College Planning: Times Two
By Mimi Rothschild
Time, time, time…there never ever seems to be enough time. This goes double for home school students with part-time jobs. The thing with time is that you spend it only once. Strictly speaking, phrases like “catch up on my reading,” are impossible. Time is either spent reading or doing something else. Whether in home school, public school, or a Fortune 500, you never can catch up with time. When it comes to time, then, the most crucial thing for a home school program to stress is effective time management. That is, since you never really ‘get' more time, the best we can do is make the best of the time at hand. The following are a few time-increasing tips good for home school studies and beyond.When tackling the home school study material, prioritize and set firm deadlines for yourself. Generally, work will expand to fit the time allotted. Given that, try and stick to the time you've allotted to complete a particular home school assignment or task. Avoiding procrastination is essential to this guideline. While certain pre-study rituals are fine, know where to draw the line. A lot of procrastination has to do with momentum and pacing. Once you have momentum, work hard and maximize your peak production period. Take breaks when needed, but not too often, lest you lose momentum. If the break is to involve a meal, avoid elaborate and large dishes as this is another potential source of wasted time in the home school.Of course, most any home school student will be asked or obligated to take on other tasks or go on outings with friends. A valuable skill for anyone to learn is how to say “no” when there is no time to spend. Saying “yes” too often will quickly find your home school studies spread rather thin. However, there are some things which one cannot avoid with a “no.” While multi-tasking in the home school is inefficient while studying, multi-tasking while doing a chore that requires less attention is a good way to multiply time. Perhaps folding laundry or doing dishes is an opportunity to memorize or listen to a recorded lecture.
Time spent traveling can also be productively used for keeping ahead of one's home school studies. Again, listening to a lecture is one use of this time. Of course, the less time a home school student spends on the road the better. Given that, keep the car in good shape, avoid peak traffic times, and plan errands so they waste as little time as possible.
While these time multipliers will benefit any home school student, they will only work if effort is made to avoid other typical time wasters: too much sleep, TV, hanging out, and even over-working (working more hard than smart.) Finally, feelings of guilt for failing to accomplish “enough” or regretting mistakes is also time spent brooding which could instead be spent getting back on the home school studies track. Work smart!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.
Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.
An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.Electronic reproduction of this article is permitted if content is published unchanged, appropriate credit is given, and the article title links to corresponding article webpage.
