Time management is one of those aspects of life that most people struggle with. If you’re a homeschooler it’s so easy to get lost in the world of “we have all day to get that done.” The truth is that you can breathe a lot of life into your homeschool with proper time management. When you know how to manage your time and teach your kids how to manage your time, you can enjoy life a little more!
Have a Schedule But Keep it Flexible
I will say that having a lot of time throughout the day is a true blessing as a homeschool family, but if you don’t know how to manage it, it’s not really a good thing. You can breathe new life into your homeschool with time management, simply by having a schedule but keeping it flexible. A good example would be for wakeup time to be between 8-9 A.M. You can see that this is a flexible start time, but it still gives you a good idea of when your homeschool day should start.
Learn to Set a Timer
No one really likes to be timed, do they? It’s kind of frustrating to let a little clock control your life so much! If you look at setting a timer a little different, you might actually enjoy life a little more. Setting a timer can help you finish tasks on time, instead of sitting there mustering up the motivation. The timer can act as a little cheering squad encouraging you to finish the task on time and as strong as possible!
Allow Your Kids to Manage Their Time a Little
As a homeschool parent, it’s easy to want to manage the time of your kids and make sure they are on task. Your kids need to learn to time management, so what better way to allow that than to allow them to manage their time a little. This isn’t saying they get to manage their whole day. However, giving them a little flexibility will allow them to see what life looks like when they manage their time. They may succeed or they may flop. The good news is that they will learn an awesome life skill along the way.
Delegate Tasks as Much as Possible
As a homeschooling parent, you may feel as though you have a lot on your plate. One time management skill that will breathe life into your homeschool is delegation. You’re not on this journey alone, so it makes a lot of sense to delegate as many tasks as you possibly can. When everyone is helping out, it makes life run a whole lot more smoothly. Also, when everyone is helping out, it’ll breathe more life into your homeschool. Everyone will feel as though they have a place on the team.
Plan Ahead as Much as Possible
Even if planning ahead isn’t your best time management skill, it’s still a good one to work on. Planning ahead can breathe so new life into your homeschool. If you don’t enjoy planning ahead, start simple. A good place to start would be knowing what you’re having for dinner that night. Another good start would be knowing what math lesson your kids will be doing the next day. Also, teaching our kids to plan ahead can be an awesome way to breathe new life into your homeschool with time management.
Help the Whole Family Understand Priorities
Think about this, priorities are something that even adults struggle with. As a homeschool family, understanding your priorities is a great way to master time management. Help your kids understand what they should do first. Teach them priorities are usually completed from most important to least important. Sometimes getting those big and most important asks out of the way can help you enjoy your day a little more. Managing your time and prioritizing can also help you relax a little more and do those smaller tasks whenever they see fit.
Conquer Time Management
Breathing new life into your homeschool with time management can reign in the chaos and make things run a little smoother. It takes time and adjustment to help ensure these skills are understood and applied. With a little practice and help from mom and dad, time management will be a skill that your family conquers in no time.
What are some ways you apply time management in your homeschool journey? Does proper time management breathe new life into your homeschool journey? I’d love to hear all about it!
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Annette lived many years as an exhausted wife of 1 and mother of 6. Grab your fuzzy blanket, pour your favorite drink, and browse through our encouraging tips, printables, and curriculum options. Read more about me and the ministry here at In All You Do
This Post Has 4 Comments
Thanks! It’s a great reminder that parents should role-model how to set priorities and actively teach time management skills.
I’m pretty good at delegation but not great at keeping a consistent routine. I should try using a timer. Flylady suggests using one as well and I’ve put off giving it a try.
I like the idea I’m giving the kids a little more control over their time management. We have tried to implement this this year and it has really surprised me how the kids have risen to the challenge and done well deciding whether they want to complete work now or later based on other things they might desire to do then or consequences of finishing it later.
I LOVE being timed! But short burst timings, not those long standardized tests! But then, I grew up watching game shows. So there’s that.