Did you know that about 25% of high school students feel disengaged?
Teens who don’t feel a strong sense of connection with their learning experiences, peers, and families can struggle to find direction. Fortunately, there are strategies to help boost engagement – and one of the best ways to get started is with better time management.
If you have a teenager who’s finding it hard to use their days efficiently, stick around. You’ll discover six ways to develop time management for teens!
1. Understand Your Teen’s Challenges
What hinders your teen’s ability to be productive? Your first task is to understand the challenges, habits, or barriers that get in the way. To do this, you’ll need to set aside time to communicate with your teen and learn more about them.
By talking frankly with your teen, you’ll show that you care. While you don’t want to nag them, you do want to help them identify their biggest obstacles. It can be helpful to admit some of your personal challenges in this arena, too.
For instance, maybe they overcommit to extracurricular activities. Or maybe they procrastinate. When you uncover their unique challenges, it’s easier to create a road map toward success.
2. Set Time Management Goals
Time management for young adults can be easier when there are goals involved. Goals shouldn’t be unattainable. Instead, focus on helping your teen set realistic goals so they can feel the satisfaction of achieving them.
A teen who is struggling in a class, for example, might feel lost and defeated. But by setting a few goals, such as earning a B on a test, they can have something to which they can aspire. Through a measured approach to studying, they just might earn that B.
Time management goals can include simpler strategies, as well. If earning a particular mark seems too lofty, save it for later.
As another option, your teen could set goals for study sessions. This could entail setting a stopwatch when they sit down to study to ensure they are hitting that goal. In addition, they could give themselves a reward for each hour they’ve committed to homework.
3. Help Map Out a Calendar
One of the best time management tools is a calendar or planner. These provide a visual overview of a weekly or monthly schedule. For many individuals, it can be easier to understand the value of pacing oneself en route to achieving a goal.
Some teens might prefer to use a digital calendar on their phones. But consider suggesting a more traditional approach with a paper planner. That way, your teen won’t be tempted by social media, texting, or other phone distractions.
Other time management activities could include setting a timer. This can create a stronger sense of awareness of how much time is needed to complete a homework assignment or study for a test. A teen who hasn’t set aside enough time for these tasks in the past might turn the page and do better.
4. Encourage Them to Start Tasks Earlier
Discipline is one of the biggest time management skills. And if your teen has procrastination problems, they will need some improvement in that area. But with some guidance from an adult, discipline is a skill that can be honed.
Work with your teen to ensure they are giving themselves plenty of time to complete projects. Emphasize the importance of starting to plan as soon as they know what the task is. Perhaps this could mean creating a study schedule for a midterm exam so they are reviewing content each day.
They should see better results on their next exam thanks to a more disciplined approach to studying. As another example, the next paper they submit could have fewer grammatical and structural issues if they seek peer-reviewed edits.
Help your teen learn to start earlier studying for exams, as well. To help students find the content and test-taking skills they need for success, they can use the NotesEdu Interactive Practice Test Platform.
5. Limit Technology Use
Today’s teens have grown up with smartphones, but this technology can impede their ability to manage time effectively. The same is true for video games, streaming services, and other devices.
Simply telling your teen to stop using these distractions won’t work. But working with them to see how their phone distracts them can be helpful.
Work with your teen to set limits on phone use. Maybe they can take a phone break once they’ve completed an hour of homework, for example. Or maybe they should silence their phone at bedtime so they can get a more productive night of sleep.
6. Break Up Bigger Tasks
Finally, encourage your teen to look at each task as being composed of smaller tasks. Some teens may feel overwhelmed when they’re asked to complete a large project. Learning to break it up into bite-size pieces can help.
For example, your teen might have a ten-page term paper for an English class that is due in three weeks. Help them understand how to break the final paper into different stages. This could include researching their topic and taking notes, and then creating an outline.
Develop Time Management for Teens
You can empower your children toward brighter futures with time management for teens. Encourage your teen to set goals and break up bigger tasks. And help them set goals and be proactive about how they use their time each day.
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