As preteens enter the hallways of middle school for the first time, they often feel totally overwhelmed by the amount of teachers, classrooms, schedules, textbooks, new friends, and homework assignments to manage. In fact, well into high school, most students struggle with managing their lives, for there is always a limited amount of activity, money, and energy to be spent in a day’s time. Truth be told, most adults fail to manage their lives well every day. We all have bad days, but for a teenager the results can be devastating when day after day is mismanaged.
It is NOT all about fitting in one more thing each day to be more productive. It is NOT about putting an iPhone in the hands of every second grader to maximize their efficiency. Nope. It’s about living well. It’s about setting a healthy rhythm to our lives. And ultimately, it’s about living according to OUR OWN values, not society’s values. Here are some ideas for helping kids (and adults) manage their time better, in order to live a more deliberate, healthy life.
First, explore the concept of priorities. Discuss what a priority is and why it’s so valuable. Discuss how priorities need to reflect our deepest values, and how the way we spend our time should reflect our priorities. In other words, we should order our priorities from first to last, according to what we value the most, all the way down to what we value the least. Ideally, we will attempt to spend our time accordingly, making sure that our highest values are not neglected in any day.
Second, examine the way he or she actually spends his or her time each day of each week. Account for all the time spent in a week. Sit down and plot out each day, half-hour by half-hour. Count up the average hours of sleep, school, homework, television, exercise, internet use, eating, chores, and everything. It may reveal some areas well worth congratulations, as well as areas needing improvement, based on how well it all seems to match up with his or her priorities.
There isn’t anything shocking about a fight on a school bus. But the thing that is so awful is that most of the students cheered the bully as he unloaded heavy closed-fist punches to the boy’s face, one after another after another. It was bloodlust. It was not a fight; it was a beating. The victim was unable to defend himself or flee, so he got thoroughly abused by two violent bullies, who were cheered on by all the kids surrounding the victim. In fact, many of them took pictures of the victim’s bloody face while laughing at him.
In addition, she eats from a very restricted diet, consisting mostly of fats, in order to control her seizures. Needless to say, she has a very difficult life on many levels. It is not fair. Yet she is happy. She makes the best of what she has been given.
