Does your teen seem to not have any time management skills?
How do you know if your teen is having trouble with time management? Here are some signs:
- They have trouble planning out long term projects without someone’s help
- They have trouble estimating how long anything takes them.
- They have trouble getting started.
- They have trouble keeping track of time.
- They have trouble staying on task.
- They have trouble keeping track of time.
It is important to remember that time management and organization are both skills. Which means they can be taught.
Yes, some people have better innate sense of time management but anyone can learn these skills.
The first step is developing basic skills. Teens need to have time sense (like number sense for math). To develop this skill, they need to “see” time pass. This visual can only happen with analog clock (you know the ones with hands). Hang these types of clocks everywhere in your house. Most teens use their phones to know the time. Even in classroom where there is an analog clock hanging. I would suggest buying them an analog watch and making sure they really understand how to tell time. If they resist wearing a watch, get an app that has an analog clock for their phone. Another way to “see” time, is to plan out future dates and review commitments as a family. Try posting a family calendar with activities for everyone in the family. (Mine is color coded and a dry erase board as well.) This calendar will help teens think about the future. For so many of them there are two times, now and not now. In an hour, in two days, in a month all tend to be one time for people who are having trouble with time sense.
They also have trouble planning out their time. Teens tend to forget to account for everything; chores, travel time, eating and other things. When planning out time, a teen may think they have hours to do homework after school activities. Let’s say a teen whose baseball practice after school ends at 5:30 pm, may think he has four and a half hours to get his homework done before going to bed at 10:00 pm. But this isn’t the case, he is forgetting about travel time home, showering, changing clothes, eating dinner and perhaps much needed time to relax before diving into hours of homework. Depending on how long these tasks take, he could be left with a little time or a lot but he doesn’t know so he can’t plan his time. And there is the other issue, how long does homework, reading, chores, travel time really take him? Or really anything? The skill of knowing how long your tasks take you is imperative to anyone who is trying to management their time. Teens learn this by estimating how long they think a task takes them and then write down how long it actually takes at least three times per task.
Understanding time isn’t the only thing that will help teens with time management. Some of other things that help are:
- Paper planners that have space for all day (not just the school day) in a grid format so that he can see a week at a time. They have one life and should have one planner which includes afterschool activities, weekends and part-time jobs.
- Timers (I like time timers) that are used to time how long to work on homework, do chores, etc. Anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour depending on how long your teen can focus.
- Playlists for timing-many students like to listen to music while working. A playlist that is about 30 minutes is great. Then a five minutes break and repeat.
- Ensuring that there is enough task lighting-overhead lighting is not as good.
- Doing homework with someone else in the room to help the teen stays on task
- Having supplies and snacks within reach so he doesn’t have to keep getting up and then need to re-focus on homework.
- Doing homework when your teen is at his best mentally. After dinner works for some, right after school works for others and early morning may be for others. Just find the time that is best for your teen.