can help with that.
At the College Life Skills Program, our team of Doctoral and Master level professionals utilizes a series of highly individualized strategies, services, and techniques to help neurodivergent young adults who are college bound, in college, and even after college succeed in and after their transition into adult life. We help teach them executive functioning skills so they can be successful in the work world and in life as well as help them learn how to balance independent life on their own, and other life skills, social skills, and emotional maturity. If your young adult is struggling with executive skills or the transition into college and adulthood, CollegeLSP has the tools to aid them in achieving and generalizing such skills.
Click here and call now to schedule your FREE 20-minute individualized screening.
Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of college students and those high school students preparing for college. The CollegeLSP is a subsidiary program of the Support For Students Growth Center, located in Boca Raton, FL and providing services nationwide
Buglione, K., Fakorzi, S., & Trevino, Dr. N. G. (2024, November 1). Empowering student success through time management. TimelyCare. https://timelycare.com/blog/empowering-student-success-through-time-management/#:~:text=One%20study%20found%20time%20management,procrastination%20is%20the%20main%20cause.
Nazerian, T. (2018, December 27). Students see anxiety and time management among top challenges to finishing degrees – edsurge news. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-07-12-new-survey-students-see-anxiety-and-time-management-among-top-challenges-to-finishing-degrees
Start the year off right: Tips and tricks for improving time management: UWire. College Press Releases and University Wire Service. (n.d.). https://www.uwire.com/2015/08/31/start-the-year-off-right-tips-and-tricks-for-improving-time-management/
