Surprise! There are still only 24 hours in each day. That's right: 24 hours to find time for honors classes, band practice, student council meetings, basketball practice, a part-time job and homework. And if there's time left over, a social life.
It will always be a challenge to fit all that stuff into your average day, but if you're armed with a plan to manage your time, you'll be able to accomplish your goals.
Plan first, then execute
Prioritize your activities. Develop a sense of which tasks are most important and concentrate your efforts.
Then, figure out where your time is going now. Write it down so you can see where you might have extra time, and where you have none.
Next, list which tasks are most important for you in the long run. "Write everything down so you can keep track of what you've done and not done," says Amy Thompson, president of the Illinois School Counselor Association. "Put [your tasks] in rank order and set aside time each day for those long term things."
Reviewing how you spend your time and ranking what you need to get done can help you optimize your time. If your part-time job on the weekend is eating into the time it takes to do homework, you may want to cut back on your hours or decide to stop working altogether.
A day planner, computer calendar program or Palm Pilot might be a good investment to help you stay organized, but even a desk calendar might be enough.
Your time is valuable - treat it that way
If you feel that you've spread yourself too thin, it might be time to say no. It's not as easy as it sounds. Peer pressure and a desire to build up your high school resume for a college application are strong temptations. But a concentrated effort in one or two activities can translate into a more valuable and enjoyable experience, and might actually improve your college resume. "If a college is looking at a student who has passion and knows how to narrow in and focus, that's just as desirable as the student who juggles 25 different activities," says Thompson.
Time management is about using the time you already have more efficiently. Isolate yourself from distractions so you can accomplish twice the amount of work in the same amount of time. Do you struggle with math when you're tired? Wake up and do math problems first thing in the morning, when your mind is fresh. Maybe you find that you work better when you complete easier assignments first. "Not everyone has the same system," Thompson says. "Develop your own unique system."
Another efficient use of time is to break tasks into smaller segments. Writing a paper in four 30 minute periods spread over a week is less stressful than pulling one all-nighter. Self-imposed deadlines can keep you moving on larger projects, but it's important to treat those deadlines seriously.
If you need help, don't be afraid to ask
Use the resources around you to manage your situation. Ask a parent or counselor to work with you. "Part of what [a counselor's] training is about," says Thompson, "is to help students with time management."
A parent can remind you to get started on homework. Your counselor might find an extra study period in your schedule. A can help you spend less time on more difficult subjects. Talk to your teachers about setting "checkpoint dates" when they can monitor your progress on projects. But don't rely on teachers to take pity on you if you've left things to the last minute. "Teachers want to see some level of effort on the part of the student," Thompson says.
Parents, counselors, teachers and coaches have to manage their time as well. Ask them for advice and whether they can recommend any skills or tips they may have developed from past experience.
With everything that school demands, you're going to run short on time occasionally. But by developing a solid time management plan and sticking to it, you'll find it's much easier to fit your life around those 24 little hours.
Add to:
