Managing Your Time
Reviewed by Isabella, age 15, New Jersey
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
What's often helpful is to plan out what you do with your time each day. You don't have to measure it down to the minute, but it's good to make to-do lists and prioritize them. For example, it's probably a better idea to work on your essay due in four days before the project due in four weeks. You may also want to consider the timing of what you do. Some people work better in certain subjects at certain times of day, so if you know you solve math problems best in the evening, you should do your math homework then.
You should also be careful to balance your social life with everything else you do. It's important to relax with your friends, but you can't let it impede your academics or other activities. I know a lot of people, including myself, who get distracted during homework by chatting online or texting, and sometimes this is hard to resist when your friends start chatting or texting you first. What can be useful is telling your friends not to do so during a certain window of time when you know you're going to be working, if not turning off your phone altogether.
Sometimes it can feel like you just don't have enough time for everything. In these cases, you should utilize the spare minutes you do have. For instance, my bus ride to school is about twenty minutes, and I often use this time to look over my notes one last time before a test, read some of a required book, or even, on the way home, start my homework. By prioritizing, balancing, and using your time, you can manage your work, activities, and social life efficiently.
