Throughout both Tahoma School and in our own daily lives, we encounter multiple activities and tasks needed to be completed. This requires time management skills. But how do you effectively balance many different aspects of your life such as sports, music, school, family, friends, sleep, or work? Managing your time well and avoiding procrastination seems to be the best solution.

Lara Lindersmith, the Future Ready Specialist at Tahoma High School, gives insight on time management from a staff perspective. Lindersmith meets with students every day to answer questions and help students get resources they need to be successful. “I get confessions that they’re not good at their time management” she says. She helps students by encouraging them and helping them get back on the right track to meeting their goals before they miss the deadlines.

Lindersmith explains that people have different approaches to managing time and that many people confuse procrastination with bad time management. Some people, like herself, wait until closer to the due date to complete tasks because the time crunch is a motivator and she is still able to complete everything on time. To students, she recommends knowing what their goals are and then making that a priority.

Senior Makenna Killgallon has a very busy schedule with 5 AP classes, a job that she works 20 hours a week, and involvement in 9 clubs. With all these commitments, she still manages to maintain a social life and a high GPA. How? Killgallon says she does all her homework right away and doesn’t procrastinate. “I try to do my homework right when I get it so that I have the weekend to party,” she says, laughing. She also utilizes her planner to keep track of commitments.

Senior Tahoma Student Marisol Gonzalez also shares her success in avoiding procrastination. With theater rehearsals almost everyday, 30 minutes away, she is able to get work done by taking advantage of class time to get assignments done and sometimes stays after school so she can focus and be productive. Gonzalez has made theater a part of her social life, especially since she spends most of her time with those people. She advises her fellow students who struggle with time management to “destress and make time for themselves” so they can be successful with other tasks.

Even though numerous activities and classes can be daunting, it is definitely possible. All of your sports, clubs, projects, productions, events, and everything else you’ve committed to can be done. It may seem difficult but the solution is relatively simple. With the implementation of effective time management strategies, you can accomplish a lot. Use a planner, avoid procrastination, destress and plan ahead.