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You are here: Home / Homeschooling / Subject / Life Skills / Teaching Kids Time Management with the 10 O'clock Rule

Filed Under: Life Skills · Strategies & Tips

Teaching Kids Time Management with the 10 O'clock Rule

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Dane Carlson posted a clever time-management tip from LifeClever.com.

Although the post was originally written for the average working guy, I adapted it to fit the life of a typical homeschooler.

 

The 10 O'Clock Rule

Set your watch or your cell phone alarm to beep at 10 o'clock every night. Then, when your alarm goes off, get up immediately from whatever you're doing and do as much as you can to prepare for the following day.

  • Prepare for bed by dressing, brushing, flossing, etc.
  • Set out what you can for breakfast, including any pots or pans you'll need to prepare food.
  • Wash the dishes so you can go to bed with a clean sink. (This is gonna be the hardest one for me to do!)
  • If you have an automatic coffee maker, fill it and set it for your morning caffeine buzz.
  • Set out all textbooks, reading books, science supplies, etc. for next day's lessons.
  • Review lesson plans for the following day.
  • Straighten up the "school room" or whatever space you use for learning.
  • Lay out what you (and your kids) are going to wear in the morning.
  • Make sure your cell phone is charged. You don't want to be stuck with a dead cell phone if you have to run any errands the next day.
  • Set your alarm (and your kids' alarms) for the morning.
  • Check your calendar so you know what errands to expect for the next day.

Once you determine what your 10 o'clock list will consist of, write it down and keep it in a convenient place so you can refer to it easily when your alarm goes off. After you've completed all the items on your list, return to what you were doing before you were so "rudely interrupted" by your alarm.

Your 10 o’clock routine might take a little time, but it could save your sanity the next day. LifeClever.com listed two main benefits of the 10 O’Clock Rule, and I would wholeheartedly agree with them.

First, you’re much more likely to take care of those end-of-night chores that sometimes get skipped, from washing the dishes to flossing, because you’re tackling them before you’ve completely run out of steam

Second, you’ll be much more likely to wake up on time, and have a pleasant morning, if you know that all the nasty morning chores are taken care of and everything’s in order: your slippers are by the bed, the place is tidy, coffee’s brewing, breakfast is a few steps from ready, and so on.

Image by laffy4k

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