Teens and time management are words that are not often used together. Surprisingly enough, however, many teens do use time management strategies and tools to help them juggle their hectic modern lives – including school work and online test prep. Most adults struggle with time management – and teens are no different.
But maybe, with youth and technology on their side, teens have a few tricks to help them keep up with today’s busy schedules.
Here are 10 surprising facts about teens and time management:
- Teens do have good memories and can mentally track weekly/recurring activities well.
- Teens who keep some form of a written schedule are more likely to reach their goals.
- Teens who keep separate schedules for each of their responsibilities (school, sports, social life, work, etc.) reach even more of their goals.
- Teens must make sleep an integral part of their time management plans.
- Teens who sleep an average of 7.3 hours a night are technically sleep deprived.
- Teens need 9 hours of sleep at night, and those who get it often have higher grades.*
- Teens should add an additional 25% to time estimates for completing projects for truly accurate time management planning, and to create buffer zones to absorb unplanned mishaps.
- Teens who practice good time management have less stress.
- Teens who practice good time management have less stress and also have more balance and success in other areas of their lives (sports, social life, work, etc.)
- Teens thrive when they manage their time in an individualized style that works for them (written schedules, online tools, etc)
(*According to a Brown University study of teen achievement and sleep, A students were consistently sleeping more at night than the students getting Ds and Fs.)
It may (or may not) be surprising that there are many web based tools to help teens manage their time more efficiently. In addition to the calendars and alarms on their cell phones, there are a slew of organizations and companies offering the help students need to get their time in order so they can complete school work and online test prep.
The College Board’s BigFuture college planning site is a one stop shop filled with encouraging tools and information to help college bound kids “get things done” by giving them time management tips, strategies and a real life video stories from college students.
Soshiku is an online assignment management platform for high school and college students that is free. It even sends email and text reminders for assignments that are due – making it easy to stay on top of online test prep and other responsibilities.
In addition, most colleges and universities are providing their own time management trainings, tips, tutorials and videos that teach their own students how to get a firm handle on their time and how to start channeling success.
There’s a big, supportive world out there helping today’s teens manage their time wisely. Regardless of the tools they chose, teens that do make the choice to organize and manage their time are going to succeed.
