How to manage your time efficiently
Being a teen, I always find it hard to manage my time. To be very honest, sometimes I feel like I am a mess. I understand how adults struggle with managing their own time; teenagers are no different. Being in the teen phase, what most every teen feels is that they are being pressured or thrown under a bag of responsibilities. At present, it is entirely normal to feel this way, but at the same time, it is very overwhelming to deal with.
Every teenager deals with their things. Just like adults have hundreds of things to deal with, so do teens!
Every teen's time is splintered by many things; sports, academics, social life, college admissions, volunteer work, internships, and sometimes even family responsibilities.
The teen phase is a very important phase of one's life. It is when you build a personality and learn major life lessons.
During this time, a teen learns how to set priorities, but most of us end up feeling like me, a total mess.
So how do we manage our time, how do we know what is to be done first and what can be done later??
Do not worry, I've got your back!
The first and foremost thing is to
Understand your unique rhythm.
Now, what I mean here is that it is very important to understand what your productive periods are and how energetic you are throughout the day. We all have different times of the day when we are the most productive. Identify your periods and write them down. The key to time management is to be in charge of all the activities you are supposed to engage in, and what requires you to be the most productive.
Organize your work according to time.
After you know when you're the most productive, you have to categorize your work according to when you are the most productive and when you are not. For example, if you have to finish a math assignment, play basketball, and help your mom with dinner, you can categorize it accordingly. Let's say you are most productive after your one-hour nap on the school bus ride back home. You could come home and finish your assignment, play basketball, and come back and help your mom. Remember, the more productive you are, the more work you get done efficiently.
Likewise, if you're in high school and work side by side like me, you could always categorize your work according to what has to be submitted today and what can be finished by, let's say, 2 or 3 days later.
For example, if you are tired after school, you are probably the least productive during that time. You could have a coffee and watch YouTube videos or scroll through your Instagram to learn more about important things, like how to choose good subjects, how to not procrastinate, e.t.c. And in the evening, let's say you are the most productive, you could sit down and get your work done and set up goals and timers. Let's take my example. I am a content writer, so I break my tasks into small bits, set timers for each, and get the work done.
Now, in the evening, I can sit down, relax, and study.
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Understand the priorities
Sometimes you might find yourself in situations that confuse you as to what you should do first. Now if you have a math test on Monday and your friends are going out to the movies on Sunday night, you can’t seem to know how to study and enjoy. The best thing to do here is to know what your priority is. Again, the most important thing is time. Break your syllabus into bits. Before going to the movies, study for the test and be prepared for it, so that you can also enjoy yourself with your friends and keep your marks on the track.
Focus on time.
When you read the points above, we notice that one thing that is always involved is time. Time is the most important factor for management. Some teens do not pay attention to time and always run behind. Wearing a watch or checking your phone would not do the job. You need to divide everything according to time. If you have an article to write for your school newspaper but it is time for you to go play football, you can still go out. Instead of playing for 2-3 hours, play for 1 hour and finish your article in the time you have left. Getting your tasks done on time is always going to help you manage.
But how do I manage my technological distractions?
I agree that technology has a lot of upsides to it when it comes to academics or work, but there are downsides too. Some applications are highly distracting. To deal with this, you can sit down and write down all how your device serves as a distraction. Then write down solutions for each. Let’s say you end up using Instagram every 5 minutes. The solution for this could be switching off your phone for the time slot you will study in.
Schedule your day
Scheduling your day and having a to-do list is an organizational strategy. Most teens are never able to incorporate time management into it.
We must not only organize ourselves but also understand how long a task will take and how much time we have to devote to it.
Now, how do you schedule your day? First of all, you need to jot down your tasks and the time you need to complete them. Break them down into chunks. Identify the steps you will be following to complete each task and, most importantly, do not do it at that very moment. Always plan your schedule the night before. This creates great momentum and keeps you on track.
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These steps could help you manage your time efficiently. Time management is a tough job, but it is not impossible. Being organized and knowing how to devotee your time is going to always have your back.
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Sumati Grover?
Lecturer at American Montessori Public School
2 年Amazing. Love the way it being presented. Very useful for teens too. Proud moment.