Time Management

You can't predict everything. Even when you give yourself extra time, some tasks might take longer than planned. Unexpected events can come up and slow you down. Your bike could break on your way to pick up your sister, or you might misplace the notes you need to finish your homework. It's important to have a schedule and to stick to it whenever you can. It's also important to be flexible when you need to. Be ready to change and adjust your plan so that a small surprise doesn't disrupt your whole day.

According to the passage, you should have a plan...

• all of the time and stick to it.

• but be ready to change it if needed.

• only when you need to pick up your sister.

• only when you want to surprise someone.

Time management isn't just about planning to get tasks done; it's about doing them! To be productive, try to avoid distractions and focus on the task at hand. If you're doing homework, for example, stay away from your phone. That way you can fully concentrate. It might be tempting to multi-task, or do more than one thing at the same time. But research has found that people who regularly multi-task can't recall information or pay attention as well as those who complete one task at a time.

Which of these people is multi-tasking?

• Suzanne finishes washing and drying the dishes. Then she calls her father.

• Elmo is studying for his math test at his desk.

• Viv takes a walk around her neighborhood before dinner.

• James is writing his teacher an email while talking to his friend on the phone.

After you list all of your tasks and estimate how long each task will take, you need to prioritize and rank things in order of importance. Prioritizing is about balance. Not everything has to help you accomplish a goal. And just because a goal is long-term, doesn't mean you should forget about it. "Pencil things into" your schedule for the future, so you don't lose sight of fun events or long-term goals.

Which of these can help you prioritize your tasks?

• your goals

• deadlines

• fun events

• all of the above

Another way to prioritize is to think about the consequences, or the effects, of your behavior. Thinking through the possible outcomes can help you determine what's most important to get done first.

Which of these questions would you ask yourself when considering the consequences of your behavior?

• What would happen if I skipped football practice?

• How long will football practice be today?

• Who is coming to football practice?

• What time is football practice?

It's important to stick to your schedule, but you're not a robot! You can make time in your schedule for breaks. You don't have to keep going from one thing to the next without stopping. Make the breaks part of your schedule.

A robot most likely...

• never gets work done.

• stops occasionally while working.

• doesn't need breaks.

Which of these can you do with a digital calendar?

• hang it on a wall or locker

• write in it with a pencil or pen

• tear off pages as you finish tasks

• set reminders about important tasks

Don't procrastinate by delaying or putting something off! We procrastinate because we don't know where to start and are feeling overwhelmed. It helps to break a big task into smaller steps or to schedule tasks backwards from an end goal.

What does it mean to "plan the tasks backwards"?

• Do the quickest thing first.

• Start by procrastinating. Then make a plan and hope to reach your goal.

• Start with your goal in mind. Then plan how you can achieve it.

• Do all of your work upside down.

Which of the following is a true statement?

• Time management means always doing more than one task at the same time.

• Good time management means never taking breaks.

• Time management is about planning to get tasks done and doing them.

• One way to manage your time well is to ignore deadlines and focus on doing the most fun activities.

Alan has been studying for his math test for an hour. He knows he needs to study for at least another hour, but he is feeling distracted. His phone keeps buzzing with text messages, and he's hungry. What would be the best thing for Alan to do now?

• He should keep studying until he falls asleep.

• He should talk to his friend, eat a snack and keep studying all at the same time.

• He should take a quick break, so he can get a snack and respond to his texts before he goes back to studying.

• He should stop studying and make plans to see his friends.

Zeina is following the time management steps. She just made a list of her tasks and estimated how much time they will take. What should she do next?

• She should take a break and eat a snack.

• She should organize her tasks alphabetically.

• She should cross off tasks that she doesn't want to do right away.

• She should prioritize her tasks, or put them in order of importance.