Winter and spring sports often overlap. There are spring plays and concerts. There are often standardized tests to prepare for. It’s far too easy for a teen to go into overload.

Keep this from happening with a little advance planning:

• Figure out exactly how much time your teen has. Calculate time for school, sleep, meals, showers, activities, sports, TV, a job and whatever else your teen wants to do.
• It may help to have your teen make a weekly time chart.
• Have your teen list the ways he would like to spend his after-school time. Have him estimate how much time he thinks each activity will take. Don’t forget to include the time it takes to get to and from activities!
• Have your teen rank the activities according to how important they are to him.
• Help your teen choose a schedule. Consider both how important the activities are and how much time they take. For most teens, at least one thing may have to wait until summer or next year.

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