Teaching Your Kids About Productivity: 3 Strategies
In today's society, in order to be successful, you need to be productive. As such, it is important to teach your children about productivity as they grow and age. Whether you homeschool your children or send them to school, here are three strategies you can use to teach your children the value of productivity and working efficiently.
1. Give Them Timed Tasks to Complete
Purchase a simple kids task timer. There are some made specifically for task timing that have simple buttons to set them for 10 or 20 minutes. Use this timer to teach your child how to work efficiently. Assign them a certain task, such as cleaning the floor or doing the dishes, and then set the timer. Tell them they have until the timer rings to complete the task. (Make sure the tasks you assign can be reasonably completed in the allotted time.)
As your child gets used to working with the task timer, you can let them take more control of the process. Give them two or three chores to complete, and a longer time to complete them -- such as 40 minutes. Let them break the chores down into tasks and time each task themselves. This will build their time management skills.
2. Teach Them to Make Good Lists
Nothing hurts productivity more than trying to keep a to-do list in your head. So, teach your child the value of writing down the tasks they need to complete. Sit down together in the morning and have each family member make their own to-do list. Then, talk through your child's task list with them. Decide which tasks are top-priority. Mark those ones in red. Mark the medium-priority tasks in green and the low-priority ones in blue. Then, remind your child to check off these tasks as they complete them during the day.
3. Focus on Creating an Organized Space
A well-organized space makes for a more productive day. Make sure your child learns the value of such organization by working with them to create a tidy space. Talk about the best place to put their pencils for easy access. Choose a place where they can keep their to-do list, so it's always in reach. Work on positioning their desk in a spot where they can reach things like the phone charger without getting up. Also encourage your child to be mindful of how their space is affecting their productivity so they can make changes to it, as needed, to get more done.