Yeah, for this lesson you COULD bring in a timer. Start low-tech... an hourglass, say.Or a mechanical timer, spring-wound, the kind that ticks and dings.
Or a digital timer, the kind that beeps and needs a battery.
And yeah, you COULD do the tired old "put the big things into the jar first and then pour the rice" object lesson.
But let's say, for argument's sake, that you've done all that and are looking for more.
Let's kick it up a notch, shall we? Productivity tools and ideas have entered the 21st century, and many of our youth will have access to those tools and can make use of those ideas.
A few to get you started, or maybe even find something for yourself:
First of all, the guru du jour of productivity is David Allen, author of Getting Things Done. Here's a quick overview of the system. It involves keeping lists of everything, and frequently revisting them, to free up your brain for other things. It also involves recognizing that you need to think about your tasks on different levels of focus, from the immediate (current actions and projects) to the larger (areas of responsibility, goals) to really big-picture (5-year "visions" and "life goals"). I think this is helpful, because immediate tasks take on both significance and priority as they slot into one's bigger picture(s). Allen also suggests sorting your lists by context: in other words, a list just for things you need to do while at the computer, another for your roles at home, another for school, etc - so that you have a list ready for when you enter that physical or mental space. The advantage of that is not wasting time worrying about things you can't do at the moment, but to have a laser focus on maximizing your at-home time when at home, your schoolwork time when at school, your errand time when out, your worship/calling/spiritual side when at church, etc.
For some reason, Allen's "GTD" system is very hip right now in the business/computing geek world. As a lurker in a variety of higher education/technology/digital history-type communities, I hear a lot about his system and about the idea, in general, of finding better ways to do things. Sometimes that means a higher tech way to do it, and sometimes a lower-tech one is just as good if not better, but either way, the buzzword is to "work smarter, not harder."
So here's a quick rundown of links of both geeky and low-tech ways to use time more wisely. Set your timer (don't get lost in the links), and check out a few:
First, understand the basics of productivity and efficient time use, with this post from the Ubersite called LifeHacker.
Then, once the magic of The List has sunk in, think about other lists that could help unclutter your brain and organize your ideas, energy and time.
Or try a Zen approach to the GTD system.
Some of the GTD system, which was designed for business, can be very successfully adapted for students (HS, college, and otherwise). For example, "Getting Things Done, Explained for Students," or "Study Hacks" or "Hack College" (although, caution: some of the content on that last site is aimed at the college party scene).
There's a huge, growing market of online tools, many for free, that aim to digitize the GTD system and help you capture, search, manage, and collaborate with others on getting things done. This slideshow profiles some of them.
For example, you can try a computer wallpaper that helps you organize your desktop in ways that help your workflow, or just to give yourself a kick in the pants to stop messing around and get something done.
But, really, all you need is paper and pen. This week I'm trying out the Hipster PDA, essentially just a bundle of index cards held together with a binder clip, which would be an easy to-do in your classes with your young women. Have an index card for each "context" or what Franklin-Covey calls "roles." Mine include: @home, @family, @disciple, @Mom, @scholar, @professor, @self, @YW leader. Each card lists actions and projects pertaining to that role. Young women might sort by the places they are required to be throughout the day, since some of them have less control over their own schedules than we do: @school, @home, @music lesson, @church...Let me know in the comments how it works out.
Of course, the main thing to emphasize here is that all the gee-whiz tools are only helpful to the extent that they bring us in tune with the Spirit, help point us towards Christ and keep us on the path of the disciple, and help us use the gift of time with gratitude and good stewardship. I love that we get to see glimpses of Christ taking time for renewal, quietness, planning, and that we see him multitasking with focus (teaching, on the way to raise a girl from the dead), and putting the people first because other things had been delegated, thought through, or planned ahead. We learn in the temple that all things were created spiritually before they were created physically; that's planning, goal-setting, and long-term vision. You could adapt Elder Bednar's talk on prayer to this: that prayer is an important part of time management, because morning prayer helps us create the coming day, and evening prayer is an opportunity to reflect on the just-past day and how we used our hours, and to peacefully and lovingly lay the day to rest.
Photo credits: To-Do list from lifehacker and Post-it madness from dead fish.







