Time Management

Kids stay up late, finishing homework which really should have been done hours before they started. The reason for this? Well nothing other than distractions such as the addictive world of social media. Picture this, you come back from school tired and wanting to rest. You lay down, open your laptop to start your homework, but your computer welcomes you with the sight of multiple different social media sites. Its tempting to chat with friends and browse the internet, and the temptation gives in. Soon after, procrastinations takes over as you ignore the time you said you would start homework. A few hour go by, and your parents storm into your room, demanding you to get off. By then, its 8 o'clock and you have to study for a science quiz the next day, along with humanities, math and english homework. Its going to be a long night.

You go to school the next day, with bags underneath your eyes bigger than the one you're carrying, all thanks to the fact that you stayed up late attempting to finish your math homework. Although, you got carried away by your phone buzzing away with snapchats. Just pray that your teachers do not ask to see the homework that was assigned. As you walk into your math classroom as your teacher gives you a look. It almost seems he has a sixth sense of knowing who hasn't completed their homework. “ Where is your homework?” asks your teacher. Your heart drops as you scramble to make up a better excuse than the one is true. but you can't think of anything.

By this point, you wish you had your homework complete by this point, and regret your poor time management. Joel Anthony says he has had terrible trouble with time management in the past, but has greatly reduced it. “I have made a timetable for everything that goes on during my day” says Joel. “I am very disciplined to stick to my timetable, and it helps me a lot with my time management. Before I had this, I would not prioritise my home work and everything was just a big mess.” Having a timetable is a good strategy for time management, as it lets you plan ahead and gives you specific times for activities. Amin Haidan has admitted that he has tried to use this strategy, but has failed. “ sports, activities and social life just take up too much time and it cannot be predicted. My schedule is always changed without notice and it always gets in my way of completing work” Stated Amin Haidan. “ I do complete my homework, but does get completed last minute. I do this by putting myself in a quiet space without any distractions and stay there until my work is complete”.

Putting yourself in a quiet environment can help you get quality of work out of your time and lets you focus on your work, although it must be done properly without any distractions around you. Infomation gathered from thelifeoasis.com has shown that the average person gets distracted 1 minute for every 8 minutes that pass. The cause of this is distractions and poor time management and it can be easily avoided. Poor time management also have many side affects on your daily life such as procrastination, poor punctuality, Impatience, rushing, lack of energy, indecisiveness and many more. From a student's standpoint, this can result in poor grades, late nights, late homework and not prioritizing what is most important. Students spend countless hours on social media and electronic devices, and leave school work to the last minute.

These problems can be overcome with a few solutions. To first have time available to complete work, you must organise your time well. This can be completed with a timetable or agenda, with specific adequate times for work to be completed. Another option is to prioritise what work is important and needs to be completed first. This way, the right work that needs to be completed on will be worked on. Prioritising what is important can be done by noticing all work that needs to be completed, and starting the most important. During your studying/ homework short breaks should be taken around every half an hour for the best effect of studying and concentration. Teenagers do struggle everyday with time management. It affects their daily lives, schooling and can only be improve with discipline. Just as Michael Altshuler one said “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” So be sure to steer your time management in the right direction.