Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about how to help children, or really anyone,
Speaker 1: learn about time management. Well. I tend to write about
Speaker 1: time management for grown ups. People often ask me how
Speaker 1: parents can help their kids learn about managing time. Small
Speaker 1: children live very much in the here and now, so
Speaker 1: for them, time management is about routines. First we brush
Speaker 1: our teeth and get dressed, Then we get in the car.
Speaker 1: Older children can start to think more about schedules. The
Speaker 1: issue is that while some children respond well to parental instruction,
Speaker 1: others do not. This is particularly true as children approached
Speaker 1: the teen years, when time management might start to be
Speaker 1: a really useful skill, but arrants become easy to tune out. Fortunately,
Speaker 1: there's a good way around this issue, and that is
Speaker 1: to ask for the child's help solving your schedule challenges.
Speaker 1: If you've got a planner or a calendar, show it
Speaker 1: to the child. Identify your particular dilemma. It could be
Speaker 1: a professional one. For example, you could tell a teenager, hey,
Speaker 1: my business just landed a bunch of Latin American clients.
Speaker 1: We usually do business in English, but I know it
Speaker 1: would be helpful to brush up on my high school Spanish.
Speaker 1: That would show that I'm interested in this relationship. Hey,
Speaker 1: you're taking a foreign language class right now. How would
Speaker 1: you recommend I go about practicing? What are practical things
Speaker 1: I can do? How long do you think this would take?
Speaker 1: When should I build those sessions into my schedule? How
Speaker 1: can I hold myself accountable? There's some chance your child
Speaker 1: will come up with ideas you haven't thought of, in
Speaker 1: which case great, But whether that's true or not, these
Speaker 1: conversations introduced the idea of breaking big tasks down into
Speaker 1: doable steps and then fitting them into a busy schedule.
Speaker 1: The upside of focusing on your schedule rather than the
Speaker 1: child's is that it changes the conversation. It's not about
Speaker 1: you seeming accusing or interrogating them, It's about them helping you.
Speaker 1: You are the example, You are the one under the microscope,
Speaker 1: and since you are the one with more inherent power
Speaker 1: in the situation, this approach is far more constructive. You
Speaker 1: can try this with your kids for challenges with your
Speaker 1: personal time too. Depending on the relationship, you might want
Speaker 1: to start with a dilemma you're facing that doesn't directly
Speaker 1: involve your child. For instance, you might say, hey, Davi
Speaker 1: at church asked if I could lead the food bank
Speaker 1: program this year? What do you think? Do I have time?
Speaker 1: How should I think about this? This can lead to
Speaker 1: a discussion of what is a priority during each size
Speaker 1: and of life, what is not, and how we manage
Speaker 1: other people's expectations and our own passions. Once the lines
Speaker 1: of communication are more open, then you can advance to
Speaker 1: challenges that have more to do with the child. I
Speaker 1: want to go to Tuesday night spin class. You need
Speaker 1: a ride home from track practice? How do we figure
Speaker 1: this out? As a side note, well, employees aren't children
Speaker 1: at all. There are a few parallels here. I often
Speaker 1: hear from managers who would like to help younger employees
Speaker 1: in particular figure out how to manage their time. Again,
Speaker 1: to make this a learning situation and to deal with
Speaker 1: the power dynamic, you might be better off asking for
Speaker 1: the employees feedback on your schedule. Track your time for
Speaker 1: a week, share your log with the employee, ask what
Speaker 1: they think you're doing well and what you can improve on.
Speaker 1: You're teaching the same skills they'll need to analyze their
Speaker 1: own time, but you're doing it in a way that
Speaker 1: might be more likely to stick. So why consider sharing
Speaker 1: your own challenges with someone else who needs to learn
Speaker 1: about time management. You might get some good ideas, but
Speaker 1: at the very least you'll have an interesting conversation in
Speaker 1: the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
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