Eight group talks with a counsellor helped students who scored low on managing time

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   24 first-year students at one college in Thailand. They were picked from 422 students for low scores on a time questionnaire. Then they were split into two groups of 12.

2. 02

   What they did

   One group met a counsellor as a group eight times, for 2 hours each time. The talks mixed several kinds of therapy, such as challenging unhelpful thoughts. They covered knowing your own habits, planning, putting tasks in order, self-control, drive and heading off problems. The other group got no help.

3. 03

   What happened

   At the end, the counsellor group rated their time management higher than the other group, and still did at a later check. The paper doesn't say how much later that check was. Some of the paper's numbers don't add up, so we can't give sizes.

What the study found

1. Helped

   Students who met a counsellor as a group eight times rated their time skills higher than those with no help.

   • Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
   • Action: Plan your weektested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Very small randomised trial of 24 first-year psychology students in Thailand · vs students who got no counselling · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

Source