Fun Ways to Teach Kids About Time Management

posted on Sep 11, 2024

Have you noticed how often your children finish all the activities planned for the day? From waking up early to getting ready for school, completing homework to playing with friends, there are endless activities in kids’ schedules today. While juggling multiple activities prepares them for a thriving future, it can often overwhelm them, leaving them exhausted and unmotivated. We at Gurukul The School, positioned among the top 5 CBSE schools in Ghaziabad, believe the only solution to get every activity finished on time is by teaching your kids the art of time management.

After all, time management is not an adult-specific skill but an essential superpower that can enhance your kid’s overall productivity and task efficiency. We have seen time and again that kids who learn to manage their time efficiently are generally better at balancing their academic and personal lives. They also find it easier to hone their academic know-how while actively pursuing their extracurricular interests. While there are numerous ways to foster time management skills, we recommend beginning with the following fun methods.

• Gamify Routine Tasks

The best way to attune your kids to time management habits is to convert their monotonous routine into a fun adventure. Instead of merely telling them what they should do the next day, create a fun challenge with numerous activities categorized by levels. Reward your kids with points for completing every activity on time. This incentive element will make kids excited to finish work on time while holding their attention throughout the day.

You can even use mobile apps to create custom routines with a reward system for your kids. Alternatively, you can place a colorful chart in your child’s bedroom with a list of activities. Every finished activity gets them a sticker or star. Let them use a certain number of earned rewards for extra playtime, a special outing, their favorite meal, or anything they like. This approach will ensure kids voluntarily start paying attention to their time management skills and sharpen them over time.

• Use the ‘Big Rock’ Analogy

If your kids are too young, avoid teaching them about time management in complex ways. We at Gurukul The School recommend using the ‘big rock’ analogy to introduce young kids to time management. It is a visual tool that teaches kids the importance of prioritization.

Get them a clear glass jar and some rocks, pebbles, and sand. Now, tell them that the glass jar represents their day, while big rocks are important tasks (studying, family time, etc.), pebbles are unimportant activities, and sand represents time-fillers (watching T.V., using social media, etc.)

Once everything is gathered, show them how fitting the big rocks first, followed by pebbles and sand, allows everything to fit. But if they start filling the jar with sand and pebbles, there won’t be enough space left for big rocks. This visual representation will help kids understand the importance of prioritization. They can use it daily to plan their day.

• Time Budgeting with Play Money

Since time is intangible, kids spend it carelessly. But, if they can see, touch, and feel it, they will be cautious about spending it. This is what this method is all about. You can create paper money by using colorful craft paper and give them some money at the beginning of the day.

Now, help your kids plan the day ahead and guide them on how to ‘spend’ time in the best way possible. This fun approach has dual benefits because it teaches children the importance of rightful allocation and spending of time and money. We at Gurukul The School have seen that this method works best with young children as they can see how fast time can be spent, encouraging them to make thoughtful choices.

• Create Playlists for Specific Activities

Our unconscious mind controls most of our actions, feelings, behaviors, etc. Leverage it to nudge your kids to perform activities on time. Start by creating playlists for different activity types planned for the day. For example, you can make a playlist of energetic songs for the morning routine, especially exercising, getting ready, having breakfast, etc.

Likewise, you can create a focus-enhancing binaural beat playlist for study hours and choose soothing tunes for bedtime routines. Create playlists with appropriate soundtracks that match the vibe of the activities, and tell your kids about them. This will signal your child’s brain about what activities need to be done by tapping into the power of audio cues for building time awareness. It can make transitions effortless and fast between different activities, reducing kids’ resistance. Keep changing soundtracks to keep it fresh.

Conclusion

Teaching time management skills to children isn’t an optional task anymore. It has become a non-negotiable for creating and sticking to a winner’s routine. While there are different ways to foster a healthy sense of time management in children, we at Gurukul The School, ranked among the top 5 CBSE schools in Ghaziabad, would like to recommend starting with the evergreen methods discussed in this article. These methods are fun and effective and work incredibly well on all children. You can test newer methods later and stick to the method that delivers the best results.