BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS FROM GIRLPRENEURS
Kid and teen entrepreneurs share what works (and what doesn’t) when balancing the demands of school and startup or any other passion.
Doing homework and growing a business can be tricky. But just because classes are starting up again, it doesn’t mean your girl has to hit the pause button on her entrepreneurial dreams and goals. With the right attitude and time-management habits, she can still focus on her venture while in school. We collected advice on how to best balance it all from some amazing Girl CEOs. But these tips don’t just apply to running a business! They can also be used to balance schoolwork with sports or any other extracurricular activities.
TIP #1: DESIGNATE TIME BLOCKS FOR SCHOOLWORK AND WORK-WORK, AND STICK TO THEM.
“Schoolwork is the most important job I have right now. I make sure I get my work done as soon as I can! I try not to let schoolwork build up or procrastinate while working on longer projects. This really helps to give me the extra time I need to work on my business. And sometimes when I have bigger assignments, I’ll take a little break to do something fun for my business, but it’s something that is also helpful for my business. This can be posting to social media or working on my next blog. This way I’m having a little break, a little fun and getting a little business done!”
“Set and keep track of time boxes. This can be done after creating a prioritization list. School must come first and then figure out what is next. Is it your business? Is it sports? Is it music lessons? Whatever it is, 1) set time to work on it, 2) focus on getting it done, 3) give yourself needed breaks and 4) know when to ask for more time and/or help to accomplish your goal(s).”
Dalise & Dalia, Real Fashion Sisters
“During the school year, school is our main focus. After we have a snack when we come home. we do our homework to get it done before evening. And we try to schedule business activities on the weekends so that we can focus on school and rest during the week.”
“Time block! Set a time to work solely on school and solely on business work. Don’t give in to the temptation to dabble in both simultaneously because neither will get done as well or as quickly.”
“Set aside a day and time of the week to work on your business. I work on my business every Sunday afternoon. On that day, I divide my tasks into two categories — urgent and not urgent. I finish the urgent tasks first and if I have time, I take care of the less urgent tasks or I move those into the next week.”
“Do not overload/overwork yourself with schoolwork and your business at the same time. Prioritize your schoolwork first. Education is important and is key. Be productive yet find balance. Make a schedule for yourself to manage your time effectively where you can devote Monday through Friday for school work and use the weekends maybe Saturdays to work on your business (i.e., fulfilling orders). Maybe take an hour or two then use the remaining time to relax. Rest is key.
TIP #2: CREATE A DAILY PLAN OR TO-DO LIST AND USE ORGANIZATION TOOLS
“Don’t overwhelm yourself with work. To do this, I suggest making lists of things that you need to do, whether it’s homework and projects, chores, or other activities. Prioritize getting the things done first that need to be completed the soonest, and start big projects as soon as possible so that you can do little chunks of work on them at a time. I also like to try to do both a short task and a long task a day. I consider a short task to be something that I can complete that day and check off my list, while a long task can be working on a little piece of a project, which is something that has to be worked on for multiple days. This way, everyday I am able to check a task off of my list, and as a result I feel like I have completed something and have been productive.”
“To manage my time effectively, I like to make lists of tasks I need to accomplish by priority level. I typically choose to prioritize school, but if a great business opportunity comes up, I make sure to communicate with my teachers to ask for more time.”
“I use a paper planner to stay organized! Mine has a monthly calendar and pages for each week with lots of writing room for each day. Stickers and colorful pens make it easy to keep track of both school and business.”
Sophia and Isabella, Sobellebeauty
“Set goals and focus on one task at a time. Have a schedule and stick to it.”
TIP #3: DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK HELP FROM TRUSTED FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
“I think that school will come first to me but I want to keep doing my business not only as a summer event but as an actual business not just another activity of the many I do. My tip is, don’t limit the sales but limit the days of the month that you do the sales. For example, having some employees or family to do the sales. I still want to have the time for my business and also have time after to do other activities like dancing, tennis, tumbling, and music. I also want to find more locations to sell my products. That is why we are talking to some of my teachers from my after-school activities so maybe I can sell some lemonade and products at that location by having a fridge or a little showroom so we can keep the sales active.”
“Get organized! The change from summer to the school year is HARD — getting up early, school all day, soccer practice, and homework in the evenings. I try not to let orders pile up by putting aside time before supper to work on the business. Even half an hour helps. I also try to get ahead on the weekends. If I’m really in a pinch, I’ll recruit my family to help out.”
TIP #4: DO WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU!
“Merge your school and business lives. Get inspiration from school projects to fuel your business ideas and use your newfound business skills to get energized and do better in your schoolwork. Work smarter and have fun!”
Creating their own time management strategy can help girls manage their school-life balance whether their non-school focus is a business, sports, or some other passion. If these young girl entrepreneurs can do it, so can your girl!
Your girl can also learn from our best startup tips and read more advice from girlpreneurs. The right tools and a support system will also give your girl her best chance to pursue her passions while surpassing her school milestones. We wish your girl all the best this school year!
