We're not sure there's ever been more pressure on our teens to figure out their own schedules and manage their time wisely than right now. Whatever your daughter is doing for school during a pandemic, chances are she needs to be on her A-game with her school work. ⁠Our teens balance school, work, music lessons, friends, family responsibilities, school responsibilities, sports teams, and who knows what else. It's tough! We've been doing a lot of research into simple ways to teach teens how to manage their time (hopefully without making them defensive). Listen in today to see what we've come up with.⁠

 

Benefits of good time management

• Reduced anxiety
• Increased responsibility
• Better decision-making skills
• More time for family and friends
• Better performance at work and school
• More time to relax

 Important Life Skills to promote good time management

• Work smarter not harder
• Take care of yourself to have adequate energy
• Take brief but regular breaksRecognize the emotions you’re feeling and how what impact it has on your efficiency
• Challenge the stories you tell ourself about events
• Don’t multitask “Multitasking is a myth”
• Clarify your priorities

Steps parents can take to teach good time management

• Be a good example
• Give them good tools
• Encourage them to write down their schedule
• Help them prioritize
• Help them figure out what is most important to them based on values and commitments
• Help them develop routines
• Avoid nagging 
• Set limits on electronics (In a perfect world, they’d do this themselves.)
• Encourage her to set goals
  
  

Resources:

• Amy Morin, LCSW, Very Well Family. How to Teach Time Management Skills to Teens. https://www.verywellfamily.com/teaching-time-management-skills-to-teens-2608794 
• Tim Urban, Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator, Ted Talks, https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
• Important Life Skills to Promote Time Management, Instagram, @letstalkmanagement
• American Psychology Association, Mutlitasking: Switching Costs, https://www.apa.org/research/action/multitask
• Benjamin Mayo, How to Set a Time Limit for a Specific iphone App, https://9to5mac.com/2018/10/16/time-limit-app-limit-iphone-ipad/
• Claire Gagne, 4 Parent-Tested Systems You Can Use to Limit Screen Time, https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/parent-tested-systems-you-can-use-to-limit-screen-time/
• Dread list, Instagram, @psych_today
• Ping Pong Object Lesson, https://youtu.be/Lpau5YXk46Y