MyCDE is a fun place where
you can make your own doll,
home & lots of new friends.
Junior high and high school are a busy time. It’s hard to fit in all the things you need to do, much less any of the things that you want to do. And it isn’t just you with expectations for your life. Everyone from your parents to the people you baby sit for have an investment in how you spend your time. There is a way to manage your time so that you can get things done that you can’t avoid and still have time to relax and enjoy yourself.
Schedule
Start with a planner. You’ve been avoiding but there’s just no escape. If you want to get everything done, you’re going to have to start writing things down. Choose a book that opens with a spiral so that it lays flat, one that is big enough so that you can write in it comfortably but not so big that it’s a pain to carry around. You want a book that has about a 3 inch by 2 inch (at least) space for each day and is unlined. If you can, use different pens for the major stuff so that you can see at a glance when you have a bunch of homework due or when your practices will be taking up most of your time.
Start with your school schedules. If your teachers tell you in advance when your tests will be and when your papers will be due, you can write them down in your book. If you know that you’ll have a math quiz every Friday, write it in. Make sure that you schedule in time to do your studying and get your homework done before the due date.
Next, write in everything that you know for sure is going to happen. Have your parents planned Thanksgiving in Minnesota? Write it down. Do you have soccer practice every day after school from March through June? Put it in there. Do you baby sit for the Henderson’s every third Thursday? Mow the lawn every Saturday? Take piano lessons, go to French club meetings, or choir practice at church? All of it goes on your schedule.
Carry your planner around with you and write things in as soon as you find out. If you wait to put down your doctor’s appointment, you may end up double booking yourself and that’s only going to cause more stress.
Schedule Yourself In
This is essential to making sure that you get time for yourself. Once you have all the things that you can’t avoid put down in your calendar, you’ll be able to see where you have extra time.
Make sure you schedule specific things to do. Even if it’s just ‘read a book’ or ‘watch The OC’, it’s your time. Writing ‘my time’ only makes it susceptible to a hostile takeover.
Stick To The Schedule
No matter what you schedule for yourself to do, ‘your time’ is non-negotiable. Make up a code word that only you know so that people don’t have hurt feelings when you turn them down to baby sit or hang out at the mall or even answer the phone. Something like ‘SAT prep course’ or ‘church youth group’ are both vague enough and official enough sounding so that you won’t be contested.
Make Lists
To help yourself out, keep lists of things you need to do. Make the big things like ‘study for history midterm’ into small chunks like ‘study history chapters 1-3’ or ‘make flash cards for WWII notes’. If you find yourself with extra time at the end of study hall or practice gets cancelled, you can start on the things on your list and maybe clear some more time for your ‘SAT prep course’ or ‘youth group’!
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