Timely Advice
Time management tips for High School Management
Time Management Topic: You vs. the Clock
Almost every kid has experienced the stress of having homework to do, sports practices to attend, and many more activities. Often, that results in very limited time to do recreational activities. Because of this, it is important that you are capable of managing your time. To manage your time, you need to recognize the difference between your needs and wants. Also, you need to know how long each activity will take so you can find out what to do when.
Time Management Topic: Have-To's, Want-To's, and Goals
Have To's:
School homework
Sleep
Eating
Family Responsibilities
Want To's
After-school activities
"Chill Time"
Goals: Goals are things we want to accomplish. Goals we set can be short term goals or long term goals. Short term goals can be achieved within a year, and long term goals can be achieved for as long as you want to set it.
Time Management Topic: Make a Budget
Money is very limited. Therefore, it is important to create a budget to limit your spending and so you know what you need to get and what you want to get. Time is no different. Because our schedules are so tightly packed, we need to “make a budget,” so we know the difference between our wants and needs, and so we can prioritize.
Time Management Topic: Choose Priorities
This is one of the most important steps in time management. This is where we decide what we cut out of our budget, and what to limit. After all, most of us can’t do everything in one day. Also, many different factors will always be fluctuating, so you will need to be ready just in case your schedule changes. Over a long term, how you prioritize will influence your life.
Time Management Topic: Make a Daily Schedule
This is very similar to devising a budget. However, the main difference is the duration for each of them. A daily schedule is supposed to cover your day, and can be easily improvised due to a sudden change. A budget is long term and is more broad.
Time Management Topic: Make a Weekly Planner
Your daily schedule changes every day. A weekly planner is more broad and will help you view what your entire schedule will look like for the entire week. You can see what you will do each in every day as opposed to only seeing one day at a time. This can be more helpful as you can keep track of appointments and homework with a weekly planner.
Time Management Topic: Monthly Calendars
A monthly calendar is a way for you to keep track of your plans for the entire month. However, it is important that you continue to update it and repeatedly check it. To make sure you have the more important dates written down, make sure your writing is completely visible.
Time Management Topic: From the Mentors
You’re not the only one with a busy schedule!
Mikey: I feel as though it's almost impossible to manage my time well. However, I've noticed over the years that having after school sports has helped greatly. It may sound strange, but by actually leaving less time for me to do my work, it forces me to get all of my work done. Also, sports calm me down so I can concentrate better. I find that if I want to do work, I have to tell myself that I HAVE to do it by a certain time. The hardest part is getting myself to start it, but once I do I usually can finish it.
Jaron: To me, life runs on time, and how much I have. Right now I am going through the college application process, and I always have so many things to do. I'm still waiting to get a break and this has been going on since last summer! It's alright though, because I am dealing with my time the right way and getting done what needs to be done. When it comes to school, I used to be really bad about managing time, because all I wanted to do was watch TV and play video games. This wouldn't help me and I always felt I was pressed for time. Now I come home and just start on homework, and make sure it's always first on my agenda. This way I have so much time for everything else. The things I always make time for are my family, my homework, school, and friends. Those are the things that are most important to me. My best advice for time management is this: always do first what needs to be done, no matter how much more fun other things sound. Why? Because one way or another, you're going to have to finish it and get it over with, so why not get it out of the way?
IML Time Tips: Chores and Duties
A common supplement to our usual dose of daily homework is chores and duties. Often, we don’t have enough time to complete our homework, and then we are expected to do extra chores! To manage all your time (and finish your chores) here are some tips to make managing things easier.
Don’t procrastinate - You’re going to have to do your chores and homework eventually, so why not do it now?
No complaints - If you’re going to do something, might as well do it right. Besides, complaining also stalls time.
Keep a regular schedule - If you have a certain time to do each chore, it will help you remember what you need to complete.
Make a list - This is also to help you know what to do. Also, if you forget, put the list in a very visible place so you get reminded.
- Make it fun - The more you enjoy, the easier and more willing you will be to do your chores.
IML Time Tips: Schoolwork
School can be very stressful. All the homework that is issued and a tight schedule deposits a large weight on your shoulders that you have to get rid of before you get to bed. Here are some tips to make sure you stay on top of your school “have-to’s.”
Write everything down - If you have a planner that you actively update, remembering what you need to do becomes exponentially easier.
Stay organized - Managing time has a direct relationship with organization. The more organized you are, the easier it will be to manage your time.
Avoid distractions - Like stated before, if you’re going to do something, might as well do it right. Don’t let distractions influence you, because it will only serve as a buffer.
Set homework time - Put aside a couple of hours each day specifically for focusing on schoolwork. Also, be sure to notify family members so they know that they need to stay silent to help you concentrate.
Don’t “underestimate” assignments - Before you embed homework time in your schedule, try to estimate a realistic time it would take for you to complete your homework. If your guess is off, you will need to do some quick improvising on your schedule.
IML Time Tips: Sports and Activities
Extra activities that you want to participate in will often have conflict in your schedule. Extra curricular activities are important, but you will need to do a lot of prioritizing to fit it all in.
Be informed - Make sure you know how much time you will spend each day on a certain activity so you can schedule accordingly.
Consult your schedule - Make sure you constantly check your schedule. This way, you know what you can and can’t do.
Don’t over schedule - Parents want their children to be successful, and to do that, they often enroll their kids in many activities to help them become talented in many different aspects of their lives. Make sure you have some free time in your life.
Understand that dropping an activity is not quitting - There is a major difference between quitting and dropping an activity. Quitting is you choosing to stop doing something because you find it too difficult. Dropping an activity is due to the fact that you have conflict with something even more important.
IML Time Tips: Top Time Wasters
One of the biggest reasons why our schedules are so cramped is because we often want extra time to do something recreational. However, time is very valuable, so it is best if you quit doing these activities, because they will only be an impediment:
TV
Video games
Surfing the internet
Doing things on your phone