Teach kids (or anyone) about time

Share smart strategies by asking for advice

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about how to help children, or really anyone,
learn about time management. Well. I tend to write about
time management for grown ups. People often ask me how

(00:26):
parents can help their kids learn about managing time. Small
children live very much in the here and now, so
for them, time management is about routines. First we brush
our teeth and get dressed, Then we get in the car.
Older children can start to think more about schedules. The
issue is that while some children respond well to parental instruction,

(00:50):
others do not. This is particularly true as children approached
the teen years, when time management might start to be
a really useful skill, but arrants become easy to tune out. Fortunately,
there's a good way around this issue, and that is
to ask for the child's help solving your schedule challenges.

(01:10):
If you've got a planner or a calendar, show it
to the child. Identify your particular dilemma. It could be
a professional one. For example, you could tell a teenager, hey,
my business just landed a bunch of Latin American clients.
We usually do business in English, but I know it
would be helpful to brush up on my high school Spanish.

(01:32):
That would show that I'm interested in this relationship. Hey,
you're taking a foreign language class right now. How would
you recommend I go about practicing? What are practical things
I can do? How long do you think this would take?
When should I build those sessions into my schedule? How
can I hold myself accountable? There's some chance your child

(01:53):
will come up with ideas you haven't thought of, in
which case great, But whether that's true or not, these
conversations introduced the idea of breaking big tasks down into
doable steps and then fitting them into a busy schedule.
The upside of focusing on your schedule rather than the
child's is that it changes the conversation. It's not about

(02:16):
you seeming accusing or interrogating them, It's about them helping you.
You are the example, You are the one under the microscope,
and since you are the one with more inherent power
in the situation, this approach is far more constructive. You
can try this with your kids for challenges with your

(02:37):
personal time too. Depending on the relationship, you might want
to start with a dilemma you're facing that doesn't directly
involve your child. For instance, you might say, hey, Davi
at church asked if I could lead the food bank
program this year? What do you think? Do I have time?
How should I think about this? This can lead to
a discussion of what is a priority during each size

(03:00):
and of life, what is not, and how we manage
other people's expectations and our own passions. Once the lines
of communication are more open, then you can advance to
challenges that have more to do with the child. I
want to go to Tuesday night spin class. You need
a ride home from track practice? How do we figure
this out? As a side note, well, employees aren't children

(03:23):
at all. There are a few parallels here. I often
hear from managers who would like to help younger employees
in particular figure out how to manage their time. Again,
to make this a learning situation and to deal with
the power dynamic, you might be better off asking for
the employees feedback on your schedule. Track your time for
a week, share your log with the employee, ask what

(03:47):
they think you're doing well and what you can improve on.
You're teaching the same skills they'll need to analyze their
own time, but you're doing it in a way that
might be more likely to stick. So why consider sharing
your own challenges with someone else who needs to learn
about time management. You might get some good ideas, but

(04:08):
at the very least you'll have an interesting conversation in
the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

(04:32):
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four,
then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all
the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

(05:00):
For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.