From school to extracurricular activities to chores and homework, it’s an understatement to say that teens have a lot on their plates.
Although it can be difficult to find the time, teaching practical time management skills is essential if you want them to be able to succeed in our fast-paced, technology-driven society.
But which skills are worth teaching – and where do you even start? In this post, we’ll tell you all about the most important practical time management skills to teach teens – and how to do it.
Let’s take a closer look.
What Exactly is Time Management?
Time management sounds pretty lofty and complex, but it’s actually quite simple. It’s just the technique (or set of techniques) that people rely on to use their time more effectively.
To do this, you’ll need to be able to prioritize and organize your personal and professional tasks based on how important and urgent they are. You take care of the most urgent and most important tasks first before moving on to the others.
By prioritizing your work in this way, you’ll be able to focus your energy, time, and efforts where they really count.
Sounds basic, right? It is, but the problem is that time management skills aren’t ones that we’re innately born with.
Instead, they’re skills that have to be learned and honed over time. For many teens – especially those with unique learning needs – time management is a major challenge.
Fortunately, like any skill, time management skills can be improved with a little hard work and diligence.
What Are Some Good Time Management Skills?
If you’re good at time management, you’ll be able to consciously plan tasks and make thoughtful decisions while staying focused on the task at hand.
You know how to prioritize your work based on the urgency and importance of tasks. You also know about how much time it will take to get work done.
Examples of time management techniques you can use and skills you can build include:
- Planning
- Making checklists and to-do lists
- Setting goals
- Determining prioritizes
- Reviewing and improving your workflows
- Setting thoughtful, practical deadlines
- Delegating
- Keeping good records
- Scheduling tasks
- Project management
- Stress management
…and more! You can view a full list of the time management skills your child should learn here.
How to Teach Practical Time Management Skills: 13 Techniques to Try
Now that you know some practical time management skills that need to be improved, here are some techniques to help make them stick.
1. Try the Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix is a popular time management strategy that can be used to assess and prioritize tasks.
As an adult, you might not find this strategy to be terribly useful, especially if you have already mastered the art of good time management. You have a general idea of which tasks are urgent and important so breaking them down on paper might not be necessary.
However, for a teen, it can be hard to conceptualize this information, which is where the Eisenhower Matrix comes in handy. It’s great for teens with executive functioning issues who need to see things displayed clearly on paper.
Here’s an example of how this visual chart works.
2. Encourage an Earlier Wake-Up
Your teen might not be hugely fond of this idea but whenever possible, encourage them to wake up and start the day a bit earlier.
Now, a word of caution here – you need to make sure your child is still getting enough sleep. Setting an early bedtime can help accomplish this goal, but remember that the average teen needs around 8-10 hours per night.
That said, people who get up a bit earlier are able to take full advantage of the day – and take full advantage of all those items on their to-do lists, too.
3. Give Goal-Setting a Go
Goal setting is a huge step to take on the road to becoming more successful in life in general – and that’s especially true in relation to improving time management skills.
Encourage your teen to set daily, weekly, monthly, and longer-term goals. Once it’s clear what needs to be accomplished, chipping away at tasks throughout the day will be much less stressful.
4. Do One Thing at a Time
It’s no secret that all of us – teens included – find ourselves easily distracted. This can be deliberate (trying to multitask by working on multiple things at once) or accidental (think of your phone chirping its notifications at you while you’re trying to get an assignment done).
Make sure your teen shuts his phone off while he’s trying to get work well. Encourage him to focus on one task at a time until it’s finished.
5. There’s an App for That!
There are even time management apps you can use. If you have a teen who enjoys spending time on his phone, this might be your go-to solution.
Some good examples include the myHomework Student Planner and StayFocusd, a distraction-blocking app.
6. Apply the 80/20 Principle
The 80/20 rule can be hugely helpful in improving time management skills. The Pareto Principle dictates that about 20% of actions drive 80% of results.
This means that the items with the top priorities – those in the top 20% – will create the most significant results. Encourage your teen to make a list of the items that are most important, such as getting homework done and chores. The other items? See if these can be delegated, moved to a later time, or crossed off the list entirely.
7. Plan in Time for Distractions
It can be hard to tell a teen to stash the phone until the homework is finished – but it’s essential. For every second that your teen spends checking his Instagram notifications or text messages, two to three seconds are lost in productivity as he tries to get back on track and focused.
Make sure your teen is penciling in some time for these interruptions and distractions. If you plan right down to the very second, you don’t have enough wiggle room for unexpected challenges. Leave an hour of each day unplanned and schedule in some “pre-planned” distraction time.
For example, you can allow for five minutes of phone use for every half an hour of work that gets done.
8. Use a Calendar
Use a calendar or another planning tool to block out your time.
If calendars aren’t your teen’s thing, you can always use a pocket notebook, a wallchart, a planner, index cards, or even an app.
Whatever the case may be, use this tool to record information and make sure your teen is reviewing the planner daily. Keep a list of priorities and to-do’s in the planner (whatever form that planner might take) and maintain a backup system just in case.
9. Break Up Big Tasks
When faced with a major, time-consuming task like a final project for school, your teen might panic.
Help alleviate some of the anxiety and teach positive time management skills by helping him break that large task up into smaller ones. This can limit procrastination and overwhelm as well.
10. Get Going With a Timer
Encourage your teen to choose a time-tracking method – and stick to it. It could be a hand timer, a timer on his phone, or even an app that’s meant to block out time (such as the Pomodoro App).
Whatever the case may be, using a timer can help a teen stay focused without losing sight of the big goal.
11. Identify the Most Productive Period
Not everybody is most productive first thing in the morning. Some people are most productive in the late afternoon or right before bedtime.
Encourage your teen to identify his most productive period and to come up with ways that he can use hits to his advantage.
12. Get Physically Organized
One reason why so many teens struggle with time management is that their physical lives aren’t particularly well-managed at all.
If things are kept in order, it will be much easier for your teen to stay on track. Help him come up with an organizational system that works well for his belongings, needs, and system.
13. Set a Weekly Re-Group Time
We all have the best intentions, yet it seems like there are always those weeks where everything appears to have fallen apart.
Plan ahead for this. Encourage your teen to set a time each week to regroup. Perhaps it’s Sunday afternoon – a great time to tackle anything that’s leftover from the week before and to plan ahead for the upcoming week – or Monday evening.
Whatever the case may be, take time to get organized and figure out what needs to be done for a fresh start.
Never Stop Improving
No matter how good you – or your teen – become at managing time, there’s always going to be room for improvement. Make the improvement of time management skills an ongoing goal, and you’ll find that your teen only gets better at mastering the limited amount of time available to him.
Constant reflection is key. Encourage your teen to think about the things on his schedule that he looks forward to the most – or those which are most beneficial. Doing homework might not be the “most fun” task on the daily to-do list, but it needs to be done in order to get a job that will be enjoyable.
Ask your teen to think about what changes they can make to their time management routines. Who is supportive on this journey? Who is not? Do you and your teen need more information on how they currently use time?
Download our free .pdf time log exercise to collect some information and reflect on how they’re currently using time.
With a little bit of time and effort, you can teach your teen the skills they need to be more productive. Don’t wait until it’s too late! Start today with the practical tips mentioned above and be consistent.
To make the most of your teen’s time (as well as your own), be sure to set clear goals and expectations. Work together to accomplish the shared goal of better time management – these are skills you will never regret taking the time to build.
The clock’s ticking – so start working on these practical time management skills to make the most of the limited time you have available now.
If your student or child struggles with these skills, neurodivergent-affirming life skills coaching can reinforce time management strategies in daily routines.
Further Reading
- Check out our free EF assessment
- Download our Real-Life Executive Functioning Workbook (coupon code LSA20 for 20% off at checkout)
- Life Skills Advocate: Executive Functioning 101 Hub
- Sarah Odendahl and Mariah Frank: Youth activity: Manage your time for well-being
- Sue W. Chapman and Michael Rupured: Time Management: 10 Strategies for Better Time Management
- Amy Sippl: The 12 Time Management Skills to Teach Your Child Now
- Amy Sippl: Executive Functioning Skills 101: The Basics of Time Management