<p>The kids in my school last year who went to Harvard, were in varsity hockey, made all 97s in their classes, got 5s on their exams, went to Business Professionals of America Nationals competition, UIL state, and more.</p>
<p>ANd i talk to them and the one thing I see the most is time management. Can someone help me with this? I tend to do something and then stretch it out for a long period of time.</p>
<p>You just have to love everything that you do: classes, sports, business, etc.. Why do you think they made flexible schedule available?</p>
<p>What? Flexible schedule?....</p>
<p>It's when you choose classes that you want.</p>
<p>Yes, I choose classes I want, but my problem is, how to manage my time effectively so that I cna go to sleep by around 11 every day, manage my extracurriculars, etc.</p>
<p>If your classes and ECs have something of more importance to you than mere text on transcript and application then you should be able to manage everything. But you certainly want try to set certain time-limits to work more faster. Also, check for distractions that you have: family, TV, IM, etc.</p>
<p>Hmm, I'm not sure if I would go with that advice mr_chipset... we can be doing everything we love to do and still not have time for it. There are only so many hours in a day... just becaue I love English and writing doesn't mean I'll finish journal writing in less then an hour... same for history, I can't seem to finish reading/taking notes in less then an hour. </p>
<p>Maybe its the methods?</p>
<p>Well, you'll have enthusiasm to finish it fast to start doing other things you like.</p>
<p>does your school have a study skills/methods class? I took one my freshman year of high school, and it was worlds of help.</p>
<p>Don't worry - most people struggle with time management, even far into adulthood. I know I do sometimes, so you're not alone. </p>
<p>I like the check for your distractions suggestion posted earlier. Also, having a plan is crucial to being able to complete tasks efficiently. Learn to streamline your class notes, take a couple of minutes after class to make a short outline and go over what you just learned. When you get home, you'll find it a lot easier to a) find the parts of your notes that you need to do your work and b) remember things for a test or quiz - you'll have written it three times by that point. </p>
<p>If it really does just take you longer to complete homework, that's fine. Not everyone can do extracurriculars and clubs and still make perfect scores. There are many other kinds of people who get into Harvard, I know more people who did every and anything in high school and didn't get in Ivy League schools - and they're totally burnt out and exhausted. Do the things you LIKE to do. </p>
<p>However, if it's taking you significantly longer to complete any task (I'm talking 3 or 4 hours what takes most other students 1 hour), you may want to go get checked out, you could have a learning disability that needs to be addressed.</p>
<p>I doubly agree with minimizing distractions. If you like to watch TV, pick just a few shows a week that you REALLY want to watch, and take a break to watch those. (Or, videotape/Tivo them.) Don't have the TV on while doing homework... I have found that impossible. Taking a little break to watch a show could keep you sane.</p>
<p>If you like to surf the web or talk on AIM/chat while you're doing homework... DON'T!!! This totally killed my concentration. If I needed the computer for homework, I closed the web browser (until I needed it to look something up) and logged off AIM. If you don't need the computer, just turn it off.</p>
<p>Basically, just rid yourself of temptation. Doing this will very much help you maintain your focus. Try these things for a couple days and see if it makes a difference.</p>