So your student just started their training, and you’re noticing the first signs of stress in their behavior. That’s totally normal! Your student most likely isn’t accustomed to project-based learning. Think back to your first days as a mentor—you probably had lots of questions about your new role too!
At some point during every project in their training program, your student is likely to wonder, “How am I ever going to finish this on time?”
And you know what? As their mentor, your job is to help them answer that question in a way that will positively impact their organizational skills. Your end goal will be to give your student the keys to find their own system of organization!
Help Your Student Learn to Organize Their Own Work
Set SMART Goals
During the first session with your student on a new project, work together with them to set the goals to be achieved on the project.
To be as constructive as possible, a goal should be SMART:
Specific: It should relate to a specific step in the project (e.g., a deliverable, learning a new method, finishing a course).
Measurable: Choose a numeric indicator to determine whether a goal has been met (e.g., number of deliverables completed, number of courses finished, etc.).
Achievable: Don’t be too ambitious! The student should have the skills and resources to achieve their goal.
Relevant: The goal should be relevant to the scope of the project.
Time-bound: The goal should have a start date and an end date.
OK, sure, I’m familiar with SMART goals. I’ve already told my student about them, but it’s not working! 🤨
For example, “Read the project brief” isn’t specific enough as a goal. To make it a SMART goal, it should be rewritten as something like this:
“Read the entire brief for the project I’m working on for my first mentoring session on (date).”
Manage Time Effectively
Once their goals are set, the student must organize their time effectively so they can achieve them.
OK, got it—but what if my student has no idea what method to use?
Don’t panic! 😉 In that case, try these tips:
Recommend that they take the Manage Your Time Effectively course.
Suggest using project management tools such as Trello, Asana and Tasks, and invite them to check out this chapter of the Manage Your Time Effectively course.
Talk about your personal experiences: How do you manage your own time? What digital tools do you use? Make sure the student understands that your system is tailored to your own practices.
Don’t let the student feel daunted—there’s no one strategy that works for everyone.
Over to you!
Feel free to use this Notion page we’ve prepared using an agile planning method. In this sample board, we’ve broken down the project week by week into chronological stages:
The launching stage, which includes the tasks of analyzing and planning the project.
The project completion stages, with each stage broken down into deliverables to complete, resources to read, etc.
The stage to prepare for the project assessment.
The post-assessment project debriefing.
Each week, you can customize and adapt the tasks on the board together with your student. This will make it easier for them to keep track of their progress!
There are other ways to approach organizing a project—using a theoretical model or one based on project stages, to name two examples. The method you use will depend on your student, their learning path and the project they’re working on!
Understand Why the Student is Having Trouble Staying Organized
Your student has set their project goals and outlined a schedule for completing them. But they still feel overwhelmed and unable to organize their work on their own. 😭 You notice that they’re not making progress on deliverables, and even canceling their mentoring sessions. What can you do?
So... What kind of questions should I ask, exactly?
Here are a few ideas to help you get started: 😃
How would you explain why you’ve fallen behind in your training program?
Sometimes the student’s problems have less to do with their organization and more to do with external factors. By asking them this question, you give them an opportunity to discuss more personal issues. Respect the fact that the student might not be ready to talk to you. It’s possible that they have personal problems, diagnosed learning disabilities, physical disabilities or health issues.
I notice you’re having difficulty meeting your goals. How did you go about setting them up?
As I mentioned earlier, it’s not uncommon for a student to misjudge how much time is required to achieve their goal. It might be too ambitious—or not ambitious enough. This is where your experience as a mentor comes in! You know the training path and how difficult the projects are. You know what steps your student needs to take. Start by comparing these steps with your student’s goals. Are the two compatible?
What tools did you use to plan your project?
It might be that the student has used a method of organization (e.g., agile, topic-based, the Pomodoro method, software tools) because you (or someone else) recommended it to them. But that method simply might not be suited to the way that they work! To identify the root cause of the problem, you need to understand the system they’ve set up. If you both feel the student’s chosen method isn’t well suited to their abilities, encourage them to change it!
Can you identify what could be improved in your current system of organization?
The student will often respond, “No, I don’t know,” which in itself indicates that they’re having issues. Go back over all the steps for completing the project and ask them how they feel about each step. Then together, you can identify what’s going wrong.
Know Your Limits as a Mentor
What are some possible solutions when you’re faced with this problem?
Remember, you’re just a guide! It’s not your responsibility to solve all your student’s problems. With your support, the student should be able to step back and figure out what they need to do on a daily basis to get back on track.
Take Advice from Experienced Mentors
Listen to some advice from Mike and Joy based on their experience as mentors:
Let’s Recap!
To help your student get organized:
Work with them to set learning goals and use the SMART method to create an organized project timeline.
Help them manage their time effectively on a project-by-project basis.
Use the tools available to you on the platform, as well as project management tools.
Ask questions about each project so you can anticipate any difficulties they might have.
Tailor your advice to the situation at hand and know the limits of your role as a mentor.
Is your student now able to organize their work independently? Let’s move on to the next step in chapter three, where we’ll discover how to help them be an active learner!
