IELTS Speaking topic: Time management

1. Are you good at organising time?
2. How do you usually organise time?
3. Do you think planning is important for time management?
4. Why do you think some people pay to learn time management?
5. Do you think children should learn to manage time?
6. Why do some people find it hard to follow their plans?
7. How would you teach your children time management?
8. Do old people and young people manage time in a similar way?

No, I’m not good at organising time. Though I know that taking the time to organise makes my work and study more effective, I always find that the only thing that drives me is deadline.

Well, normally I’ll list the tasks in hand in the morning, and do them in a row in the daytime; but if there is something really emergency, I’ll put priority on it.

Yes, I feel that planning is the start point of time management. Once you have plan what to do and when in the first place and then stick to it, then you will have time to do them and achieve your goal.

Well, I guess that’s probably because time management is a systematic course that contains several skills and techniques so that you need a teacher to understand them closely and follow them in your own practises.

Yes, I believe that time management is a life-long job and the younger you learn it, the more benefits you will get. It helps children to prioritise, plan and pace their tasks and is a communication tool between home and school.

Well, the reason why difficult to follow plans is probably people are distracted with their surroundings. If you notice, most people set all these plans and goals usually at night, before sleep, or when all is quiet. Then a lot of people end up getting distracted and veer off course during the day.

I believe there are several steps to help children time management. Firstly, I should be a role model. Unorganised, chaotic parents usually have unorganised, chaotic children. Therefore, I should demonstrate with my behaviour, how a child can be a successful time manager. Besides, help them make a hierarchy of priorities they can use as a master checklist to make better time management decisions. For example: prioritise the following values: family, school, personal development, community and friends. Finally, provide children with the necessary tools they need to succeed. Alarm clocks, wrist watches and personal calendars, for example, can help them focus on necessary activities.

Well, between the two, old people would like to put more time on leisure activities as they are retired from working position, and have plenty of time to do what they like at ease. For example, they will probably spend more time in the nearby garden, or travel around. On the contrary, young people will definitely put priority on work, therefore, their time management would be more work-oriented, and other things, like family time and social activities would sometimes give way to work.