One of the things we need to teach students the most is how to manage all of the tasks and due dates they have to deal with throughout the course of a school day. While many schools are making use of tools like Canvas or Google Classroom to manage the digital workflows of class, students may not always find those systems helpful for them to track all of their work. Many teachers will remember fondly, although not me, the old journals that we used to use to track assignments. The important aspect to me was not the journal itself but the task of having to write down all of my things I need to do and then being able to cross them off when they were done.

There is a simple way in Google Docs to use the Building Blocks feature and dropdowns to create a task tracker for students. Students could easily use this to write down all of the tasks they have to complete as they are assigned. These tasks can be the bigger assignments themselves or they could focus on the individual tasks needed to complete each big assignment, to help them better manage their workflows. If they were to work on a large project, having them identify each step they need to complete, write those down, and then track them, they would have more success than if they just saw that due date in Canvas. The goal is to identify the tasks that are needing to be completed and then tracking them. This document can create a nice visual for what they have to do but as they complete the tasks, help them to recognize the work they have done. Seeing all that you have already accomplished is one way to keep yourself motivated to keep attacking those tasks.

You could even modify this and add in a new column to indicate the different classes so students could have all of their tasks in one place. That might be too many tasks to see in one spot for some students, but some may need to see all the tasks in order to know how much they really need to do. If they only have a limited of time to complete these tasks, knowing the total number they have to tackle can help them figure out how to prioritize their time.

I think using something simple like this could really help students learn ways to manage all that they have to accomplish. This is a skill that is needed and may even be one that our adults in the building need help with as well. Being organized and tracking your tasks is just an important skill that helps make the work easier to accomplish. We shouldn’t be wasting our time and energy, both which are very limited, due to disorganization or due to lack of awareness. And if we expect our students to have these skills, we need to ensure that we are not only teaching them but setting them up for success by giving them the tools they need to be successful.