The Best Time Management Tips for Teens to be Successful
With these time management tips for teens, you can help impact their life in a positive way while giving them the skills they need to be productive members of society!
Wouldn’t it be nice if teenagers were born with the innate characteristic for superb time management? Unfortunately, that’s now how this works; that’s not how any of this works. Teenagers have to be taught time management tips like the ones we have here for you. The key component is to help learn how to manage their time.
As our kids get older, our role as a parent changes. It goes from teaching them basic skills like how to read to advanced skills that will carry them through life and make them productive members of society. After all, that’s our primary goal in life. Right? One of the most important skills we can teach them is time management for teens. With good time management skills, we are teaching them how to balance homework and a social life, but we are also setting them to be efficient employees in the future too.
I think now is the best time to teach time management as most teens lives are filled to the brim with activities and this is when time conflicts often happen. Whether it is due to a summer job, after school clubs and teams, or chores they keep missing, you likely have decided it is time to keep them on schedule and help them learn some basic time management tips that will keep them on track. If you have a teen, here are some tips on how to teach teens time management skills.
Time Management Tips For Teens
Teens are super busy.
There’s no doubt that teens are super busy! The key to time management for teens is teaching them to work on something when they have the time. “Oh, you have one hour in between school and practice? That’s a very good time to start on homework.” Giving them little clues will help them see that they have more time than they think, they just need to manage it better. This can also work at home when you create time limits on television, video games, or even use of their phones.
Set a timer if necessary.
Some teens just get off track, and there’s nothing wrong with that. They just need to learn how to manage their time and that comes with time (literally). One smart way to help any teen manage their time is to set a timer. Ask them to set a timer in 30-minute increments so time doesn’t pass by them without much thought. Sometimes that mental reminder is extremely helpful in keeping a teen on task. No one is ever too old for a timer. Plus, if you grab a Star Wars Themed Alarm they are more likely to enjoy using it to keep track of their time.
Set up several charts.
Your teen may be super busy with football, school clubs, and other activities like homework and chores, so they need a simple reminder. We shouldn’t get mad at our teens for forgetting something because adults forget why we walked into a certain room. Set up several charts to help your teen remember when they need to do something. This will help them manage their time, so they don’t get overwhelmed with “everything” at once. Chalkboard calendars are a great tool since they can be used over and over again, and are so easy to adjust when something changes.
Model proper time management skills at home.
Most people think of kids modeling what they see parents doing when it comes to things like little kids pretend cooking, but teens are watching more than you may know. If you show you got your stuff together, they will see it can be done and maybe even pick up some of your habits.
Try not to make managing time stressful.
If teens feel like time management is a chore, they are simply more likely to give up on it or develop a bad attitude towards it. Show how good time management skills leads to extra free time. What teen doesn’t want free time to do what they want?
Help them plan for free time into their schedule.
Speaking of free time, it is a vital stress management for teens that you show your teens that good time management skills include some free time and sometimes that means we have to schedule it to make sure it happens.
Don’t do it all for them.
Allowing your teen to have a lot of control over their own schedule will open up opportunities for learning priorities. If everything is planned out for them, they can often feel like they have no control which can lead to a poor attitude towards things like homework or part time work. Plus, how are they supposed to learn if you do it all for them? Allow them the chance to make mistakes, correct them, move on and learn.
Give them the tools they need for the job.
Having some simple things (like good apps) that help with time management (such as reminders, calendars for various tasks and even timers) can be helpful for teens learning time management. Also, some old-school tools such as wall calendars and book-style date books also help teens time management.
Don’t set them up for failure.
If your teen is overscheduled and overworked they will begin to feel like us adults do; we just want a day off. Try to help by providing your teen with time management activities. This helps them figure what activities they really are passionate about so they can focus their energy on them and come out more successful in the end.
Teaching your teen these time management tips is all about trial and error. You both will have to see what works for you and what doesn’t. Patience is a must, but it also means you have to stand firm with consequences sometimes. Your teens will have to learn from their mistakes and adjust so they are using their time wiser in the future.
How do you teach your teens about managing their time? Share your time management tips for teens in the comments!
Hi! I liked your post because some of these tips can even apply to adults! It’s healthy to take a step back sometimes and planning out what you want/need to do. You can’t be everywhere at the same time!