ÜBERMAD
A kneeling man lifts a big round rock over a glass jar of small pebbles and lowers it in, again and again.

Action4

Take a time-management course

Training in time-management principles and techniques, such as prioritising and cutting time-wasters.

TopicEvidencePotential benefit
Procrastination
Time management
Goals
  • Procrastination
    Evidence Potential benefit

    It's too early to say whether taking a course on managing your time helps you put things off less.

    • Only small or loosely controlled studies.
    • One star off: only no-treatment comparisons with self-reported outcomes.
    • One star off: every study behind it has a serious concern.
  • Time management
    Evidence Potential benefit

    Taking a course on managing your time may help a little with managing your time.

    • Well-controlled studies, but only together with other tools.
    • One star off: every study behind it has a serious concern.

    Benefit size from More intensive summer treatment helped teens stay organised four years later, against teens in the less intensive version.

    For people with ADHD
    Evidence Potential benefit

    For people with ADHD, taking a course on managing your time may help a little with managing your time.

    • Well-controlled studies, but only together with other tools.
    • One star off: every study behind it has a serious concern.

    Benefit size from More intensive summer treatment helped teens stay organised four years later, against teens in the less intensive version.

    Not diagnosis or treatment advice; talk to a clinician.

  • Goals
    Evidence Potential benefit

    It's too early to say whether taking a course on managing your time helps you get more done. Studies disagree.

    • A meta-analysis without both a risk-of-bias check and a publication-bias test.
    • One star off: the studies disagree.

    Benefit size from More intensive summer treatment helped teens stay organised four years later, against the less intensive version.

    For people with ADHD
    Evidence Potential benefit

    For people with ADHD, it's too early to say whether taking a course on managing your time helps you get more done.

    • One well-controlled study, together with other tools.
    • One star off: every study behind it has a serious concern.

    Benefit size from More intensive summer treatment helped teens stay organised four years later, against the less intensive version.

    Not diagnosis or treatment advice; talk to a clinician.

What 11 studies found

  1. HelpedTested
    Across 11 studies, therapy and training helped people at work more than other groups did.

    Mixes trials with other kinds of study

    Signs that small negative studies went unpublished

    Review

  2. HelpedTested
    In 16 results, study and time-management classes raised course grades more than other groups did.

    Whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited

    Mixes trials with other kinds of study

    Review

  3. HelpedTested
    Children in the programme improved more at planning their time, parents said, than children who got usual help.

    Paper

  4. HelpedTested
    Parents rated students in the after-school group as better organised six months later.

    Paper

  5. HelpedTested
    At the end, students who did both rated their time management higher than the rest.

    Paper

  6. HelpedTested
    Four years later, parents said teens in the more intensive programme were more organised.

    Paper

  7. MixedTested
    Ninth graders in the more intensive group had fewer ADHD symptoms four years on, but sixth graders did not.

    Paper

  8. No differenceTested
    Grades four years later were about the same in both groups.

    Paper

  9. MixedTested
    At the end, the shorter workshop did better; three months later, the longer workshop did better.

    Paper

  10. HelpedTested
    After treatment, the thought-challenge group managed time better than the third group.

    Paper

  11. HelpedTested
    At the end, students who had 10 time management sessions rated their time skills higher than those with no training.

    Paper

  12. HelpedUsed
    Staff whose job training fit how they learn said their time management rose about twice as much.

    Paper

  13. HelpedTested
    Staff who took a 4-week phone course scored higher on using work time well than staff with usual training.

    Paper

  14. HelpedTested
    The phone course also raised scores on a test of what staff knew about managing time.

    Paper

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