"Adulting" Skills for College: Scheduling and Time Management

"Adulting" commonly refers to skills and behaviors that young people develop in preparation for independent living. Parents can support their teens in mastering many of the adulting skills and behaviors needed for success in college and beyond.

In the "Adulting Skills for College" series, each post will focus on one essential skill area.

Scheduling & Time Management

A parent often takes the responsibility of scheduling and reminding teens of appointments and events. In turn, teens often rely on that parent to make sure they get where they are supposed to be on time. That's a big comfort to teens, but it doesn't help them develop the time management skills, responsibility, and scheduling habits they will need in college.

Some ways parents can guide teens as they develop these "adulting skills" include:

• Help teens choose a method of tracking their appointments and events.

  • There are many great scheduling and task management apps for phones, and teens can easily find options that fit their preferences. Some are even great for a family calendar, where everyone's events are seen by the group.

    
    

• Guide teens in scheduling their own appointments directly with service providers.

  
  

• It's great to be helpful and alert teens about upcoming events, but empower them to add those events to their calendar themselves.

  
  

• Let teens feel the sting from mismanaging their time or missing a deadline.

  • This can be tough for parents for sure, but teens can usually learn pretty quickly from mistakes.

    
    

• Understand that learning these skills and being consistent with them takes time to develop, so patience and a little grace will help.

  • In the beginning, parents often need to repeat reminders and double check the schedule, but as teens acclimate to the process, they should become more consistent and begin relying on themselves more.

At Growing2College, we assist families with all aspects of high school and college planning. Request a free 20-min consultation to learn more about how we can be helpful.

Kate Pedigo, M.Ed. NCC is an Independent Educational Consultant and founder of Growing2College. Join us on social media for college planning updates, tips, and resources: Facebook   Instagram   LinkedIn