Purpose: Students apply time-management skills to their own lives.
1. Students work in pairs to identify their tasks.
Hand out copies of the “Your Schedule” activity sheet. Explain that students are going to do for themselves what they did for Sam.
Ask students to work with partners to tell each other what they need to do tomorrow. Tell them to think about everything, including such things as eating breakfast, going to school, doing chores, spending time with family or friends, going to practices, watching a favorite TV show, or studying for a test.
Explain that as students tell about their days, their partners will write their answers on the activity sheet. Give students about five minutes to complete this step. Alert them when it’s time for them to change roles.
2. Students prioritize their tasks.
Ask students to work independently to prioritize their tasks and make their own to-do lists, using what their partners wrote on the “Your Schedule” activity sheet. Before they begin, ask students to recall the rating system that they used for Sam. If necessary, write brief summaries of the ratings on the board.
3. Students schedule their time.
As students complete their prioritizing, tell them to fill out a schedule of events for the next day. Remind them to star the number-one priority tasks on their schedules.
When they have finished, ask students if they think that they can accomplish everything they want to do. Point out that if they cannot, they should be able to identify those tasks that can be done another day. (These are the number three priorities.) Suggest that students place a question mark after these tasks on their schedules as reminders that they are the least important.
Emphasize that it’s not important how many tasks students have to do, or how quickly they do them, but rather that they complete them in a way that makes them feel proud.