Teens: Time is money, spend it wisely...

The clock is ticking. There’s no clock that ticks backwards. There is one earth (the one we live on) and it rotates on its axis in exactly 24 hours, no matter what. Weeks usually have 7 days, years have 52 weeks, and besides the leap year, we celebrate our birthday every 365 days. We grow older with every minute of our existence and we have to achieve so much in this little life of ours; there’s just never time for anything…

Couldn't we just move our clocks and calendars backwards and get back all that time that we lost? Make up for the time we wasted? Replace the times we spent on fruitless unproductive futile tasks when we could have been more worthwhile? Sadly not. All that is in our hands is to make the best of the time we still have; use it wisely, spend it such that we achieve the best of our potential, and breathe a sigh of relief every night; believing that we seized our day to its best!

Managing time vs being managed by time

When the clock takes the reins in its hands, you are dancing to its tune. You look at the clock or calendar and panic. Your heart beats faster. Oh my God project submission tomorrow! Oh my lord exam next week! Oh gracious, homework not done yet! If you were all done on time you would smile and have a relaxed sleep before your exam or your project presentation but now you are stressed because you did not manage your time, it managed you…

You are no different

How is it that your friend wakes up at ease, does homework on time, studies adequately, plays his football game or goes for a swim, attends family functions, watches the best movies, gets amazing ranks in class, and seems so relaxed and at ease? How does he or she manage their time so well? Your friend is no different from you. Neither is his clock giving him 35 hours in his day. He knows what he wants, and he knows what he must do to get it. He knows how to prioritize. Anyone who does not prioritize tasks and their daily schedule will feel overwhelmed, stressed, and unhappy. By prioritizing your life, you can learn what really needs to be done immediately and what can wait until later.

Know what you want: set your goals

If you don't know what you want, you will be rambling and wasting time in the woods instead of taking the path that is clearly laid out for you. Everything is important in life: you have to be a good student, a good swimmer, a good tennis player, a good friend, a good brother or sister, good son or daughter too; but you have to decide what is important for this moment. During exams its not so important to make new friends but in the vacations it nice if you could. You need to set your long, medium and short-term goals. Follow the short-term goals to attain the medium term targets; these will then automatically lead you to your long-term dreams. You don't play a game of football without wanting to score a goal right? That would be uselessly kicking the ball. You would get tired and attain nothing at the end of it. We need you to get the maximum from your life. Your goal is your guiding star that keeps your motivation going and lets you choose the important tasks and filter the rest.

Make & follow timetables

The best way to prioritize your tasks is by making a list. Write down everything you think you need to accomplish. Then number each by importance like a grade from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. Something that may be important to you may not be important to someone else, so this is about personal preference too. Display your daily list in a place that you will constantly see and be reminded of. This will help you stick to your daily plan. List making may seem to be more time consuming, but making lists actually takes the stress out of your mind because it gives you direction. Many times when you see a task written on paper, it looks much less intimidating then when it is only floating around in your head.

Don't be let down

Sometimes it’s just not possible to stick to your schedules, accomplish the set goals and match up to your expectations; don't be let down. Your timetable may overrun you and leave you staggering behind and stressed but use any time that you have, wisely. When you are ahead of time, get more than you may need for the moment; when you are behind and low, steadily step up again knowing that it will be better. Always save time for family and close friends; they are the ones who will support you and stand by you, no matter what. Happiness makes for a more productive person. So, be sure to add just the right amount of fun time to your daily schedule. Rule your time and you will be king!