(narrator) This is Paige. She's a senior at Toledo School for the Arts. She is going to share how she finds the right balance for time management by staying organized and accomplishing tasks on time. Hello, I am Paige Garand, and I am a senior at Toledo School for the Arts. I will be going to college next year hopefully at either Xavier University or Ohio State University. I'm going to be majoring in engineering. And right now I have a job. I do theater, dance, and a lot of afterschool activities and clubs.

(Describer) Paige sits in a classroom.

I manage my time by an app called Schoology at school. So we have a built-in calendar and updates from teachers that I find really helpful. And Post-it notes, I place them everywhere with lists of the things I have to do during the day. And the level of importance I put at the top. And then timers. I manage my time by seeing how many point scales my assignments are, and I as well put them in the level of due dates.

(Describer) Text appears.

(narrator) Other apps you can use are Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, or ClassDojo to help keep you organized. Make sure to prioritize your tasks by due dates and value of the assignment. Staying organized during the school day and while doing homework is only part of balancing all your responsibilities. Learning to schedule time and set priorities in multiple areas is crucial. I prioritize my time and my number of things I do throughout the day by seeing what's due the next day, honestly. After all my rehearsals, I'll come home and I write them out again on what I have to do. So I will do my math and then I'll do my history and anything else like reviewing for my choreography the next day that I have to do. At my school, rubrics are everything. I divide large projects into smaller pieces. And if I have a big project, I see when the due date is and then I try to do like, one portion from the rubric each day and see how it's going to go and how much time I need to spend based off of that first day, really. I try my hardest to focus on the right area for the right time. I try to divide those weekends I have off, like if I have a day, the first part, schooling, the second part, anything show related.

(narrator) Each day and week, certain tasks within certain areas may not be addressed or completed. It's okay. You might also need help deciding what is a must-do activity and what is something you would like to do. Learning how to differentiate between these two can be difficult. Whenever I get super anxious or stressed, I like to just put on pop music and just kind of free flow whenever I can. And I like to go on drives by myself and just find joy in the little things, like smiling with my friends 'cause I know that that relieves a lot of stress for me. That normally, like, helps me put my head into a better mind space so I can tackle what's going on in my personal life and divide that with what's going on at school.

(narrator) Having reliable adults or mentors to navigate these stressful and hectic times becomes extremely important.

(Describer) Paige sits backwards on a chair.

So my mom tells me to quit doing so much, so I don't listen to that. My therapist tells me to sleep more, which I try to do. And my teachers tell me to just focus on doing the best I can at everything I do, which I try to do.

(narrator) Time management empowers you to be aware of how to prioritize and make choices to support your wellbeing. Learning how to find the right balance is the key. It is okay to say no to new tasks that aren't required when you need a break. Time management does not come naturally to me. I think learning through mistakes is how I've learned how to manage my time. And if I miss a deadline nowadays, it's detrimental to my future. So you put in the time and you try to manage it the best you can so you can have a better future.

[upbeat music]

(Describer) Text: "The future is bright." Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.