5 Ways to Improve Time Management

Teenagers have a reputation for being procrastinators. Not just "I'll do this after I watch this episode" procrastinators, but "I did my math homework for today during my English class" procrastinators. What's wrong with this picture?

As Christians, we already know that we are called to do our best in everything. When you procrastinate, it leads to sloppy work, and often late work as well (although there are some people who have their procrastination down to a science and wait until the last possible minute while never turning in a late assignment). When you are stressed and rushed, it doesn't reflect well on the work you are doing.

There can be other problems too: you are involved in too many sports, clubs, or other after-school activities. Maybe you have a job or volunteer. Juggling all of this stuff can be hard, and we still need to sleep too! This can lead to leaving homework until the last minute as well.

It is imperative that we learn to manage our time well, for now and the future. How can you do this? Here are some tips:

• Get some form of planner, whether provided by your school, bought for you by your parents, or downloaded onto your phone. Enter everything in your planner that you have scheduled for each day and the time it will take to do it. Don't forget to include transportation and preparation time for activities or events! Schedule homework, chores, and free time around these things.
• Every week, take some time to look at the upcoming week in your planner and schedule your days so you know when you are doing homework, practicing a musical instrument, doing chores, etc. Some days you will have more time open than others. 
• It's okay if you don't stick to your schedule exactly, but do try to follow it as closely as possible so that you can get everything done that you need to!
• Prioritize your homework assignments so that if you don't have time to do all of them you can at least finish the ones due the next day and work on any big projects or tests. 
• On weekends, don't worry about scheduling your whole day. Fill in things with specific times (i.e. sports games/practices, family events) and make a to-do list of other things you need to do throughout the day. Then work through your to-do list whenever you aren't involved in something else. 

Don't obsess over it too much, but try to make sure you have time to get everything important done each day!

What do you think? Is time management something you struggle with? Do you already have a planner system, or is that something you need to work on? What are strategies you have for getting all of your tasks done in a timely fashion?